Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Father Kerry Prendiville
Homily from the Televised Mass, NewsCenter1
Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time, January 28, 2024

In the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry in his first chapter in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is already binding spirits. He is casting the unclean spirit from a man who had been bound by that evil. And as he did it, he did it in this context – the Evil One was trying to use the man to speak God’s name. He said, “I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”

But Jesus said, “Quiet.”

He wouldn’t receive that word. He wouldn’t receive that praise.

“Quiet! Come out of him.”

Imagine that man that was possessed by an evil spirit. Having drawn close to people once and a while, he’d be cast into these fits of evil. He was a cast off from his community, from his family. But suddenly, one day he comes to the synagogue, and he’s drawn closer to Jesus. The evil one would not do that. It was the goodness of that man coming too close to Jesus, and then by a mere word Jesus silences and expels the unclean spirit.

He’s been thrown to the ground. He’s lying there in the dirt. He’s lying there with the people around him, thinking, “Can this really be true? Do I dare believe it?”

He is dealing with what the Catholic Catechism says of Satan, or the Evil One, “Satan, or the Devil, and other demons are fallen angels who have freely refused to serve God and his plan. Their choice against God is definitive. They tried to associate man and the revolt against God.”

In ancient times, we read from the first reading of the Book of Deuteronomy, that Moses said, “a prophet like me will the Lord your God raise up for you. A prophet who can speak with authority. A prophet who can return the hearts of his people to their God. A prophet who can cast on evil and draw us to good.” And that is what Jesus represents for all of Israel with the whole saving history. The promise fulfilled by God the Father. An oracle that was commanded to speak in order to silence evil and death.

Brothers and sisters, there are three things we can do to respond to this Gospel. First, stay close to Christ. Even with the burden of the unclean spirit, this man drew closer to Jesus. Probably against every instinct his spirit and body were telling him. But he came close to him and, in prayer, Jesus expelled that selfishness and all the selfish tendencies spreading lies and half-truths. He’ll do the same for us.

Confession is a marvelous gift of truth. As we stay close to that truth, it’s the second thing we must do — remain and stay close to the truth. We will give up selfish ways, manipulative ways of the Evil One and will grow in charity. And growing in charity means we’ll have a greater responsibility towards others and will have deeper communion with them.

Which leads us to the third thing we can do in response to this Gospel — stay close to others, who are in need. Soon, we’ll be drawn into the season of Lent. The Devil is a lord of selfishness. Christ is a lord of love. When we stay close to the needs of others, when we resist our own selfishness by serving others, whatever their need may be, we weaken the Devil’s influence in our lives. If we express humility in our actions, meekness in our heart. If we calm the desires of our own heart in order to let them cleave to the desires of God and God’s will for us, we remain close to him.

May Jesus, who casts out evil, draw us all closer to his own heart beating with charity for his people.