Throughout the Gospels, oftentimes the evangelists describe for us how people react to the words of Jesus. At times, we learn, people felt challenged and flat out rejected Jesus’ teachings, such as when he preached his disciples had to eat his body and drink his blood to have eternal life.
At least once people thought Jesus was crazy, saying, as Saint Mark tells us, “he must be out of his mind!” Others became furious at Jesus’ words and actions to the point of conspiring to kill him. Jesus was not in the business of political correctness or good impressions; Jesus was in the business of preaching the truth.
In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus’ listeners react with amazement, asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority!”
His listeners are shocked at the exorcism of the possessed man, but more amazed at the authority with which Jesus speaks. Jesus spoke with authority because He spoke the Truth. Jesus didn’t even hesitate with the chilling words of the evil spirit in the possessed man, “what have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?”
The more we listen to Jesus, the more we know him, and the more we know him, the more aware we become of His power and authority. Jesus speaks with authority because all authority in the heavens and on earth has been given to Him.
How does knowing that Jesus has all authority translate into our daily lives? We live in a world highly suspicious of authority, a world that rebels against authority be it the church or the government. So how do we react to his teaching with authority? Does it matter in our lives?
Knowing Jesus Christ has power and authority over all things, why is it that we become so anxious? Why is it that we oftentimes despair and sink in our worries and insecurities? If we know Jesus has all power and authority, why don’t we rely on Him more and trust He can help us?
We oftentimes grow anxious and depressed in life, which lead to despair, because we fail to recognize the fullness of power and authority lie in Christ, and not on us nor on any one human being. So many times we try to control things: we try to control every aspect of our lives, the lives of others, the lives of children and spouses. We try to control situations for our benefit, we try to control nature, we try to control God. These attempts to control leave us frustrated, angry, anxious and depressed, because we always fail. We fail because we are limited unlike Christ who has all power and authority.
Modern man has been able to control many things, which has only increased his hunger for control. This desire makes us crash and burn since in reality we cannot control all things. No wonder antidepressants are the most prescribed drug in the United States today. We get depressed because we cannot control everything in our lives, we feel helpless.
The solution: we must be at peace with the fact that life is a limited experience. We have control over very few things. For the rest, we must learn to trust in God. We must place our worries and anxieties in the hands of our all-powerful God and trust that He will see to them, in his way and in his time. Let God be God, let Him take charge.
Every night before going to bed, Pope John XXIII would examine all the events of his day. Then he’d pray, “Well, I did the best I could. It’s your Church, Lord! I’m going to bed. Good night.” That’s a man conscious that God is ultimately in control; he did all he could within his limited experience and trusted God would take care of the rest.
Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that our worry and anxiety do not increase our lifespan for even one minute. How true! Worry and anxiety decrease our lifespan.
So rejoice in the power and authority given to Christ. Trust in Him. Be at peace with your limitations. Be at peace knowing you cannot solve every problem nor be all things to all people, that is the job of Our Savior. Welcome Him in your heart today when you receive Him in communion, place all things on Him, and ask Him to grant you peace.
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