Throughout the Gospels, oftentimes the evangelists describe for us how people react to the words of Jesus. \u00a0At times, we learn, people felt challenged and flat out rejected Jesus\u2019 teachings, such as when he preached his disciples had to eat his body and drink his blood to have eternal life. <\/p>\n
At least once people thought Jesus was crazy, saying, as Saint Mark tells us, \u201che must be out of his mind!\u201d \u00a0Others became furious at Jesus\u2019 words and actions to the point of conspiring to kill him. \u00a0Jesus was not in the business of political correctness or good impressions; Jesus was in the business of preaching the truth.
In today\u2019s Gospel passage, Jesus\u2019 listeners react with amazement, asking one another, \u201cWhat is this? A new teaching with authority!\u201d<\/p>\n
His listeners are shocked at the exorcism of the possessed man, but more amazed at the authority with which Jesus speaks. \u00a0Jesus spoke with authority because He spoke the Truth. \u00a0Jesus didn\u2019t even hesitate with the chilling words of the evil spirit in the possessed man, \u201cwhat have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?\u201d<\/p>\n
The more we listen to Jesus, the more we know him, and the more we know him, the more aware we become of His power and authority. \u00a0Jesus speaks with authority because all authority in the heavens and on earth has been given to Him.<\/p>\n
How does knowing that Jesus has all authority translate into our daily lives? \u00a0We live in a world highly suspicious of authority, a world that rebels against authority be it the church or the government. \u00a0So how do we react to his teaching with authority? \u00a0Does it matter in our lives?<\/p>\n
Knowing Jesus Christ has power and authority over all things, why is it that we become so anxious? \u00a0Why is it that we oftentimes despair and sink in our worries and insecurities? \u00a0If we know Jesus has all power and authority, why don\u2019t we rely on Him more and trust He can help us?<\/p>\n
We oftentimes grow anxious and depressed in life, which lead to despair, because we fail to recognize the fullness of power and authority lie in Christ, and not on us nor on any one human being. \u00a0So many times we try to control things: we try to control every aspect of our lives, the lives of others, the lives of children and spouses. \u00a0We try to control situations for our benefit, we try to control nature, we try to control God. These attempts to control leave us frustrated, angry, anxious and depressed, because we always fail. \u00a0We fail because we are limited unlike Christ who has all power and authority.<\/p>\n
Modern man has been able to control many things, which has only increased his hunger for control. \u00a0This desire makes us crash and burn since in reality we cannot control all things. \u00a0No wonder antidepressants are the most prescribed drug in the United States today. \u00a0We get depressed because we cannot control everything in our lives, we feel helpless. <\/p>\n
The solution: we must be at peace with the fact that life is a limited experience. \u00a0We have control over very few things. \u00a0For the rest, we must learn to trust in God. \u00a0We must place our worries and anxieties in the hands of our all-powerful God and trust that He will see to them, in his way and in his time. \u00a0Let God be God, let Him take charge.<\/p>\n
Every night before going to bed, Pope John XXIII would examine all the events of his day. \u00a0Then he\u2019d pray, \u201cWell, I did the best I could. \u00a0It\u2019s your Church, Lord! \u00a0I\u2019m going to bed. \u00a0Good night.\u201d \u00a0That\u2019s a man conscious that God is ultimately in control; he did all he could within his limited experience and trusted God would take care of the rest.<\/p>\n
Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that our worry and anxiety do not increase our lifespan for even one minute. \u00a0How true! \u00a0Worry and anxiety decrease our lifespan.<\/p>\n
So rejoice in the power and authority given to Christ. \u00a0Trust in Him. \u00a0Be at peace with your limitations. \u00a0Be at peace knowing you cannot solve every problem nor be all things to all people, that is the job of Our Savior. \u00a0Welcome Him in your heart today when you receive Him in communion, place all things on Him, and ask Him to grant you peace.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Throughout the Gospels, oftentimes the evangelists describe for us how people react to the words of Jesus. \u00a0At times, we learn, people felt challenged and flat out rejected Jesus\u2019 teachings, such as when he preached his disciples had to eat his body and drink his blood to have eternal life. At least once people thought […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2533,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n