As we hear how Jesus speaks with authority to the crowds in today's Gospel, Jesus exemplifies his identity as the Son of the Father, as the word of God made flesh. Jesus was even able to command the demons to obey him - the people wondered who could do such a thing. This Gospel reading prompts us to ask ourselves if we approach the word of God and the teachings of Jesus with the same zeal and eagerness as the man with the unclean spirit who cried out to Jesus, respectful of Jesus' authority. If we approach God’s word and God’s authority with eagerness and enthusiasm, we are in a much better position to learn what God has to teach us in his sacred word.
The word of God inspired so many of the missionaries of our Church to spread this word throughout the world. Today is the feast day of St Arnold Jansen, a parish priest from Germany who endured the persecutions of the Catholic Church under Otto von Bismarck, the leader of that country in the later part of the 19th century. Jansen fled to the Netherlands, where he proposed sending German priests all over the world as missionaries. This eventually led to the founding of a new religious order of Missionaries: the Society of the Divine Word. This order of priests was approved by the Vatican in 1901. Shortly thereafter, Divine Word missionaries came to the United States, where they founded many parishes serving the African American community in our state of Mississippi. I was a member of one of the parishes that they founded in the early twentieth century - Sacred Heart in Greenville, where my vocation to the priesthood was nourished. The example of the Divine Word missionaries shows us that in the face persecution, we can find ways to spread God’s word and keep it alive and vital.
May the enthusiasm and zeal of St Arnold Jansen and the other missionaries of our faith help serve as an inspiration to us all. May God’s word continue to inspire us and motivate us in our lives.
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