The Power of God's Word ~ by Phyllis Booth

St. Elizabeth welcomed Fr. Francois Babulu, Parochial Vicar at St. John's, as the first homilist to help the parish celebrate Black History Month.

Mark's Gospel depicted Jesus as transforming the world of that day. While teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum, Jesus spoke with authority. The gospel indicated the power of the "words" of God. Jesus spoke against the current tradition that denied the rights of women, slaves, children and Gentiles. These "words" exposed the status quo.

The power of the words aroused the unclean spirit in a man to speak to Jesus. The unclean spirit questioned Jesus' authority, why Jesus was there, what he wanted; and he stated that he knew who Jesus really was. Jesus replied calmly to the unclean spirit to come out quietly. The unclean spirit obeyed His authority immediately. The people were in awe of what was happening. Jesus' scripture reading revealed the truth of God's love and what God wanted the culture of the people to become; because God had created them, loved them and respected them.

The people of that era wanted Jesus to be their King. Jesus' desire was to be a spiritual leader not a political leader. Jesus' desire was to teach the people about the things in their lives that would last forever, especially that the soul was immortal. He wanted them to understand they were on earth for a short time, to love one another and to let the Spirit of God lead them to eternal life while on earth.

Fr. Babulu concluded the homily by stating that the authority of God has been passed down to us through the apostolic teachings of the church. We are imbued with the authority the Holy Spirit gave to the Apostles. We can use the words of scripture with authority to cure, heal and convert others to the Faith by imitating Jesus who brings dignity to all, wants all to be well and healthy and to live our lives with love and peace.


~ Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~

Photograph from homiliesfromaustralia.blogspot.com