Even the Demons believe, and tremble.

In yesterday's post I talked a little bit about what it means to be in Ordinary time.  I mentioned  Ordinary Time was not a plain, boring time of emptiness just waiting for another Holiday or penitential season to come along. Rather, it is an ordered time, a time in which we bring ourselves into order with God himself through Christ, the fullness of his revelation.   Which means we need to pay particular attention to what the Church is showing us in each of the daily readings, in light of the Sunday Gospels surrounding them.

Tomorrow's reading begins with a typical day in the life of Christ.  It seems rather simple indeed for us who have been hearing about Jesus for the majority of our lives.  When we take a closer look though we see some very interesting things.  Last Sunday we celebrated the Baptism of Jesus Christ.   Mark has this as the focal point, the beginning of Jesus public ministry.  What he was doing before this we can only speculate.  The last time we have heard about him in the Sacred Scriptures he was lost in the temple at the age of twelve.  Now here he is, thirty years old, and beginning to teach publically.

Next Sunday we will see the wedding of Cana.  Another major event, in which we see the first real miracle occur in his ministry, being given at the request of the Virgin Mother, Mary.  In between these we find Mark leading us to a fuller understanding of who Jesus is.   Mark is bringing our time into order, systemically showing us who he believes Jesus to be.  That is the point of his gospel.  As we go through Ordinary time then, we aren't just sitting back and waiting, hearing quaint stories.. we are having an unfolding, an opening of understanding into the Mystery of the Incarnation of Christ.

Today, we see Jesus calling his disciples.  They leave immediately and begin to follow him.  That unveils Jesus as a teacher, as a Rabbi.   He is also apparently very charismatic for someone to give up their livelihood to immediately go and learn at his feet.  Then today we see him entering the synagogue and teaching.  He is also casting out demons.   Both of these are things which were already being done.  Teachers of the Law, both Scribes and Pharisees, already taught in the synagogues.  There were already exorcists in the temple.  There was something different about this Jesus though.  He didn't call on the authority of other teachers or writers, he didn't call on the name of another exorcists, he taught of his own authority and cast out demons of his own power. 

Mark is leading us further into the story.  He is drawing us closer to Easter.  He is saying, This Jesus was something more.   He wasn't your run of the mill Rabbi... rather there was something special.  Something different about him. In fact, in the very exorcism itself we see a name called out.  The demon said, "I know who you are, the Holy One of God."  We are beginning to see Jesus as God's anointed, as the one consecrated to God to lead his people out of bondage of sin and through the desert into the land God has promised.  We see the close of this Gospel showing Jesus fame spreading throughout the surrounding region.  This fame becomes a hindrance later as we see the Pharisees plotting to get rid of him because too many are beginning to follow him.

Isn't that what Epiphany was all about, right?  The revelation of who Jesus Christ is.  Something important to remember is Epiphany sets the tone of our year, it's not just a single event, but a reminder.   It is a reminder.  God has revealed himself fully to mankind through this God-man, Jesus Christ.  We continue to experience and unfolding of this divine manifestation throughout the year, growing ever more in faith, understanding, and hope.   So let's pay attention to the next few weeks, carefully asking ourselves, how does this next reading further reveal God to me?  And, how can that revelation and apply to my own life?

His servant and yours,
Brian

"He must increase, I must decrease."

Who do you say that I am?

Tomorrow is the last Sunday in the liturgical year.  Soon we will begin the season of Advent, leading up to Christmas.  We will begin to think about the ways we can bring Christ into the world, and how we can celebrate his birth from day to day.  This Sunday though, we will be celebrating Jesus Christ as our King, the King of the universe.  I've spent a great deal of time thinking about these readings, and wondering.. what will I write about?  I keep being drawn to a specific phrase: "Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?"

I wonder what I would say if Jesus had said this to me?  Our parents taught us about Jesus first in most cases.  For some though, it was a teacher, a friend, a catechist, a priest.  In every case our faith has been handed on by someone else.  Someone told us about Jesus.  They told us he was the King of the universe.  They told us that we needed him in our lives.  That's a beautiful thing.  That is how the Church has operated since it's foundation in the first century. It can't end there though.

"Do you say this on your own?"  It is so important that we don't just know Jesus intellectually.  We must know him intimately.   He is indeed the King of the Universe.  He is indeed our Master and our Teacher.  He's also our brother and our friend.  We need to learn to know who he is.  Unlike the Blue's Brothers, we don't just want the facts.  We want a relationship.  We need to spend time with Jesus.  In the Sacraments.   In our friends and family.  In the poor. Jesus reminds us in the last part of tomorrow's gospel: "For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.  Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." 

How can we hear God's voice if we don't listen for it?  Society encourages us to fill everything with sound, everything with self.  Portable music devices, internet coverage from seashore to seashore, if you want something there is an app for that.  We can hear the top songs.  Watch the top shows.  Videos from the top Youtubers are that touch of a button. What we need though is to spend some time just listening to Christ.   If we are constantly talking or listening, we never give him room to speak.  That I think is our challenge this day as we wonder if we truly have accepted, honored and realized the truth of what it means for Christ to be our King.

My wife and I just watched the movie Bruce Almighty together, again. Toward the end of the movie Jim Carey drops to his knees in the middle of a highway in a rain storm.   He realizes that he doesn't know how to take care of things.  That even with unlimited power he is just making a mess of things.  He cries out to God and says "I surrender to your will."  Of course, in typical comedic fashion, he is then hit by a truck.  That leads us though to this amazing scene where he finally realizes how much he loves the lady of his life.  So much so that he doesn't pray to get her back, but rather that she will be happy, no matter what that means.

Are you ready for that kind of prayer?  "Lord, I want other people to be happy, no matter what it costs me."  That's what making Jesus the King of our lives is about.  Jesus showed us by example with his Disciples.   He washed their feet.  Then he said, this is what you must do for one another.  Jesus, the King of the entire Universe... humbled himself to serve others.  We as His adopted brothers, as co-heirs to the Kingdom, as Disciples of Christ... we must do the same.

Find some time today to listen to God's voice.  Then, as Mary would tell you, "Do whatever he tells you."  Serve him.  Serve one another.  If every Christian began to do this, we could truly fulfill that first reading in which all peoples, nations, and languages serve him.