All of you
who are parents, or grandparents, or aunts, or uncles or anyone else
who has had young children around know that kids love to ask
questions. These questions can be under a great variety of topics
and interests, varying from the mundane of where is my favorite toy,
to the scientific of why the sky is blue, to the down right
theological of who is God?” However, in my humble opinion, the
hardest type of question that I have heard uttered is when a child
decides complain about or challenge what a parent or responsible
adult has said. This complaint often includes the infamous words:
“Why do I have to…?” or “Why can't I...?” Maybe they don't
want to go to bed just yet or they're not ready to stop doing
whatever it is they're doing. I have been caught in such a barrage
of questions like this with my two nieces. I have to admit that I
have from time to time uttered the words that probably have come to
many an adult: “Because I said so!” My mom once explained to me
that when my sister and I were children, she tried to avoid giving
such answers to our questions, even if they were annoying. She
thought it was more important to actually explain why we had to do
this or that or why things were the way they were. I have the
greatest gratitude to my mother for being so honest with me, when I'm
sure it would have been very easy for her to say “Because I said
so” or “because I know what's best for you”. The truth of the
matter is, the parent or guardian or adult is in charge of the safety
and wellbeing of the child.
A child is
expected to listen to and respect the authority of the parent or
adult who is in charge of them. In much the same way we are expected
to respect the authority of our bosses and government officials and
others appointed to lead us, as well as policemen and others assigned
to protect us. Unless we are being ordered to do something that
would be against our morals or the Natural Law of God, we are
expected to listen to and obey the authority of our leaders. As
Jesus tells us, “Give unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar”.
We are also
meant to listen to and obey Our Father in Heaven. Now, at first
glance that might seem like a no-brainer: why wouldn't we want to
listen and obey the Creator and Lord of all? Yes, we want to follow
what God tells us, yes we know God knows best, and yes we know that
it is best if we follow the path that God has laid out for us.
However, in real life, we don't always do what we know is best.
Thus, temptations come along and we fall into sin, doing what God
precisely told us not to do.
To help us
work on listening and heading the word of God, God gives us
throughout Sacred Scripture little reminders here and there of the
authority of God's word. We so rarely look at the Psalm at a Mass,
but I want to take some time to look at it right now. The Psalm is
from Psalm 95; the refrain is a variation of verse 8:
“If today
you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” The main body of the
Psalm speaks about how we are to sing and worship the Lord with great
joy. In the third stanza we are reminded to hear the voice of God.
We are also given a stern warning: “Harden not your
hearts as at Meribah.” This is referring to an event that takes
place in the Book of Exodus. As Moses was leading the Israelites
through the desert the were having trouble finding water. They began
to complain to Moses, claiming he only brought them to the desert to
die of thirst. They doubt that God is taking care of them. God then
tells Moses to strike a rock with his staff and water gushes out of
the rock for the people. The place is given the name of Meribah
which means in Hebrew, the place of quarreling. By bringing up that
event, we are reminded not to fall into the same sin again.
Our First Reading and Gospel Reading take things
a step further and talks about the authority of the Son of God, Jesus
Christ. In the beginning of the Gospel of John, Jesus is referred to
as the Word of God. If we are to listen to the voice of God, so too
must we listen to the Word of God, when He speaks to us.
The Reading from the Book of Deuteronomy does not
mention Jesus by name, but it does refer to Him. Again, we are
talking about Moses and an event that took place in Exodus. Moses
was the only one allowed to see God face to face on Mt. Horeb, also
known as Mt. Sinai. The rest of the people gathered at he base of
the mountain to hear what the voice of God said. God's voice was
accompanied by thunder and lightening so powerful that the people
feared for their lives. They were afraid they would die if they
listened to God's voice directly. So they begged Moses to let them
stand farther way so they could no longer hear God's voice, and then
simply have Moses tell them what God said. In today's reading, Moses
explains that God agrees to send a prophet who will tell the people
what God want to say to them, without having to hear Him directly.
This refers to all the true prophets who spoke for God. It also
refers to Jesus, the Word of God, who often tells us all what God the
Father has to say. Jesus is given authority to speak on behalf of
God the Father, but without the fear of hearing God's voice directly.
If there is still any doubt about the authority
that God has given to Jesus, we have only to look at the Gospel
passage. The scene we hear from Mark's Gospel must have been an
awesome sight to witness! We hear that the people in the synagogue
were already impressed with the authority with which Jesus spoke, but
as the old saying goes, “They ain't heard nothing yet!” Not only
does He silence the demon from speaking further, but He casts it out.
Remember, a demon is a fallen angel. So if He can order demons
around, that means He has authority over the angels themselves!
God's Words means something.
What does this mean for us. It means we must
listen up and hear what God has to say to us. We can't just ignore
it because we are afraid or because we don't like what God is saying.
Trust in God and hear His Word. He will lead us to eternal life.
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