“Astonished at His Teaching” by Jim Bayne

“Astonished at His Teaching” by Jim Bayne 

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Moses spoke to all the people, saying: “A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you from among your own kin; to him, you shall listen. (Dt 18:15) 

Oh, that today you would hear his voice: Harden not your hearts (Ps 95:8)

Then they came to Capernaum, and on the sabbath, Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. (Mk 1:21-22) 

Piety

All-powerful God, I want to be committed to you.

Let me abide in you and your glory.

Help me stay focused on your word and rest on your promises.

Fill me with faith that doesn’t falter, Hope that is everlasting, and love that is overflowing.

Your gift of Jesus was the greatest gift of love.

Please allow me to share that truth with others.

Amen.

[Based on 1 COR 13:13] www.DailyPrayerGuide.net  

Study

What is the difference between “Power” and “Authority?” According to the dictionary, these words are synonyms. But in one place, I read that someone with Power has the “Ability” to act while one who has Authority has the “Right” to act.

When we talk about “Spiritual Authority,” Jesus laid out conditions to be met if one was to have the “Right” to speak with Authority:

You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many. (Mt 25:25-28) 

Jesus came to teach and to model the Spiritual Authority, which he then invested in his followers. That includes you and me. What do we need to do to speak with authority the way Jesus did? The quick answer is, “You’ve got to walk the walk if you’re going to talk the talk.”

We cannot exercise Spiritual Authority unless we are modeling our lives on the example that Jesus gave us.

For example, imagine 5’ tall, St. Mother Teresa, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize,
addressing the College of Cardinals. You can bet they all sat up and listened because she is one who spoke with Authority. Her authority did not come from her position within the church hierarchy. Her authority came from the life of service that she lived. She had the “Right” to exercise Power.

Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King were two men who spoke with Authority on civil rights. 

In the case of all three, they spoke with Authority because they met the foundational requirement laid out and modeled by Jesus: If you want to be great among your people, you must be their servant. There are thousands of people whose lives of service enabled them to speak with Authority.

Our world is full of people who have Power and the ability to use it. There are far fewer who exercise Power with Authority. Are you and I people who can speak with Spiritual Authority? 

Action

As we move into the new year, take some time to reflect on how well you are doing as a follower of Jesus, called to speak his message of love, acceptance, and forgiveness with Authority.

• Are you living your life as a servant leader?
• What is your level of knowledge and lived experience of what Jesus tried to teach us?
• When you speak to others about the Christian life, do people recognize you as one who knows what they are talking about because you are walking the walk and not just talking the talk?

“Do You Not Yet Have Faith?” by Melanie Rigney

“Do You Not Yet Have Faith?” by Melanie Rigney

Saturday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time 

Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Because of it the ancients were well attested. (Hebrews 1:1-2)

Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel; he has come to his people. (Luke 1:68) 

Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!” The wind ceased and there was great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” (Mark 4:38-40)

Piety

Jesus, help me to keep the faith. 

Study

I saw the message before I saw the friend request: “Please pray for me. I had breast surgery for the removal of cancer and am having anxiety.” I don’t know her at all, virtually or in the real world; she lives nearly two thousand miles away. I checked our friends in common; there were eight, and several of them had kindly posted “thanks for the invite, praying!” on her page.

So, I got judgey. 

Where was her faith? I wondered. Why was she reaching out to total strangers who showed up in her suggested friends list? My prayer list is burgeoning right now, as yours may be: real-world friends with sick parents; with parents who have died recently; with spouses whose bodies are filled with cancer, with very real worries about their children, their jobs, their own health. Why would I add a stranger to the list?

Then I thought, where was my faith, that one simple request took me immediately into windy Pharisee-land? 

So, I stopped. I prayed for her as she requested.

And there was great calm. 

Action

Pray for someone whose words and actions or lack thereof tempt you to go into Pharisee-land.

Image credit: Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay:; https://pixabay.com/photos/wave-water-surf-ocean-sea-spray-3473335/

Be Confident, Endure, Be Prepared to Receive By Beth DeCristofaro

 Be Confident, Endure, Be Prepared to Receive By Beth DeCristofaro

 

Therefore, do not throw away your confidence; it will have great recompense. You need endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised. (Hebrews 10:35-36)

 

Jesus said to the crowds: “This is how it is with the Kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. (Mark 4:26-28

 

Piety

At times my confidence and endurance wane, Brother Jesus.  Please fill me with the grace to know that, like a mustard seed, they are sustenance for my soul and potential for doing your will today and tomorrow. May your Holy Spirit guide me in my piety, study and actions. 

 

Study

Time-lapse photography and video have revealed unseen plant development to which Jesus alludes in his imagery of crops growing of their own accord.  That we can watch seeds sprout roots and stem, leaves and blossoms within minutes doesn’t dilute the wonder nor answer all questions. With our technology, we do not have to wait with all the self-discipline that being Christian demands.  In the early years of Christianity, believers expected Jesus’ coming in glory soon.  Two thousand years later, we know that “soon” is a term beyond understanding in the infinite mind of God.

 

Our waiting might be fraught with anxiety, dread, doubt, perhaps even tedium.  We tend to place our hopes in whatever is most comfortable or appealing.  The author of Hebrews tells us confidence and endurance are needed, human emotions that need reinforcing to remain strong.  I’ve often wondered if I would make a good farmer because my nervousness over the uncontrollable weather, commodity prices, and pests would be draining.  Hope does not rest in past performances; hope resides in accepting the mystery that God wants what is best for me and that the Spirit of God bends me toward the good even if hidden.  Jesus doesn’t promise that all good, all compensation will be furnished, nor that all setbacks and brokenness will be healed in my lifetime.  Confidence and endurance are indeed called for. Created in God’s image means anchored – if I accept the mystery – in God’s grace, God’s call, God’s time.

 

 

 

Action

As we wait with confidence and endurance, Jesus tasks us to sow, till, weed, and harvest in our little corner of life with faith, hope and love. Rather than be anxious and drained, we ask for the sure knowledge that Jesus accompanies us on our work of building his Kingdom in an uncertain world. What do you ask of Jesus today in confidence and endurance?