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In our Gospel today the people are amazed at Jesus and say: “A
new teaching with authority.” They say this because not only
does Jesus teach, his actions reinforce His teachings. In this
Gospel Jesus has the power (or authority) to cast out a demon
from a man.
Our Church also teaches with authority. This authority (or
power) is given the Church through Jesus when He said to Peter:
“Upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the
netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the
keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall
be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth will be
loosed in heaven. (Matthew 16:18-19).
One of the powerful teachings of Jesus and of our Church is that
of respecting life. We should always choose life. It is
written in the book of Deuteronomy: “I (God) set before you life
and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that
you and your descendants may live” (Deut. 30:19).
Our country and world seem to be moving in a direction away from
life. All the more reason why we must stay focused on our
commission to choose life. In the First Reading today Moses
tells the people that God will raise up a special prophet, one
who will speak the words of God. That reading was fulfilled in
Jesus who taught with authority and spoke the word of God. That
reading continues to be fulfilled through the Church, as she
teaches with authority and reminds us to choose life. That
reading should also be fulfilled through each of us, who need to
be today’s prophets who challenge others and our society to
choose life.
Our world and nation is complex. We will likely never have a
national leader who will adhere to everything our Church
teaches. That is why it is vital that we stand together as the
Church, and always, always choose life. May our common witness
teach others with the power and authority of God. |
