“They were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as one of the scribes. Just then, there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching-with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’ At once his fame began to spread through out the surrounding region of Galilee.” St. Mark 1:22-28
I grew up in a household with “voices of authority.” My father, a career naval officer, had a presence of authority around him, and his voice reflected it. Whenever my father spoke, I listened to him. The tone of his voice quickly captured my attention.
I learned to respect that voice, and over time, I learned to respect the teaching that came along with the voice.
My mother also had a voice of authority. She had to, trying to raise three sons while father was deployed overseas.
In order to not be over run by teenage ambition, my mother learned to use her voice as a way of corralling her sons into submission. The tone of her voice quickly captured my attention. It caught the attention of my brothers as well.
I learned to respect that voice, and over time, I learned to respect the teaching that came along with the voice.
The voice of my parents can still make me sit up and pay attention.
In many ways, I have inherited the voice of my parents.
On my cell phone I have recorded a message which I use as an alarm clock. My wife has commented, “That sounds like Bob (my father).” Yes, I am my father’s son. I’ve inherited his voice. The voice works. It gets me out of bed, whether I’m sleepy or not!
The Bible verse above comes from the gospel reading for Sunday, 1 February 2009.
People who heard Jesus were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority.
And Jesus uses this authority to bring healing to a man demonized by an unclean spirit.
He uses his “voice of authority” to address the unclean spirit:“Be silent, and come out of him!”
Do we allow Jesus to speak with authority in our lives? Does his voice chase away the demons that plague us, or do we dismiss his voice as “one of many in our busy lives?”
Jesus does speak a voice of authority when our sins are forgiven.
“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written, so that you may come to believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have have life in his name.” John 20:30-31
Jesus does speak with authority when he declares, “This is my body, broken for you. This is my blood, shed for you, for the forgiveness of sins.” We hear these words during Holy Communion.
Jesus does speak with a voice of authority when we are dead and in the grave, awaiting the resurrection.
“Do you not know that all of is who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore, we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” Romans 6:3-5
I hope you hear the “voice of authority” in your life.
I grew up in a household with “voices of authority.” My father, a career naval officer, had a presence of authority around him, and his voice reflected it. Whenever my father spoke, I listened to him. The tone of his voice quickly captured my attention.
I learned to respect that voice, and over time, I learned to respect the teaching that came along with the voice.
My mother also had a voice of authority. She had to, trying to raise three sons while father was deployed overseas.
In order to not be over run by teenage ambition, my mother learned to use her voice as a way of corralling her sons into submission. The tone of her voice quickly captured my attention. It caught the attention of my brothers as well.
I learned to respect that voice, and over time, I learned to respect the teaching that came along with the voice.
The voice of my parents can still make me sit up and pay attention.
In many ways, I have inherited the voice of my parents.
On my cell phone I have recorded a message which I use as an alarm clock. My wife has commented, “That sounds like Bob (my father).” Yes, I am my father’s son. I’ve inherited his voice. The voice works. It gets me out of bed, whether I’m sleepy or not!
The Bible verse above comes from the gospel reading for Sunday, 1 February 2009.
People who heard Jesus were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority.
And Jesus uses this authority to bring healing to a man demonized by an unclean spirit.
He uses his “voice of authority” to address the unclean spirit:“Be silent, and come out of him!”
Do we allow Jesus to speak with authority in our lives? Does his voice chase away the demons that plague us, or do we dismiss his voice as “one of many in our busy lives?”
Jesus does speak a voice of authority when our sins are forgiven.
“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written, so that you may come to believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have have life in his name.” John 20:30-31
Jesus does speak with authority when he declares, “This is my body, broken for you. This is my blood, shed for you, for the forgiveness of sins.” We hear these words during Holy Communion.
Jesus does speak with a voice of authority when we are dead and in the grave, awaiting the resurrection.
“Do you not know that all of is who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore, we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” Romans 6:3-5
I hope you hear the “voice of authority” in your life.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment