St. Mark's Irony
Homily for Tuesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
The Gospel writers use the imagery of irony as a tool to reveal the person of Jesus. Today’s readings are filled with irony. The people of Capernaum are astonished by Jesus. “What is this?” they cry. However, the demon is not at all confused. “I know who you are–the Holy One of God!” Indeed, “He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him.”
In 1901, a man by the name of William Wrede first introduced the notion of what has come to be known as “The Messianic Secret.” The Messianic Secret is a motif in the Gospel of Mark, in which Jesus is portrayed as commanding his followers to maintain silence about his Messianic mission. Much criticism has been leveled by scholars as to the validity of Wrede’s theory. Whether it was historically accurate is still a question.
However, we also read today from the Letter to the Hebrews, in which the sacred author makes the assertion “at present we do not see “all things subject to him.” While there is evidence that people did not recognize who Jesus was in his own time, we must all agree that many in our own world do not recognize the authority of Jesus. Rather than allowing creation and all the creatures within it to be controlled by God, many want to be in control of their own lives as well as the lives of others. Many simply do not accept the authority of Jesus.
The Church asks us to respond to this by praying with the psalmist: “You have given your Son rule over the works of your hands.” Today, let this be a mantra that characterizes our day. May God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
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