Reflection - Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Mark 1:21-28

       This is the third Sunday in January in which we have heard readings from the first chapter of Mark’s  Gospel.  Earlier in the month, we heard of Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River with John the Baptist.  We heard last Sunday of Jesus calling four fishermen to become his disciples at the shore of the Sea of Galilee.  Today, we hear of Jesus’ visit to the village of Capernaum on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.  Today's Gospel gives us a glimpse into Jesus’ everyday life at the start of his public ministry, with the public being astonished at the authority of his teaching and with his healing of a man possessed by an unclean spirit. 

      Jesus visits the synagogue in Capernaum.  We hear a lot about the Temple in Jerusalem in connection with Jesus, but perhaps we don’t give much attention to his visits to the synagogue.  In Jesus’ day, the synagogue was a place of Scripture and prayer.  Sacrifices were not made by the priests in the synagogues; that was reserved for the Temple in Jerusalem.  Most Jesus seldom went to the Temple, for it was far away from the villages where they lived.  Most just went the Temple once or twice a year, usually for major celebrations.  On the Jewish Sabbath, they went to the local synagogue.  Usually, readings from Sacred Scripture and preaching were a part of the synagogue services.  There were no formal clergy or priests in the synagogue, so someone like Jesus could be invited to get up in the synagogue to preach.  As soon as Jesus starts preaching, the people sense that they are seeing something very special.  

     We come to our parishes for Mass and for other occasions.  With Lent starting soon and with our new outdoor stations of the cross being installed, hopefully families and groups will be able to come onto our parish campus to pray the stations of the cross during Lent.  It has seemed strange not having the different groups meeting on campus during the pandemic.  Hopefully, in the next few months, with the vaccines rolling out, we will be able to start coming onto our parish campus more with different activities and meetings.  Until then, our virtual world is still going to be a place we can meet.  

     As we hear about a day in Jesus’ life and ministry in our Gospel today, perhaps it gives us an opportunity to look at the way we live out our faith in our daily lives, how we participate and engage in our parish community.