“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” We prayed this refrain in our psalm this morning just a little while ago, but what meaning does this have for us? We can open our hearts to God’s voice and allow it to lead us and guide us in life. Or, to the contrary, we can close our hearts to God’s voice and not listen to what it is saying. Indeed, it may be a challenge for us to distinguish God’s voice from all the noise and busyness and other distractions that are calling out to us and filling up our days.
So, who do we see as the authority in our lives? That is a good question today, since today’s readings all deal with the theme of authority. When the crowds heard Jesus teaching in the synagogue, when they saw him draw a demon out of a man at his command, they recognized that Jesus was not just one of the common scribes in ancient Israel, but that he was a man that had an authority they had never seen before. And if we are like these crowds, if we do indeed recognize that Jesus has authority - a very special, unique authority - how do we allow that authority to interact in our lives? This authority has to be more than a whim, more than a craving or an impetuous impulse. That authority has to be foundational as to how we truly live. It is good for us to have a passion in life, something we enjoy doing that brings us joy. A lot of us here really love to do things such as hunting, reading or gardening, exercising or following our favorite sports team. Those things may be indeed very important parts of our lives and our identities, but we can’t give those activities priority in our lives over God, we can’t make them our idols.
Allowing our faith to have authority in our lives is sometimes easier said that done. Unfortunately, I think many Americans take a negative view of authority of any kind, but nevertheless, authority is an important part of all of our lives. If we are faithful to our Catholic faith, we recognize the authority of the Church in our lives. Within the Church, there are several sources of this authority. We not only have the authority of Sacred Scripture and Tradition, but also the teachings of the Magisterium of the Church, comprised of the pope and the college of bishops. And as I priest, I take this authority seriously, just as all of us as Catholics should. When I meeting with someone as a priest, when I up here preaching or celebrating mass, I am not just Lincoln, but rather a priest who is representing the Church, who is teaching and preaching and standing up for what our faith believes.
Many of Jesus’ contemporaries had a difficult time accepting his authority. They did not deny his mighty deeds of power, such as the healing of the man possessed by an unclean spirit in today's Gospel. The crowds were troubled by the source of Jesus' authority. What authority could Jesus have, this humble carpenter from Nazareth? Is he acting by an authority from God, or is it from the world of the other, from the lesser gods and spirits? Through Jesus' healing & teaching at the synagogue at Capernaum, through the manner in which he acts honorably & not shamefully, the people start spreading Jesus' upright reputation throughout the region of Galilee.
As modern Americans, most of us believe we have much greater power over our lives in comparison to those in the ancient world who believed in spirits. Yet, are we really giving God, the Church, and our faith authority in our lives? Or, are we letting an improperly formed conscience and the voices of the false prophets in our secular society control what we believe as a part of our Catholic faith?
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