4th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Fr. Simham)

He thought with authority

One of the popular names of Jesus in the Bible is ‘Rabbi’ which means “teacher”. And one of the main missions of Jesus in his public ministry was to proclaim the kingdom of God or the Good news. He went around doing that. In the gospel today we hear that Jesus went into the synagogue and he preached. His preaching or teaching made a deep impression on them. Why? Because he, unlike the scribes taught them with ‘Authority’.

Now let me ask you; who can teach with authority? Or what are the things a teacher with authority? Most of you who are sitting here or those who are reading this homily are into the profession of teaching. What do you need to teach with authority? Canes? More strict student regulations? More power to the teachers? What you need? Let us learn from Jesus today.

First of all, Jesus knew what he was teaching. He was teaching about God, his kingdom and its values. He had deep and thorough knowledge of all these. You can talk authoritatively only about the things you know well. Suppose if you ask me to discuss about quantum mechanics or theory of relativity I will mumble and faint, because I know nothing about them. But if you ask me to talk about Indian culture and politics I do enjoy it. And I can speak at length because I know them and I lived in India. So also Jesus was preaching about God and his kingdom. He knew God through and through. He and the Father are one he declared. So he was able to speak with authority. He need not quote from eminent scholars.

Secondly, Jesus was a man who preached what he practiced and practiced what he preached with regards to the values of the kingdom of God. There is no doubt about it. They say ‘impeccable moral life will give you insurmountable moral authority.’ It was true in Jesus’ case. And we know some our own people in our own times who possessed it. Mother Theresa of Calcutta and Mahatma Gandhi. They were so frail and week in structure but even the greatest world leaders stood up to salute them. Why? They lived such an honourable life. I always remember a story told about Gandhi.

During 1930’s, a young boy had become obsessed with eating sugar. His mother was very upset with this. But no matter how much she scolded him and tried to break his habit, he continued to satisfy his sweet tooth. Totally frustrated, she decided to take her son to see his idol – Mahatma Gandhi; perhaps her son would listen to him. She walked miles, for hours under scorching sun to finally reach Gandhi’s ashram. There, she shared with Gandhi her predicament. –“Bapu, my son eats too much sugar. It is not good for his health. Would you please advise him to stop eating it?” Gandhi listened to the woman carefully, thought for a while and replied, “Please come back after two weeks. I will talk to your son.” The woman looked perplexed and wondered why had he not asked the boy to stop eating sugar right away. She took the boy by the hand and went home. Two weeks later they revisited Gandhi. Gandhi looked directly at the boy and said, “Boy, you should stop eating sugar. It is not good for your health.” The boy nodded and promised he would not continue this habit any longer. The boy’s mother was puzzled. She turned to Gandhi and asked, “Bapu, Why didn’t you tell him that two weeks ago when I brought him here to see you?”

Gandhi smiled,“Mother, two weeks ago I was eating a lot of sugar myself.”

That is what it means to be perfect. Jesus the man beyond all perfection. He was like us in everything except sin. So he had the authority to say and teach.

Now all of us who are here are teachers one way or the other. All the parents who are here, you are the first and best teachers to your children. And they say ‘family is the first and best university in the world. There may be so many parents wondering why you are not able to teach and control your children, especially when they grow up. Learn from Jesus. ‘Be the change you want to be in the world’(Gandhi) they will automatically change.

Fr. Showreelu Simham