THE NEED OF A NEW TEACHING

Reflection from Dt 18: 15-20; 1Cor 7: 32-35; Mk 1: 21-28

These readings are an invitation to all of us to welcome the teaching of the Word of God which has the power of transforming the life of the people, giving them support in order to be messengers of a new time. According to the First Reading, the prophet is a person called from among the people in order to speak to them only what God asks him to speak. The inspiration of God, together with the availability of the prophet, made great difference in the life of the people of Israel, leading them to experience a new life. Saint Paul praises the person who dedicates himself/herself to the service of the Lord and motivates all members of the community to continue serving in total surrender without reservation.

Jesus starts his public mission announcing the Kingdom of God and inviting to the conversion. Like this he called the first disciples, according to our meditated last week. Jesus invites his disciples to stay with him and teaches them through the experience of life. The majority part of the miracles which he performs, he does it in the presence of his disciples. Since the beginning, his disciples have been invited to participate in his mission and to share his feelings in relating to the reality of the people, especially the poor ones. Jesus liked to visit and teach in the synagogues because in that places the people usually gathered together to listen to the Word of God and accept his will. This was also a good opportunity to teach his disciples, helping the people to open the hearts to the appeals of God.

The authority given to Jesus by the Father directly shows the superiority of his teaching before the scribe style. Little by little the people were understanding that this person Jesus, who spoke with love and authenticity, were the messenger of God.  His words are full of life and lead to the conversion. His way of speaking bore in the heart the passion for the Kingdom. As messenger of God, he is the unique with authority to teach the people. The ones who have the task to lead the people, must listen to his voice. Even the evil spirits recognise the identity and authority of Jesus, but don’t share his commitment with the sake of the humanity.  For that, Jesus doesn’t dialogue with them; he simply gives order, imposing silence to them. These evil spirits are symbol of the forces opposed to God's plan, paralyzing the people and preventing them to exercise their capabilities in full way. Before these forces, Jesus imposes authority and acts as Liberator.

The presence of Jesus among the human beings inaugurates a new time: the time of God's salvation. The salvation communicated through the mouth of Jesus is accompanied by the concretes gestures of liberation. According to the action of Jesus, the strength of the Word of God does not come from human interpretation, but from divine inspiration. For that his teaching is considered very new. But it is not enough to recognise the identity of Jesus as Messiah of God, because even the evil spirits do that. It is necessary accept his proposal of conversion, letting his power removing the shackles which prevent us to perform good relationship with God and with others. The resistance against Jesus is opposition to the realization of the kingdom. In this case, we act as adversaries of God, unable to follow faithfully the footsteps of his Son who, when proclaims the good news of the kingdom asks for free and total membership of each person. For us, the search of this kingdom should be a priority, because on it lays the meaning of our life and mission.

The message of this gospel is a proposal of a new discipleship. It is a invitation to us to review our capacity of surrender to the one who has called us and wants we should be his messengers. Identifying himself with those who follow him, Jesus continues opposing himself to any force or mentality that oppresses people’s lives. In other words, through our actions, the liberators gestures of Christ still happen in the lives of many people. From him we received the authority to be authentic people in order to speak the truth. The sure that Jesus accompanies us in our journey motivates us to fight against all evil and sin which prevent us to serve God with generosity and gratuity. May his grace help us to perform this purpose.

Fr. Ndega