Readings: Deuteronomy 18, 15-20, A prophet like me will the Lord raise up for you; Psalm 95, If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts; 1 Corinthians 7, 32-35, A married man is anxious about the things of the world (what a reading!); Mark 1,21-28, Quiet, come out of him.
Before the gospel acclamation, Mike Carrell
I have shared with you before that the inspired writers of each gospel begin their gospel with a summary of what they will be presenting, and that each gospel is written as a string of teachings, where each teaching builds on the one before it and therefore prepares for the one after it.
So, before the words of the gospel are proclaimed today, I want to very briefly frame what you are about to hear, so that you will be able to better understand today’s teaching.
The first teaching from Mark begins, ‘The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God as it was written in the prophet Isaiah, perceive’. In other words, we are to understand that the Mark gospel fulfills the expectation of the coming of the Messiah from the written words of the prophet Isaiah that the writers then begin to present. The good news, the gospel, means, God’s gift to us of salvation, redemption, through his Son, the Lamb of God, who forgives us of our sins.
This first teaching, after we find out how this will happen, ends with the exhortation, ‘The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand, repent, and believe in the good news.’ Make a pathway to your heart and welcome the Messiah there!
The Mark gospel’s third teaching, the one after today’s reading, begins on the evening of the first day of Jesus’ public ministry. Very briefly Christ’s words cleanse a leper, who has come to Jesus saying, ‘If you choose, you can make me clean.’ After cleaning him, Jesus sends him to the priests to give the required offering for having had his sins forgiven, that of an unblemished lamb.
For the words of Christ, the unblemished Lamb of God, fulfill the expectation given in the written Mosaic Law for the forgiveness of sin, that of an unblemished lamb! The word leper, then, is an outward presence, a karma, of the man’s inner spiritual journey, in Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and in Christianity.
(Recall that the gospels tell us that we are known by our fruit, and that the apostle Paul gives us a long list of the fruits of the Spirit when a man’s inner journey is in and with Christ.) So, the man’s outward sign, presence, showed him to be in serious sin prior to having been made clean.
Reading: Mark 1:16-31
Homily: Today’s reading must build on the first teaching that our salvation comes to us through the words of Christ, the Lamb of God and prepares us for the third teaching that they fulfill the expectation of his coming within the written Mosaic Law as the unblemished Lamb of God who takes away the sins of humankind.
In my last homily, I presented to you what it means to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. The words of Christ are living waters. When we welcome and live them, the Holy Spirit abides with us—fills our hearts. By the power, authority, of the Holy Spirit, Christ, the light of the world, is alive to us in our hearts. Light and darkness cannot coexist! The Holy Spirit and an unclean spirit cannot coexist!
When we accept the words of Christ, the unclean spirit, the demon, the leprosy, the fever, is therefore cast out by the power and with the authority of the Spirit that abides in our heart. This is the meaning of today’s reading. What does Peter’s mother-in-law immediately do after her fever has been cast out? We are told that she begins to serve those around her. The meaning of this particular Greek word, serve, is to minister. It is the word that the Church uses today to describe the office of deacon.
So much then for those who say that a woman cannot be a minister in the Church! Since we are taught in the gospels that Jesus has come not to save the righteousness but rather to save the sinner, we know why today’s reading begins with the call of Peter, Andrew, James and John. They must have been well known as sinners before they were chosen by Jesus to lay down their old nets used to catch fish and take up a new net formed by the four strings of teachings of Christ’s words to catch people.
Take a moment to think about the most difficult situation that you found yourself in during the past week. We are known by our fruit, the outward presence we show to others. Each of us has been given the power and authority to make Christ present in the world.
Picture 1: Georgie
Picture 2: The Offertory – Bobby, Mike and Debbie
Picture 3: Leo and Ray
Picture 4: The Pastry Shop – Claire, Kayla, Gilberto and Zoe
Picture 5: Michelle and Ryan
Picture 6: The Census Takers Group 1 – Tom, Bill, Greg, John and Jean
Picture 7: The Census Takers Group 2 - Mary Ellen, Doug, Grace, Rosemary and John