{"id":1926,"date":"2018-01-23T17:19:28","date_gmt":"2018-01-23T17:19:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/batkol.info\/?p=1926"},"modified":"2018-01-23T17:19:28","modified_gmt":"2018-01-23T17:19:28","slug":"the-4th-sunday-of-ordinary-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/2018\/01\/23\/the-4th-sunday-of-ordinary-time\/","title":{"rendered":"The 4th Sunday of Ordinary Time"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sunday Gospel and Readings Commentary<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The 4th<\/sup> Sunday of Ordinary Time<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

28th<\/sup> of January, 2018<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Lectionary readings: Dt.18:15-20; Ps. 95:1-2, 6-9; 1Cor.7:32-35; Mark 1:21-28<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Download<\/a><\/p>\n

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I<\/em><\/strong>n today\u2019s Gospel, Mark clearly shows us that Jesus is both teacher and healer. He is the one who nourishes by his word and makes us whole again. The setting is in the synagogue at Capernaum where the people have gathered on Sabbath as a community to worship.<\/p>\n

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While speaking on the scripture, Jesus is interrupted by the shouting of a man who is possessed with an unclean spirit who questioned Jesus, \u201cWhat have you come to do – to destroy us?\u201d (1:24) \u00a0Jesus immediately addressed the inflicted man and rebuked the unclean spirit commanding, \u201cBe silent and come out of him!\u201d (1:25) \u00a0Immediately the unclean spirit left the man. He now stood erect freed from his tormentors. Those attending were astonished as they remarked, \u201cWhat is this? A new teaching \u2013 with authority! He commands the evil spirits, and they obey him.\u201d (1:27)<\/p>\n

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Those in attendance were not only amazed at what they had witnessed but were shocked and \u00a0therefore questioned by what authority does he do this. They had never seen anything like this before. Other teachers had never acted in this way but now Jesus taught with a power that they had never seen.<\/p>\n

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It was not the unclean spirit that troubled the audience for this was a common occurrence in their lives.\u00a0 What disturbed them was the way that Jesus acted. \u00a0He had asserted by his words and actions that he had the authority and the right to act in this manner.<\/p>\n

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The common belief at that time was that a person would become defiled if he\/she had any contact with a person possessed by an unclean spirit. \u201cIn fact, the simple presence of the unclean spirit in the synagogue contaminates the entire synagogue. The scribal advice was avoidance. The people and individuals were holy to the degree they kept distance from what was unholy.\u201d\u00a0 (Shea, 48)<\/p>\n

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Therefore, it was common practice to avoid all contact with a person possessed by an unclean spirit. That person was to be left alone. The unclean spirit knew this and counted on being left alone. That is why the unclean spirits wondered what Jesus would do to them. They realized who Jesus is, the Holy One of God, and they did not think that he would risk defilement.<\/p>\n

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Jesus, however, did not accept this thinking for it is a form of domination of God\u2019s good creation.\u00a0 He silenced this way of reasoning with power and authority and the unclean spirits obeyed. \u00a0\u201cThe higher Spirit of God who descended upon Jesus at his baptism (Mark 1:10) and leads his mission does not allow lesser beings to harm those whom God loves. \u00a0It commands them, \u201cGet out!\u201d And they got out, taking with them all the pain they have caused.\u201d (Shea, 50)<\/p>\n

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In this extremely dramatic scene, Jesus by his actions addressed both the plight of this poor individual and the prevailing understanding of the people. Was avoidance the way to deal with these evil spirits?\u00a0 No, Jesus wanted to convey that no human being needs to be held captive by evil and tormented like this. \u00a0What this man had endured was a very real experience of bondage to the powers that enslaved him and destroyed his ability to be free.<\/p>\n

God\u2019s creation is good and cannot be ruled by evil. Jesus\u2019 inclusive manner has shocked the crowd as well as the unclean spirits! He has come among us to teach that in the all-embracing love of his Father, no one is excluded and barriers are broken. \u201cThe reign of God is the ultimate threat to the reign of evil and this form of the \u201cgood news\u201d has radical implications for every aspect of the Church\u2019s life.\u201d (Farmer, 1406)<\/p>\n

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For Reflection and Discussion: <\/em><\/strong>[1.]<\/strong> How do I face evil in my own life and in our world? \u00a0[2.]<\/strong> If I see creation as a gift of God, how do I appreciate and treat this gift?<\/p>\n

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Bibliography:<\/em><\/strong> \u00a0W.R.Farmer, The International Biblical Commentary, (Collegeville, 1998), <\/em><\/p>\n

John Shea, The Spiritual Wisdom of the Gospels for Christian Preachers and Teachers, (Collegeville, 2005)<\/em><\/p>\n

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This week\u2019s teaching commentary was prepared by<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Rita Kammermayer, nds, BA, B.Ed, Masters of Pastoral Studies, Jerusalem, Israel<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bat Kol alumni 2001<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Email: ritakammermayer@netscape.net<\/a><\/p>\n

[Copyright \u00a9 2018]<\/strong><\/p>\n


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PLEASE NOTE<\/em><\/strong>: The weekly Gospel commentaries represent the research and creative thought of their authors, and are meant to stimulate deeper thinking about the meaning of the Sunday Scriptures. While they draw upon the study methods and sources employed by the Bat Kol Institute, the views and conclusions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bat Kol.\u00a0 Questions, comments and feedback are always welcome.<\/em><\/p>\n

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~~<\/em><\/strong>1983<\/em><\/strong>–2018<\/strong><\/em>~~<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

B<\/em><\/strong>at <\/em><\/strong>K<\/em><\/strong>ol <\/em><\/strong>I<\/em><\/strong>nstitute for Jewish Studies, <\/em><\/strong>J<\/em><\/strong>erusalem<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cChristians Studying the Bible within its Jewish milieu, using Jewish Sources.<\/em>\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Website:<\/em><\/strong> www.batkol.info<\/a>; Administration:<\/em> <\/strong>gill@batkol.info<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Sunday Gospel and Readings Commentary The 4th Sunday of Ordinary Time 28th of January, 2018 Lectionary readings: Dt.18:15-20; Ps. 95:1-2, 6-9; 1Cor.7:32-35; Mark 1:21-28 \u00a0 Download \u00a0 In today\u2019s Gospel, Mark clearly shows us that Jesus is both teacher and healer. He is the one who nourishes by his word and makes us whole again.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":1915,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1926"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1926\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}