4th Sunday in Ordinary Time - January 29, 2012

Traducir al Español

Those who were more set on finding fault with Jesus perhaps because he expelled the demon on the Sabbath, failed to believe in him despite his ability to amaze them because of the authority of his teaching and actions! Failure to comprehend Jesus’ true identity probably stems from mistaken expectations. We may be able to admit that we want and need a savior, but we may not always grasp the implications of this desire. I do want to add briefly a sentence about that second reading. St. Paul was not speaking for or against marriage, but urging us to be entirely devoted to the Lord in whatever status we find ourselves in regarding marriage, religious life, ordained ministry, single, divorced and widowed.

Two implications of accepting Jesus as “The Holy One of God” is to trust in his power over evil in our lives and to submit to his authority by relinquishing control. And like almost all of my homilies, I am preaching to myself. In fact, I used to have a “postit” note on my computer screen that has a short prayer that I don’t say often enough. “Lord I trust in you, help me to trust more!” Paul addresses clearly the fruit of mistrust and trying to maintain control over our lives and those in our lives. Namely, Paul states that “I should like you to be free of anxieties.” Anxiety manifests itself in many ways, but most powerfully in worry. I want to share some popular quotes that address worry. “Worry is an elderly man with lowered head carrying a load of feathers which he believes to be lead. Worry tries to cross over a bridge before you come to it. A day of worry is more exhausting than a day of labor. What is inside you is more potent than what is before you. Worry is wasting today cluttering up tomorrow’s opportunities with yesterday’s difficulties.”

It is probably an understatement to say that worry and anxiety have taken on demonic proportions in most of our lives. Many of our anxieties and worries stem from our need to control events and other people, just as the unclean spirit attempted to control Jesus by claiming to know his name and who he is. Only God is in control. The spirit of anxiety’s attempt to be in control is a lie because only God is in control and has ultimate power over us. God expects a couple of things from us in this regard.

First we must seek his will through prayer. John Henry Newman wrote, “This is no mere idle boast, but a fact which all who seek God will find to be true. I assure you that such confidence in prayer can bring us new discoveries which cannot be put into words, marvelous prospects and thoughts half understood, deep convictions inspiring joy and peace. “ I add that prayer not only helps us to seek and know God’s will by being attentive to his promptings in our hearts and what we read prayerfully in scripture, but brings us peace and release about those things we tend to not want to let go of or give to God to resolve.

Secondly, we must remember that God will never diminish the importance of our free will. In other words, his control is not like that of a puppet master over the movements and words of his puppet. His control when we achieve a wonderful state of trust and holiness is that he is totally working through us because of our openness to him and his gift to us to be like him. Thirdly, we must be prepared. Preparation is key to all parts of our lives, including our spiritual. I have to say that for us who like to procrastinate or live feeling overwhelmed by the tasks awaiting us, sometimes it is difficult to stay focused on what we need to do to prepare. Relinquishing control to God and trusting in him does not mean that we do nothing. To receive his help sometimes means taking action after prayerful discernment. And fourthly, exercise, as simple as vigorously walking two miles in about 30 minutes, can work wonders to alleviate stress, clear our heads and uplift our spirits.

I believe the following survey results can put what I’m trying to say in perspective. If we think back about those things we worry about, we may find more than a grain of truth in the following: “40 percent of what we worry about never takes place, 30 percent of what we worry about is in the past and completely out of our control, 12 percent of what we worry about concerns others and is none of our affair, 10 percent of what we worry about concerns sickness that might or might not happen to us; which leaves only 8 percent of what we worry about really worth the worry.” When Christ liberates us from those demons that possess us, figurative or literal, we are freed from the stranglehold of evil and liberated to live far less encumbered and divided lives. When Jesus destroys the evil and liberated to live far less encumbered and divided lives. Sometimes this liberation comes in time and in a process. If we really believe in the resurrection, that God took the battered body of his Son and raised him back to life, then all of our worries should be seen in this hope, faith and confidence. Looking at our lives with the eyes of faith, we come to realize that we can never solve tomorrow’s problems with today’s grace; nor should we try! God gives us grace to deal with today’s challenges today!