logos

Jesus, with his love and light exposes “evil so that it can be expelled.”

Jesus quoted no one. He spoke from his own authority. Nor did he shy away from the attacks of demons.

The Gospel of John picks up the source of Jesus’ authority from the beginning line of his Gospel. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn 1:1). Jesus is the Word, the Logos in Greek. Who would have more authority to speak about the word of God, than the Logos, the Word, himself?

The authority of Jesus was not only limited to teaching but restoration. Jesus is the light who shines in the darkness. His Father sent him to invite us to receive the restoration of the likeness we have lost because of the Fall. He wants to restore the glory that God has intended for all of us. We see this happening in the exorcisms Jesus performed. As he was teaching in the synagogue he expelled the unclean spirit of a man when he said, “Quiet! Come out of him” (Mk 1:25)! The unclean spirit would not go easy, but could not remain in the presence of Jesus and his command.

Jesus came to teach in the synagogue and the authority of his teaching identified the evil in the midst of the congregation. “Jesus’ teaching has the intrinsic effect of exposing evil so that it can be expelled” (Healy 2008, 42). The first act to follow his address that the kingdom of God was at hand was to begin to undo the disfigurement of the good that God his Father had created. The time of fulfillment was indeed at hand in the coming of Jesus and he began his work by proclaiming and teaching with authority and exorcising his authority over demons.

If you haven’t read the Bible ever, have not for a long time, have been away for a while, or could benefit from a deeper dive, I invite you to read the Gospel of Mark. Do so with the intention not of reading a history book or novel, but to read, study, and above all pray with Mark’s account. In this way, we come to not just know about Jesus, but know Jesus and experience his authority in our own lives. We will come to experience the same awe and wonder of those who experienced Jesus in person.

A great way to do so is to read along with the Church as we are reading the Gospel daily right now in the lectionary or at your own pace, say five to ten minutes a day. What may be even better is to read a short section at a time, read it over two to three times, and meditate on the passage. Mark is the shortest of the four Gospels, it is quick moving, and action-packed; the James Patterson of the Gospels. The accounts lend themselves particularly well to visualizing, and placing yourself in the reading as if you were watching a movie. Open your heart and mind to what Jesus wants to reveal or communicate to you in the silence of your heart.

We can also receive a word or phrase and carry it with us through the day, such as from today’s account. Jesus can be the light that shines in our own darkness and bring us healing. We may not be dealing with being possessed, but for those times that we experience negativity, temptation, stress, feeling indecisive, or divided we can call on Jesus’ words and speak in his name, “Quiet!”, “Silence!”, or “Peace be still!” and receive through the authority of his word his healing presence.

We do not walk this journey alone. We have the gift of prayer, of turning our hearts and minds to God, and the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit to help to bring the words of Scripture alive. Jesus is present with us, ready to help us and others. The kingdom of God is at hand, let us receive the hand of our Savior and be on our way!

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Photo: Evening walk, USMl, Mundelein, IL.

Healy, Mary. The Gospel of Mark. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008.

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, January 13, 2025

“And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (Jn 1:14).

If there are ever words to meditate and ponder upon these are them! The danger is becoming complacent or indifferent to the reality that they present, or to the idea that this is just any other day that we just endure, get through, and go on to the next day. Instead, may we embrace the promise and invitation they convey to us as individuals, as a people, and for all of creation.

The Word, Logos, in the Greek, who was, who is, and who always will be, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, has become one with us. We are the minutest of minutest speck of specks present in the whole of the cosmos. And yet, we have been graced by the presence of God who became man for each and every one of us, each individual person, so we can be one with him. He became human that we might become divine through our participation in his life.

The Mystery we celebrate today is that God took on flesh, becoming fully human, while at the same time, remaining fully divine. He did not just appear to be a man for a time and cast off his humanity like a worn cloak. The Son of God was conceived in the womb of Mary, developed as you and I did, and when born let out a gasp and a cry indicating that the Savior was born to us. Joseph and Mary gazed in wonder at the gift of their Son, the gift of the Incarnation for the whole world.

Christmas Day is the celebration of new life. Not just the birth of any baby, but through his coming into the world, a new beginning for humanity and creation. We do not just celebrate the baby who would become a great teacher and moral template, but the coming of our Savior. Jesus – his name meaning, one who saves – is the reality and the hope that we may be, just as the ancestors of Jesus we can read about in the genealogy of Matthew (see Mt 1:1-25)wounded and even a bit broken, but not undone, not unmade, not destroyed but saved from our faults, fears, sins, traumas and our slavery to sin. God’s grace is greater than our suffering, wounds, our worst mistakes, misjudgments, and most grievous faults.

Though darkness may appear to reign with ongoing wars, violence, political and racial division, injustice, and the unfortunate long and unseemly endless list of disharmony; no matter what we may be struggling with: the anxiety and stresses of daily life, this season, mounting bills, the concern of a medical condition for ourself or a loved one, doubts and fears, or that this will be the first, fifth, or tenth Christmas that we no longer have our loved one(s) by our side, darkness has not won.

No matter what personal challenges we may be facing, today we celebrate that “A light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it” (Jn 1:5). This is a day to breathe, to experience hope, a peace that surpasses all understanding, and to rejoice, to reconcile. A day to recommit to the light, to the baby who would later call himself, “the way, and the truth, and the life” (cf. Jn 14:6).

Let us renounce and repent from anything that is not of God so that we can embrace this baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, that also died and was wrapped in a shroud; the baby who was born in a cave because there was no room for him and no willingness from anyone to let him in, that would also be laid in a tomb after dying for us; and the baby who was placed in a manger, a feeding trough for animals, because he would also become the Bread of Life that we may feed on him and have life eternal.

This baby came to help us to actualize the truth and realization that: “We cannot save ourselves. We can only open ourselves to the hope that comes to us from without, from others, ultimately from one Other” (Lohfink 2014, 255). The One other whose birth we celebrate today: “The Light of the human race” (Jn 1:4).

Merry Christmas and may God bless you and all you hold close to your heart!

Painting: Adoration of the Shepherds by Gerard van Honthorst

Lohfink, Gerhard. No Irrelevant Jesus: On Jesus and the Church Today. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2014.

Link for Christmas, Mass of the Day, Wednesday, December 25, 2024