At the Synagogue of Capernaum, Our Lord, at the outset of his ministry, speaks and acts with authority. Our Lord is the synagogue’s guest homilist. St. Mark does not reveal the subject of his lesson but tells us that the people were astonished. The word “astonish” derives from the Latin, “ex tonare” which means to be thunderstruck.
The people were astonished because Jesus spoke with authority and not like the scribes. Ordinarily, the lessons of the scribes would be a series of quotes from others and so it appeared that their words did not come from their heart or their experience of life. The scribes spoke from outside, Our Lord spoke from the inside. He spoke of course, as the Son of God, the Eternal Word come from the Father. There was no way the people could be indifferent to what he said.
What is the effect of God’s word upon us?
The Letter to the Hebrews tells us that “the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern the reflections and thoughts of the heart.” (4:12)
Let’s not fall into the danger of becoming so accustomed to the Lord’s words that we lose our reverence for them. Their power would then elude us. God’s word should astonish us. We should be astonished to hear of God’s immense love for us; astonished to know of his desire to forgive us; astonished at the strength he offers us in our weakness; astonished at the consolation he brings in times of sorrow. We should be so astonished that we take up the challenge of conversion, to move from vice to virtue…from where we are to where he wants us to be.
The Lord’s words have authority because they are divine, effective, and eternal—not to be easily dismissed but taken seriously. They hold the key to our salvation!
We are on shaky ground when we accept only what we like in Scripture and ignore what we don’t like. St. Augustine said, “If you believe what you like in the Gospels and reject what you don’t like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself.”
Jesus spoke with authority and also acted with authority. He performs an exorcism. We can be sure that the beginning of Our Lord’s public ministry caused tumult in the underworld. The demon is terrorized, recognizing the identity and authority of Jesus: “I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” In fear he asks: “Have you come to destroy us?”
St. Mark tells us that “all were amazed” at this exorcism, a sign of Christ’s divine power and authority. Demonic possessions are rare instances to be sure, but the Scripture frequently affirms and Church has always taught that the devil exists and that we must contend with him. Still, we should not be afraid. St. Antony of Egypt reminds us that, “demons,” for all their influence “are very cowardly: and that “envious of us Christians, they meddle in all things in their desire to frustrate our journey to heaven.” Pope Benedict reminds us that “the devil is not a second God, and united with Jesus we can be certain of vanquishing him. If we have a confident faith in Jesus, who possesses all authority in heaven and on earth, we should have nothing to fear.
Catholic Schools Week provides us with an opportunity to highlight the importance of our parish school and to thank all those who are involved in supporting its mission—I mention them in this week’s bulletin—our school board and finance council, our PTA, our principal, Maureen Tuohy, our faculty and staff, and our parishioners who support us so generously.
I should like to think that Our Lady of Sorrows is not only a solid academic institution, but first and foremost a school of discipleship, where, like the people of Capernaum, students are astonished by the words and work of the Lord who is present in every classroom and found in every lesson. Here they learn that they may journey through life without fear because they make that journey with the Lord.
