'He taught them as one having authority.' These words from the Gospel this Sunday caught my attention, especially the word 'authority', a term with a basic meaning similar to that of author or creator. Real authority, as distinct from fake authority or power, speaks to what's deepest within us, to that which makes us human. God's word comes with and from authority when it reveals to us who we truly are and who God truly is. St. Augustine used to pray before reading scripture, 'O God, that I may know myself and come to know you.'
The folks in the Capernaum synagogue who were amazed at Jesus' teaching that day probably saw the healing he did as proof that his words came from the Creator. God's creative word always enhances creation, never destroys it or even leaves it untouched. God's word speaks to, heals and liberates what's deepest within us. It sets us on the way to having life in abundance. The healings performed by Jesus, some dozen or more in Mark, tell us what Jesus Christ was all about. That's the effect of true and authentic authority. An authority or power that's not from God doesn't heal but diminishes.
God is love, says St. John. Love is not so much a feeling as a decision to do what is truly good for another. The God who is Love is all about that; creating and enhancing life. God's nature is to give. We are, every moment of our lives, the products of God's love. That's our true dignity, our worth and our value. We are the ongoing receivers of a love whose basic dynamic is to give. We were/are created in order to give. We go against our true and often smothered nature when we refuse to give. Our worth and value consists in receiving God's love and giving it in all kinds of ways to others. A law of grace is that the more we give, so much the more we will be able to give. In that consists our fulfillment and our happiness. Jesus Christ came to reveal all this to us so we would have life, fulfillment and happiness in abundance. In this does God glory.
We live in a contractual, 'quid pro quo' world: I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine; there are no free lunches; if you step on my toes I'll sue you; an eye for an eye.... These are the ways of our world, not God's world. Our problems and our pains begin when we see our faith in light of the world and start dealing with God in a contractual manner. Our unhappiness begins when we forget in what our fulfillment and true happiness consist, when we confuse the authority of God with worldly-like power, position and prestige.
There are young clergy whippersnappers out there who have forgotten where their true dignity and worth lies. They feel unfulfilled and unrecognized as mere priests, and become upwardly mobile, scrambling onto the ecclesiastical promotion ladder. Under the guise of religion they buy into the ways of the world, ending up like the man in this Sunday's gospel who had an unclean spirit. Their hidden need may be to be open enough to hear the healing word and experience the love that lies behind it.
Jesus spoke with authority, and a man's life was increased and enhanced. A medieval monk asked an almond tree to speak to him of God, and the almond tree blossomed. We blossom when we accept God's creative word of healing or whatever into our lives. This Sunday's gospel invites us to think about Jesus speaking with the authority of the Creator. Our lives are filled with people speaking with all kinds of authority. It takes a piece of work for us to discern which voices come from God and which do not. We often need help to do so. Let's pray that the Lord will open our hearts to hear his inviting, challenging, healing and life-giving word every day of our lives.
PASTOR EMERITUS
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