Homily for the 4th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
4th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Jan. 28, 2024
Mark 1: 21-28
The Fountains, Tuckahoe
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx
Our Lady of the Assumption, Bronx

“They came to Capernaum, and on the Sabbath Jesus entered the synagog and taught” (Mark 1: 21).

Last week we heard how Jesus began preaching repentance, for the kingdom of God was at hand, and gathering disciples to follow him and become fishers of souls (Mark 1:14-20).

Today he goes with his disciples to the synagog in Capernaum for Sabbath worship.  As a devout Jew, Jesus prays regularly on the Sabbath and during the week.

Christ exorcising the demon in the

Capernaum synagog (11th-century fresco)

On this occasion, Jesus demonstrates for all to see—even tho many don’t understand it—that the kingdom of God is indeed at hand.  The kingdom is present in him:  “He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him” (1:27).

This particular demon voices 2 expressions we should pay attention to.  It cries out:  “I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” and asks, perhaps in torment, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” (1:24).  Attend to this identification and this question.

What do we think of Jesus of Nazareth?  Who is he?  A teacher?  A profound moral thinker?  A prophet?  More?  If he is “the Holy One of God,” as the demon cried out, what does that mean?

It means he comes from God.  He comes to reveal God to us, to lead us to God, to bring God’s holiness into the world, to make people holy.  He is the Messiah—or, in Greek, the Christ.  He is the Savior of the world, the primary fisher of souls.

Do we recognize him as all that?  Do we believe it?

If we do, the demon’s question follows:  “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?”  How am I to respond to the Holy One of God?  Does he have meaning for my life?  What does he expect of me?  How can he be integrated into my life?  What in my life has to change so that the Holy One of God becomes the one I obey, the one I belong to, the one who has priority for me?  How can I share in his holiness?

Those questions bring us back to the 1st words of Jesus’ preaching, which we heard last week:  “This is the time of fulfillment.  The kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the Gospel” (1:15).

Every one of us has some flaw, some sin, that holds us back from letting Christ completely rule our lives.  It might be an addiction—to drink or some other drug, to gambling, to porn, to the accumulation of material possessions.  It might be egotism, pride, vanity, arrogance—or their opposite, a poor self-image that makes us think God has no interest in us.  It might be a bad temper—anger or perpetual grouchiness.  Both St. Teresa of Avila and St. Francis de Sales taught that “a sad saint is a sorry saint.”

What has Jesus to do with us?  He desires to heal our flaws, to drive out of demons, to make us whole, to restore in us the image of God—to make us happy and fulfilled (cf. 1:15).  He can do this—not instantaneously (oh, I wish it were so!)—if we give him our hearts, if we accept his authoritative teaching (1:27) and strive patiently to obey him.