…. Saint Gregory the Great (M)
Authority And Power Of Jesus
Introduction
Don’t you worry when the end time will come, Paul tell his Thessalonians. There is nothing to fear, just be always ready for the Lord’s coming.
The people and Jesus’ own disciples were often struck by the authority of Jesus. Here was someone higher than a mere human being. There was authority in his teaching – he had something to say that challenged men and confronted them with themselves and with God. He had authority over the law, which he wanted to trim from its man-made trappings. By his authority he overcame the powers of evil and sin. He claimed to judge people. He used his authority for the good of people – it was a power of salvation. Yet it was a power that came in humility and weakness, an authority of service that brought faith, that gave hope, that expressed and created love. And when the time came, he used it to lay down his life and to take it up again, to pass it on to his disciples, and then to leave.
1 Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6, 9-11
Concerning times and seasons, brothers and sisters, you have no need for anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night. When people are saying, “Peace and security,” then sudden disaster comes upon them, like labour pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness, for that day to overtake you like a thief. For all of you are children of the light and children of the day. We are not of the night or of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us stay alert and sober. For God did not destine us for wrath, but to gain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live together with him. Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, as indeed you do.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14
R. (13) I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid? R.
One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple. R.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stout-hearted, and wait for the LORD. R.
Alleluia: Luke 7:16
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
A great prophet has arisen in our midst
and God has visited his people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Luke 4:31-37
Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee. He taught them on the Sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching because he spoke with authority. In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out in a loud voice, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are–the Holy One of God!” Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet! Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down in front of them and came out of him without doing him any harm. They were all amazed and said to one another, “What is there about his word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” And news of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region.
Commentary
We are children of the light! Paul designates the believers as such, and in so doing he addresses us. Discussion in Thessalonica centered on the season and time of the Lord’s return. Paul sees this as useless talk; it is something we simply do not know. At any rate, Paul says, the second coming will be unannounced; it will come like a thief in the night. But the believers have nothing to fear, since they do not belong to the night. They are daytime people, basking in the light. We are not destined for wrath but for salvation in Christ Jesus. Therefore, we must take pains to stay alert and fully awake.
Christ had no part in darkness. Listen to the question the demon puts to him as they confront each other. Literally it is, “What have you to do with us?” Meaning, “What do we have in common?” The answer, of course, is “Nothing.” Satan belongs to the realm of evil and darkness, and therefore between the demon and Jesus there is no commonality. Jesus meets him only to expel him from the possessed man’s life.
In today’s world we have more than our share of darkness. Theft, murder, greed, sexual promiscuity—the list goes on and on. But we know that we are called to better things, fully attainable if we remain in Christ. Word and sacrament keep us in the light. We must keep a stiff upper lip. We are children of light who have no fear. Evil must be silenced and expelled. Shine your light!
Blessing
May our authority as Christians consist in doing good and serving people in love. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!