January 2021

It’s the sabbath day; in the local synagogue Jesus is invited to preach. The people are deeply impressed. In their astonishment, they ask each other what it can all mean. Jesus is a prophet like no other; His teaching is teaching with a difference: for He teaches with authority. Other religious leaders simply pass on what they’ve learned from others, but Jesus’ teaching seems to well up from within himself. And He displays this authority not only in His words but also in His actions. It’s been said that in St. Mark’s Gospel Jesus does not merely appear on the scene, He explodes onto it. His appearance is dramatic. Who can ignore a man like this? Indeed, who is He? Where does His power come from? 

So Mark’s Gospel isn’t only a drama: it’s a challenge. What do I make of Jesus Christ? Who is He for me? Who is He, not just in theory but in practice; not just on Sundays but in the living of my daily life? And what about evil spirits? Did Jesus come to conquer them? In our modern, scientific world, we perhaps smile a little at the very mention of such beings. We might ask what drives human beings to do these things as: wars, crimes, destroying history, terrorism?! If today’s Gospel highlights the authority of Christ’s teaching, it is perhaps not surprising that the responsorial psalm should urge us to “listen to His voice! Harden not your hearts.” And if we listen, what shall we hear? Many things, but it will all come down to this: your God loves you, you are God’s child; God has prepared a place for you in God’s kingdom. Do not be afraid, God can conquer every evil that threatens your happiness. Live for God and for your sisters and brothers. When the people in the synagogue heard Jesus preach, they said: “Here is a teaching that is new.” And when we truly listen to Him – not merely with our ears but our hearts – then His teaching is always new, always carrying an appeal and a freshness, as though we were hearing it for the first time. It is always Gospel, always good news.

The word “Gospel” means good news, and St Mark’s intention behind his Gospel is to persuade his listeners and readers that, despite the persecution they were undergoing, it really was “good news.” He does this by showing Jesus in action. There are far fewer of the teachings of Jesus in St Mark’s Gospel than in the other Gospels. He talks about Jesus teaching but, apart from the parables, the Jesus we encounter is the person who heals and nourishes and calls people to follow Him. The kingdom is Mark’s description of the presence of God, brought about through and in the person of Jesus, and it is the person of Jesus who is the good news. Simon and Andrew, James and John are going about their daily activities, fishing and preparing to fish. With his joke about now being made “fishers of men” rather than of fish, Jesus calls them and, immediately, they follow Him. There is no debate or discussion, seemingly not even farewells. The meeting with Jesus is sufficient for them to get up and go.

We are all at different stages of our lives. Probably few of us are at the point where we are looking for what is missing in our lives. Some of us may, like the people of Nineveh in the first reading, have become stuck in a rut that we would like to change but lack the willpower or conviction. Others of us may, like the apostles, be happily dealing with our daily lives without giving too much thought to what Christ might be asking of us over and above that. Others may have experienced that change that comes about through the encounter with Christ and are trying to tread a path that expresses that deeper commitment. At the start of a New Year, at the start of a reading once again of a different Gospel, it is a good time to renew our awareness of what our belief in Christ means. As with the experience of the apostles, it is not so much a question of reflecting on ourselves but asking what we think Christ is asking of us. Who is this person who wanders into our lives and asks us to follow Him? And can we get up and follow Him, even though we don’t know where He is leading us? During this year St. Mark’s Gospel will help us to discern that path.