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Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time 1 st February 2009
Moses is a central figure for the Chosen People. He is the one who will not just speak to them about what God wants but will show them. He is ready to carry the tablets of the Commandments down from the mountain. He is ready to tell them what God has told him when he and God met and talked as a man talks to his friend. But Moses will best be remembered because he led the people out of slavery and toward the Promised Land. He walked the walk as well as talking the talk.
When Moses was aware that his death was not far off he began to talk to the people about the future and what was going to happen. He would die and be gathered up into the company of God. But Moses wanted them to know that God would not abandon them because, ‘I will raise up a prophet like yourself for them from their own brothers; I will put my word into his mouth and he shall tell them all I command him.’ (1 st Reading Deut 18:18)
When Jesus came and began to minister it became clear that He was this prophet. He went into the synagogue at Capernaum on a Sabbath day and began to teach. Well, the teaching of Jesus made a deep impression on his hearers. They compared His way of teaching with that of their own Scribes. The Scribes were afraid of breaking some regulation of the Law and so they were teachers of detail to be observed. Jesus taught with words that came from His heart. He had come from God and would spend nights in deep prayer with His Father. When Jesus began to speak there was no worry about the external details of the Law. He spoke of the love and compassion of His Father for His children. This came across as teaching with authority.
Authority doesn’t always have a good name in our world. There are protests, strikes, demonstrations and such activities to remind those in authority that the people governed also have a voice and a view. This is where Jesus was so different in that His authority came from speaking the truth in love. Jesus was not going to get upset about the finer point of law and condemn people for non-observance. There is for Jesus only one law; that is the law of Love – love of God and of neighbour.
We all live under authorities of many sorts in the State and in the Church. Perhaps what we are missing among us are prophets who witness to God’s words and commands. To be a prophet is a most demanding vocation. Most prophets are killed and very few die in their beds! Because to be a prophet you have to speak for God in season and out of season and the one certainty you have is that you will not make many friends especially among earthly authorities. To stand up for God and His ways will cost dearly.
The need for prophets in the 21 st century is as great as it was in the days of Moses and since then. Maybe we are not aware of the fact that we too are on an Exodus journey from slavery towards the freedom of the Kingdom of God. Many of us were blessed with parents who gave us a good start and teachers who formed us in the ways of faith and good living. Along the way we may have been fortunate to meet a priest who pointed out the way forward for us. There may have been a loyal friend who stood by us in good times and when the going was tough. They would probably blush if I was to say they are the prophets spoken about in today’s Mass. But they are!
Aidan Troy, C.P. (Aodhán Ó Troighthigh, C.P.)
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