HOMILY FOR THE 4TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME OF YEAR B
THEME: Unlike the scribes, he taught them with authority.
BY: Fr Deotacious Chikontwe SMA
READINGS OF THE DAY
Deuteronomy 18:15-20
Res Psalm 94:1-2,6-9
1 Corinthians 7:32-35
Mark 1:21-28
LITURGICAL COLOUR
GREEN
INTRODUCTION
Good Morning dear Brethrens, today in a special way we celebrate the Forth Sunday in the Ordinary Time of Year B. Our three Scripture readings given to us on this day, speak about being attentive and listening to the prophet whom God will send (the first reading from Deuteronomy), of being free from worry (second reading from First Corinthians), and finally, in the Gospel, the importance of the “completely new teaching in the spirit of authority,” which Jesus heralds.
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FROM OUR FIRST READING
In our first reading today, we heard the proclaiming of the Good News to the people of Israel, that the Lord their God would raise up a great Prophet like himself from among them, and how in this Prophet, the Word of God would be revealed and brought into the midst of this world, among God’s people, which is in fact a prophecy and prediction of the coming of the Messiah, the Holy One of God, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Through Christ, the salvation of God and His love has been made clear and evident to us, and He has brought unto us all the reassurances that as long as we all remain faithful to Him, obeying the Law and commandments of God, all of us shall remain in God’s grace and be saved.
FROM OUR SECOND READING
In our second reading today, we heard how the apostle Paul reminded all the people and especially the faithful in Corinth not to be anxious and not to be overly concerned with their various worldly matters and attachments, and that was why, he told all of them that they should all be focused on the Lord and how to do His will, and to do their respective parts, whether as husbands or wives, which he used as examples, in living their lives worthily in accordance to God’s will, and not to follow the whim of their desires and any other worldly temptations and attachments, which would easily lead them astray down the wrong path of sin and evil.
FROM OUR GOSPEL READING
In our Gospel passage, we heard of the time when the Lord Jesus performed an exorcism on a possessed man who was afflicted and possessed by evil spirits who attempted to disturb the teaching session which the Lord was having at that time in the synagogue. The evil spirits tried to reveal before the people that the Lord is the Holy One of God, the One Whom the Lord had promised to send unto us His people, as He has promised throughout time and history, such as the one He had promised through Moses. The irony was indeed such that, while many of the people to whom God had sent His Son to refused to believe in the One Whom God had sent, it was the evil spirits who acknowledged and recognised the Lord, and proclaimed Him regardless of their ulterior motives.
WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM THE SUNDAY OF TODAY ? :
The liturgical celebration of today, reveals who Jesus is and what his destiny is through his actions and words. His mighty deeds reveal that he possesses divine power and authority. He has power over disease, death, demons, and nature. Who can walk on the sea? Who can calm the wind? Who can instantaneously heal the sick and give sight to the blind? Who can silence demons and cast them out? Who can raise the dead? Only God has the power to do these things. When we hear the question in the Gospel: “What is this?,” we are invited to make an act of faith that Jesus is the Son of God sent by the Father to conquer sin and death, to heal and restore us, and to teach and guide us along the path to eternal life.
CONCLUSION
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us know that our work is cut out for us as followers of Christ, challenging us to proclaim the Gospel by our lives. We should never give up in our search for God each day of our life, trusting in the loving help of the One who created us and who has sustained us to the present. At the same time, we need also to keep in mind that at some point we will all be exchanging time for eternity, one definition of the reality of death. May we be prepared to meet the Lord now and at the moment of the completion of our earthly pilgrimage.
Happy and Blessed 4th Sunday in the Ordinary Time to You. The Lord be with You.
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