With Authority and Power

September 2, 2008

Tuesday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

Now the natural person does not accept what pertains to the Spirit of God, for to him it is foolishness, and he cannot understand it, because it is judged spiritually. The spiritual person, however, can judge everything but is not subject to judgment by anyone. 1 Corinthians 2:14-15

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." Luke 4:36

Piety

Let us pray: Father, help us to recognize the evil spirits that possess our minds, that live on our lips and that seep into our hearts. Jesus, command these spirits out of our bodies so that you can prepare us as your dwelling place on earth. Guide us through the gifts of the Holy Spirit to feed on these fresh fruits that will nourish our lives of piety, study and action. Amen.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/090208.shtml

What is it about this Jesus? What gives him the authority to do what he does? He calms the seas. He feeds 5,000 men with five loaves and two fishes. He turns water into wine. He makes the deaf hear and the blind see. Now, we watch him command evil spirits out of a person possessed. What gives?

When we confront authority, they usually have some credentials provided by the proverbial "powers that be" to brandish in our face…a badge, a diploma, a uniform, a paycheck, a tax return, sometimes even a gun. "They" use such outward signs of physical power to intimidate us, to get us to do what they want us to do. What outward signs are conferred on Jesus of Nazareth, this bearded, sandal-wearing, robed itinerant preacher? He has no apparent authority in the Temple, in the army or in the government, yet he commands and earns our obedience and respect. The power and authority that Jesus possesses comes, not from institutions created by humanity but from the proverbial higher authority, His father in heaven.

The signs of His authority are the signs he performs, the miracles, the works of wonder that shock and awe those around him in Palestine. The signs we have left are the signs he gave to us, the sacraments, the cross, the Bible. These are how we know Jesus. These are how he works to get us to do what he wants us to do…to have faith, to have hope and to have love. Because when we have faith, hope and love, we have to give faith hope and love back to Jesus and to our sisters and brothers.

Action

We cannot always give others faith, hope and love if there is some other obstacle to those virtues. Our obstacles are like the evil spirit that possessed the man in today's reading from Matthew.

What evil spirits possess us? Anger? Hunger? Lust? Envy? Greed? How can Jesus get these or other evil spirits out of our system?

Maybe we should try to help Jesus push them out of our minds, hearts, and bodies by replacing them with other desires, desires to be closer to God. If you spend too much time playing poker (or fill-in-the-blank with your own vice), replace poker or fill-in-the-blank vice with something else. Maybe reading Sacred Scriptures for a few minutes every day will take away some of the time that poker has been commanding. Maybe meditating instead of picking up those cards or visiting that web site will let the Holy Spirit fill in that time with an activity that will bring you closer to the Lord. Maybe getting involved in a volunteer activity will prevent poker from its next incursion in your leisure time.