FIRST READING (I will raise up a prophet and I will put my words into his mouth.)

A reading from the Book of Deuteronomy (18:15-20)

Moses spoke to all the people, saying: “A prophet like me will the Lord, your God, raise up for you from among your own kin; to him you shall listen. This is exactly what you requested of the Lord, your God, at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let us not again hear the voice of the Lord, our God, nor see this great fi re any more, lest we die.’ And the Lord said to me, ‘This was well said. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kin, and will put my words into his mouth; he shall tell them all that I command him.’ Whoever will not listen to my words which he speaks in my name, I myself will make him answer for it. But if a prophet presumes to speak in my name an oracle that I have not commanded him to speak, or speaks in the name of other gods, he shall die.” —The Word of the Lord.

R. Thanks be to God.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9)

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. (Ps 95:8)

Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord; let us acclaim the rock of our salvation. Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us joyfully sing psalms to him. (R)

Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the Lord who made us. For he is our God, and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides. (R)

Oh, that today you would hear his voice: “Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the desert, where your fathers tempted me; they tested me though they had seen my works.” (R)

SECOND READING (A virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy.)

A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (7:32-35)

Brothers and sisters: I should like you to be free of anxieties. An unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. But a married man is anxious about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and he is divided. An unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy in both body and spirit. A married woman, on the other hand, is anxious about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. I am telling you this for your own benefit, not to impose a restraint upon you, but for the sake of propriety and adherence to the Lord without distraction. —The Word of the Lord.

R. Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (Mt 4:16)

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light; on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death, light has arisen. (R)

GOSPEL (He taught them as one having authority.)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (1:21-28)

Jesus and his disciples came to Capernaum, and on the sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; 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!” Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!” The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him. All were amazed and asked one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.” His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee. —The Gospel of the Lord.

R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” 

Whenever nature shows its real power through sudden typhoons, tsunamis, snow, ice and strong wind or a pandemic of epic proportions, we realize just how powerless we are. The elemental power of nature can easily disable our technology, disrupt the schedules we have, and wipe out the systems we have created for protection, and throw everything into chaos. We’d like to think WE are in control. But standing before such forces of nature, we clearly are not in control – a lesson we have especially learned in this last year.

Such thoughts can give us an insight into the heart and mind of the man we just heard about in today’s Gospel. Most of us can only barely imagine what his life was like, to live with a demon within you, ruling your life, destroying everything you hold dear. It is like a serious addiction to drugs or alcohol,  bad habits, gambling or abusive and destructive behavior. You try to fight these problems, but without any real success. You lack the inner strength to transform your mind and heart. You wake each morning and look around to the damage created the day before – a battlefield strewn with arguments, fights, shouting, despair, broken objects – broken lives. Each morning this possessed man in the Gospel thought that the new day would be different, but it wasn’t. The demon controlled him and controlled his actions. Just like an addiction controls the addict and his actions, or a pandemic attacks without warning and upturns our life. He had his demons… we have ours…

In the Gospel, the possessed man came to the synagogue and he met the power of Jesus. He did not come to seek ideas. He was in need of grace and the power of God to set him free. Jesus looked at the man and addressing the demon said, “Quiet! Come out of him!” And he was finally set free. 

There are many forces and demons in our own life – forces of evil outside and around us, and forces of evil inside of us that can – and often do – control our life. Sometimes, we think that if we just have the right ideas, read a little bit more, or get more self-help information we can somehow think ourselves into spiritual freedom, when what we really need is the power and grace of God! And God can help. 

I am sure many of you have heard of the psychiatrist and psychotherapist, Sigmund Freud, the great explorer of the unconscious. He worked to develop methods to free people from all those dark desires and urges that controlled their conscious life. But did you know that Freud was a great cigar smoker too, and he died from throat cancer caused by his smoking. Here was a man who had all of this theoretical knowledge about the unconscious and he was well aware that smoking caused cancer, yet… he couldn’t stop. He had the knowledge but not the power.

There are demons that take control of our life such as anger, hate, prejudice, greed, vengeance, gluttony, and lust. These are all powers that can destroy our life and rob us of the freedom, as well as ruining the dignity and the purpose that God has for each of us. They are like a sudden surging uncontrollable storm that rises up. As the storm wreaks havoc around us, we are at its mercy. But then, suddenly, comes that moment when the sun breaks out and begins to shine. The storm is over. Slowly, calm and peace return.

That is like the power of Jesus Christ in our life. Just as the storms give way to the warmth and calm of the sun, so too the powers that seem to dominate our life can recede before the power of the Risen Lord. Jesus can do for us what he did for the man in the Gospel that day in the synagogue. Jesus spoke with an authority beyond books and learning. He spoke with the authority of God, and that unclean spirit left the men.

Today, many want freedom from the powers that dominate their life. So often, they turn to superstition, to psychics, to charms, to chain letters – to things we may have thought were from the past but are still very much with us today.

As Christians we need to avoid superstitions, even those that are done with humor – because what starts with humor can become very serious. Jesus liberated the man possessed just as he came to free all of us from the forces of evil – the ones outside of us and those from within – so that we can all live in the dignity and freedom of people of God. We need to avoid anything that diminishes, dilutes, divides, weakens or fragments the most precious gift we have – our FAITH, our TRUST in Jesus Christ. Whatever the forces we battle, we know that One stronger than they is among us. 

There are many things around us that promise us liberation but end up making us slaves or addicts. The power and authority of Jesus Christ is the only power on earth that does not dominate us but truly sets us free. 

That day in the synagogue in Capernaum, Jesus freed a man whose name we don’t even know from a demon that controlled his life. That event can bring hope to us. 

Whatever the demons in our life, demons from the past, demons from the present, what Jesus did for that man in the synagogue He and do for us. There have always been those who claim to have the remedy for our ills. Preachers and Televangelists have stirred up crowds and ignited emotions. Promises of healing have been made, yet the inner conflict that we suffer goes on and the demons continue to hold us by the throat. But then, a voice is heard in the midst of the chaos of our lives, in the rubble of our despair and broken resolve. This voice rings out with authority! “Be quiet! Come out!” As our psalms reminded us, “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” 

Prayers

Celebrant:  Through the Gospel, Christ speaks to us with words of eternal authority and deeds of healing power. Through Him , let us pray with confidence.

READER: That the grace of Christ will free the Church from all division and disunity, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: That the peace of Christ will free all people from feelings of hatred and violence, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: That the courage of Christ will free the sick and dying from their fears, as they hope only in the Lord, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: That the power of Christ will free us from the spirit of pride, anger and apathy, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For our dear ones who have passed away, that they may receive their heavenly reward, where Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Majesty of the Father, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

CELEBRANT: Father all-powerful, we place before you our needs, and pray confidently for your help and mercy, through Christ, our Lord. (all) AMEN.