On the Question of Authority
Deuteronomy 18:15-20
I Corinthians 7:32-35
Mark 1:21-28
A New Prophet Like Moses
The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet. This is what you requested of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said: "If I hear the voice of the Lord my God any more, or ever again see this great fire, I will die." Then the Lord replied to me: "They are right in what they have said. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command. Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable. But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak that prophet shall die."
I Corinthians 7:32-35
I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin are anxious about the affairs of the Lord, so that they may be holy in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to put any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and unhindered devotion to the Lord.
Mark 1:21-28
The Man with an Unclean Spirit
They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God." But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" And the unclean spirit, throwing him into convulsions and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, "What is this? A new teaching, with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him." At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
The readings today are about authority, where it comes from and who has it.
The Lord says to/through Moses that He will hold accountable the man who does not heed the message that He has given the prophet. In the Gospel passage Jesus teaches with authority and casts out an unclean spirit--exercising/revealing his authority as a prophet.
The psalm response is, If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts -- a not so subliminal encouragement to submission to authority.
The first and last readings are terribly significant for the ecclesial reflection on the existence and use of authority within the community of the faith and I welcome the opportunity to reflect on them in this context.
What I find so puzzling about these choices for today is that sandwiched between these powerful texts that clearly set forth the claims/warrants of high prophetic authority, the Church has chosen to highlight this particular snippet of Paul's teaching on marriage. Paul's attitude in the seventh chapter of this letter to the Corinthians is that it would be best if Christians could remain unmarried so that they can devote all their time to the Lord and the needs of the community of the faith. BUT, he relents, it is better to marry than to burn.
Is Paul's teaching on marriage the most significant of his contributions to the Christian life? Does this particular passage reflect Paul's greatest insight? Remember, the teaching for today is not that it is a good thing to be married, or that husbands and wives have equal responsibilities toward one another, but that Paul feels that Christians should remain unmarried. Is this a teaching to which we should not harden our hearts?
Perhaps we should read Paul through the lens provided by the last sentence from the first reading: But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak, that prophet shall die. Is it possible that Paul, though an Apostle, is not speaking with the authority of God, here? Are we free to say to Paul, Thanks, but no thanks, and yet remain faithful to the Gospel?
The Lord says to/through Moses that He will hold accountable the man who does not heed the message that He has given the prophet. In the Gospel passage Jesus teaches with authority and casts out an unclean spirit--exercising/revealing his authority as a prophet.
The psalm response is, If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts -- a not so subliminal encouragement to submission to authority.
The first and last readings are terribly significant for the ecclesial reflection on the existence and use of authority within the community of the faith and I welcome the opportunity to reflect on them in this context.
What I find so puzzling about these choices for today is that sandwiched between these powerful texts that clearly set forth the claims/warrants of high prophetic authority, the Church has chosen to highlight this particular snippet of Paul's teaching on marriage. Paul's attitude in the seventh chapter of this letter to the Corinthians is that it would be best if Christians could remain unmarried so that they can devote all their time to the Lord and the needs of the community of the faith. BUT, he relents, it is better to marry than to burn.
Is Paul's teaching on marriage the most significant of his contributions to the Christian life? Does this particular passage reflect Paul's greatest insight? Remember, the teaching for today is not that it is a good thing to be married, or that husbands and wives have equal responsibilities toward one another, but that Paul feels that Christians should remain unmarried. Is this a teaching to which we should not harden our hearts?
Perhaps we should read Paul through the lens provided by the last sentence from the first reading: But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak, that prophet shall die. Is it possible that Paul, though an Apostle, is not speaking with the authority of God, here? Are we free to say to Paul, Thanks, but no thanks, and yet remain faithful to the Gospel?
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