4th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2021

Most Reverend José H. Gomez
Archbishop of Los Angeles

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels 
January 31, 2021

My brothers and sisters in Christ,¹

So, in the Gospel last Sunday, we heard Jesus call his first disciples by the Sea of Galilee — the fishermen Simon and Andrew, James and John. 

And today, in our Gospel, we are walking in Jesus’ footsteps, traveling the road with him and his disciples toward Capernaum. We enter into the synagogue with them on the Sabbath to hear Jesus teach. And we are “there” as he heals a man who has an “unclean spirit.” 

Personally, my dear brothers and sisters, what I love about the Gospels is how they draw us in and make us witnesses to the ministry of Jesus. 

When we read the Gospels, we are “right there” with Jesus, alongside his first disciples. We hear his words, we see his actions. 

So today I was thinking let us especially ask for the grace to always read the Gospels, understanding that we are personally involved in these stories, as his disciples, his followers. 

In the passage of the Gospel today, the emphasis is on how the “people” react to what they see Jesus saying and doing.   

It is interesting that our Gospel today does not tell us the content of what Jesus is teaching. We don’t hear his words or what he is talking about. We only hear the reaction, the effect that his words are having on the people who hear him. 

As we just heard: 
The people were astonished at his teaching, 
for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. …All were amazed and asked one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority.”

The people seem to sense that there is something different about Jesus. Jesus is not like the scribes. The scribes are teachers, but they don’t have the spiritual authority, the power that Jesus has.

The people seem to understand that the Word that Jesus brings is not only a human word — it is the Word of God. 

It’s true the people at that time were waiting for a prophet, as we heard in our first reading. God had promised that he was going to send a prophet into the world. A prophet who will speak his words as we just heard in the first reading of today’s Mass.

I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kin, 
and will put my words into his mouth; 
he shall tell them all that I command him. 

Again my brothers and sisters, Jesus is more than a prophet. Jesus speaks with the authority and power of God. 

When Jesus speaks, his words become actions. His words “do” the things that he says he is going to do. 

As we witness in the Gospel today, when Jesus commands the unclean spirit to come out of the man — the unclean spirit obeys and comes out of the man! 

So I think that my reflection today must be about our listening and I will say our docility to the Word of God.  

In our responsorial psalm for today’s Mass, we prayed: If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. 

That’s a question for us to reflect on. Are we listening to God’s voice? Do we open our hearts to his Word, to his teaching? 

We do. And maybe now is a good time for all of us to work on becoming more attentive to the Word of God. To make the effort to hear our Lord’s voice and follow his will. 

We need to be like those people in the Gospel. Like they were, we need to be “astonished at his teaching.” 

That means, in a practical way, that we need to open ourselves completely, to let his Word penetrate our hearts and minds. We need to reflect on what Jesus says in the Gospels and what he does, his actions, his attitudes. 

Jesus shows us God’s will for our lives, he shows us the truth about who we are. And when we know this truth, we know God’s personal love for each one of us. For you and for me. 

And that, my brothers and sisters, for sure brings us joy and peace. 

So this week, let us have the peace that our Lord wants for us. Let us try to reflect more deeply on the person of Jesus Christ whom we meet in the Gospels. 

Something to keep in mind is how beautiful it is that the Scriptures tell us that Mary our Blessed Mother will keep all these things and ponder them in her heart. That is how we should live too. 

So let’s ask our Blessed Mother Mary to intercede for us. May she help us to always be amazed by the Word of her Son. And may she help us also to follow him and become his faithful missionary disciples. 

1. Readings: Deut. 18:15-20; Ps. 95:1-2, 6-9; 1 Cor. 7:32-35; Mark 1:21-28.