Year B: Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ballybrown Parish

Homily Notes of Bishop Brendan Leahy

There are three points I’d like to offer on today’s Gospel.

First. When the Gospel today says that Jesus “spoke with authority”, it doesn’t mean he was authoritarian! It means that his words struck people because they weren’t empty words. There was something about his words. They impacted on people because Jesus was himself the Word he was speaking. His words and who he was matched, and so he was authentic and his words went straight to the heart.

Of course, Jesus is the Son of God. He is the prophet foretold by Moses that we read about in the First Reading. Jesus is himself a new Moses and the new prophet but he’s also much more. The words of Jesus that we have in the Gospel are not just like ordinary words. They are the words of the Son of God. They have a power in them to do what they say. They can bring about a real change in our lives, converting the way we think, purifying our heart and encouraging us to live like Jesus. Pope Francis often recommends that we should read a passage of the Gospel each day. And today with the modern apps and websites there is no shortage of opportunities to read some of the Gospel, some of the New Testament each day and try to put it into practice. For instance, there’s an app called “pray as you go” that people like.

The second point is that Jesus came to free us and heal us through his word and through his healing action. Look at what happened to the man possessed by the Devil. Jesus recognised it was the Devil who was speaking in the man and so said, ‘Be silent, and come out of him’” (v. 25). The man became free.  Those present were amazed: “He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him” (v. 27). It is encouraging for us all the recognise that Jesus can do in us what we might feel we will never manage to do ourselves – perhaps we have some issue going on in our lives, a hurt, a resentment, an inner complex, scruples, mental health issues or addictions. It’s not that we might be able to overcome these immediately, but if we want, we can humbly ask Jesus to come more deeply into our lives and heal us, precisely where there is any deviant impulses in us. He comes to heal us, free us, be with us. I like a line from Pope Francis who reminds us that the first proclamation of our faith must ring out over and over: 'Jesus Christ loves you; he gave his life to save you; and now he is living at your side every day to enlighten, strengthen and free you.'

Last point. Someone said to me recently that it has been proven that people spend 10 years of their lives on “auto-pilot”, that is 27 hours a week simply going through their daily routines and rituals such as getting up in the morning, taking a shower, making breakfast, going to work, taking our coffee breaks etc. Today’s Gospel is reminding us that as followers of Jesus everything we do can be an opportunity not simply to do things mindlessly but to be mindful of the Word of God, to keep the Word of God in our mind and heart also as we go about our routines and daily rituals. For instance, we could take any one of the Words of the Gospel to do with love – love your neighbour as yourself; love your enemy, love one another, love Jesus in your neighbour and so give our daily actions meaning by doing them as an expression of love for others. We remember how Victor Frankl famously said that
life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose. The Gospel gives us meaning and purpose. The man who met Jesus that day in Capernaum 2000 years ago became a new man with a new sense of purpose. It’s what Jesus always wants for each of us too.