Alberic Jacovone OSB
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YEAR B
FOURTH SUNDAY - 29.1.06
Dt 18,15-20; 1 Cor 7,32-35; Mk 1,21-28
Mark is written for Catechists
An
abrupt concentric style. Let’s
enjoy Mark’s Gospel this year: shortest of 4 Gospels but by no means one to be
put aside. Indeed, it’s closest to the historical Jesus & all other
writers have drawn from him. Mark writes about Jesus using a net-work of
concentric phrases, stories & overall message. As a book writing about what
actually happened to Jesus, all seems to be extraordinarily abrupt. As each story unfolds, one joins the other with the adverb:
“Immediately (after that)”. If we try to soften the abruptness by excusing
Mark who after all shows a 4th grade level of education, when it comes to his
use of the Greek language, & if we presuppose that there must have been many
other ‘in between’ words & deeds that Jesus did & the disciples
witnessed..., we miss the point that Mark is making. Mark is only interested in
teaching us the ‘truth for the sake of our salvation’. To do that, he uses a
logic of concentric points, which can be adopted by every teacher &
catechist, in handing down our faith to the coming generation. This logic stems
from a number of points: from the
start, Jesus gathered disciples who joined him, learned at his school, were with
him at each step of his saving mission. Jesus
is Son of God, teacher & saviour of all nations: from the start his person
radiated outstanding authority. Because
of it, the disciples listened to his call, left everything & followed Him.
What Mark taught at his time in Rome, when Christians were persecuted, holds
true for us now -as we read Mark’s Gospel-. Even today Jesus calls ordinary
people - just as we are at our daily work, asking us to follow Him, so we too
can be ‘fishers of men’, if we choose to live in a personal relationship
with Him, and with Him proclaim the “Good News” to everyone
Mark’s
teaching skills.
As schools resume for 2006, it’s appropriate to present Mark’s Gospel as a
list of catechetical lessons. Consider last Sunday’s lesson: Jesus called his 1st disciples, & they instantly &
powerfully left everything & followed Him. Examine now Mark’s teaching
strategy: A) Jesus moves towards the disciples - B) These were ordinary people
at their daily work - C) Jesus called them - B) they instantly left work & family - A) And moved
along with Jesus. The lesson is : Yes, even now Jesus is moving towards us -
just as we are at our ordinary work - he calls us... - let’s be
ready... in spite of our work & family - let’s move towards Jesus &
follow him. In Mark’s strategy: the third statement is all important: around
it hinge the other 4 statements (1&5, 2&4). Let’s now look at this
Sunday’s lesson: In his person, words & deeds, Jesus displays the
authority of God himself. This time the story is told in seven parts, with the
centre part as the key phrase on which hinge the six other segments, each
balancing their corresponding segment (1&7, 2&6, 3&5 with 4 at the
centre). We start: Jesus entered the town & immediately on the Sabbath he
entered the Synagogue & taught there - the people were astounded, for he
taught as one with outstanding authority - And immediately there was right there
in the Synagogue a man with an evil spirit, who cried out: “what do you want
of us, o Holy One of God?” - Jesus rebuked him & with authority shouted:
be muzzled & come out - Now the
cry-out of the evil spirit matches the cry-out of the man as he is convulsed
& the spirit comes out - Now the people again were astounded and kept asking
one another: what is this teaching & this authority all about?... even oven
evil spirits obey? - And immediately his fame spread out of town everywhere.
Lesson: How are we letting Jesus:
be with us, overcome evil in us & speak with authority in us?
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