4th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2012

It's Sunday!



January 29 - 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time


Today's Readings make two points: a) the completely new teaching of Christ, authoritative, independent of the teaching of other Rabbis, and b) the Lord's impressive powers. Strangely enough, the people in the synagogue list first what Jesus says and only later what he does. We would have expected the opposite.


The First Reading has the same emphasis. It is from Deuteronomy, the Old Testament summary of the final words and directions of Moses addressed to the Israelites who have survived the forty years' wandering in the desert wilderness. The reference to the future prophet - Christ - gives us the usual parallel between this Reading and the Gospel. There will be false prophets also and the task for the people down the centuries will be to sift the wheat from the chaff.


The point of the Responsorial Psalm is found partly in the cry of joy and confidence in God's protection, but equally in the important repetition: "If today you would listen to his voice,harden not your hearts." What are we to make of this sensible appeal in a day and age when vast numbers of Catholics have ignored the voice of God sounding in the Church and, after selling their souls to material prosperity, are suddenly left high and dry? There was a time when material suffering drove people back to religion. Is that happening now? A very important prayer intention is for the huge numbers dying every day in dubious moral circumstances.


What has the Second Reading has to do with today's general theme? Well, your guess is as good as mine and all we can say is that St. Paul's view of marriage must not be judged on this somewhat negative extract - in the Letter to the Ephesians he is much more positive and the two quotations taken together give the sort of balanced picture we might expect from our holy Patron. The Reading, however, raises another point: has it been worthwhile to add something from St. Paul each Sunday just so as to make his immortal writing more familiar to the average Catholic? Well, what do YOU think?


Finally the Gospel, highlighting one more dramatic incident from the Master's life. In this case, as we just mentioned, the people get the right message: both action and word speak of the authority of Jesus. He has something new to say and he confirms it with impressive displays of power. The Lord is not satisfied with words he himself could have learned in one of the many Rabbinical schools but is his own authority. He does not merely repeat the provisions of he Law which were so beloved of the religious leaders but gives his own version of what his Father wants. This pattern of word and action has come down to us and is repeated in the administration of the Sacraments and in the celebration of the Eucharist: the simplest of materials - bread, wine, water, oil - linked to the power of God and the word of the minister, enliven our lives and enable us to continue our frequently stumbling journey to the blessed situation where we will no longer need either.


~ February 2012 Concord