Being Struck by Truth

Gospel reflection for Mark 1:21-28

Today’s readings can be found on the USCCB website.

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Image by James Tissot via Wikipedia Commons.

I have to wonder at the crowd’s response to Jesus today. They are not only impressed and compelled by the authority with which Jesus teaches, but also that unclean spirits obey his authority. He speaks words of truth in the realm of the visible and invisible; to a large degree, in Jesus they are one and the same.

This theme of Jesus’ authority is witnessed throughout the Gospels: people are continuously caught off guard by the way in which he shares his message of life. I can’t help but feel a little jealous - when was the last time I was caught off guard by a compelling teaching of faith?

If I limit myself only to instances when I’m in the pew at Church, I have to admit it’s been awhile. However, in Jesus’ death his Spirit was poured out onto the world so that all might respond to the Father’s love as he has, and so I must also consider others whom I’ve encountered and how Jesus’ authority may have been spoken to me in a compelling way through them as well.

In this, the numbers do rise and I think it’s important for us to consider how much Jesus can encounter us through those who are, either often or not-so often, like a shining and clear glass jar to the fire of the Spirit within them.

Image by Lucas Franchoys via Wikipedia Commons.

I was speaking with my therapist regarding my ongoing confusion about certain instances where I become extraordinary overwhelmed by other people’s emotions. I had been to two funerals for three people in one week. None were family members or friends (though our family knew them), but at the memory of their ended lives here on earth and the heart-brokenness of their families, I could hardly distinguish my own self from that same sorrow. It felt as though I was the family left behind and grieving.

In recent years I have become aware of this and how different I experience such situations from the people around me. Way in the back with all the non-family members, there were some whose cheeks were moistened with tears, but there was not one who was shaking with trying to control the sadness of the loss, as I was. It felt to be too much to the point of being embarrassing and, as one can imagine, it is very confusing to the point of feeling as though there might be something wrong with me.

After some inquiry and discussion, with striking clarity my therapist said to me, “Jane, when I’ve encountered other people who experience similar things, it is because they have been given the gift of Intercessory Prayer by the Lord. These emotions are meant to be passed on to Jesus in prayer for those who are suffering. You are not crazy, you just haven’t been given the opportunity to understand your gift, if this is what we are looking at.”

There are times when we hear truth and it is assimilated into our abstract library of knowledge. And there are times when we hear Truth and are struck to our core.

To my ears, I became like one in the crowd, “astonished at his teaching” (Mk 1:22). All I could do in the moment was just sit in awe as memory after memory started to line up in a bright and transparent perspective that seemed to affirm just what she had spoken. I had never had the key to unlocking the box, but once it was given, the box opened and I realised that the contents are (most of) my experiences, but now with direction and purpose.

So today I marvel at the crowd and I also find myself alongside them, though two thousand years later. I have no reason to be jealous. Even today, Jesus continues to declare and teach with authority through those who respond to his love. We just have to have ears to listen.

Question to ponder:

When was the last time you were struck by Truth from Jesus?