May Jesus Christ be
praised and may his holy Mother pray for us.
The word of Jesus
Christ brings healing and liberation.
The preaching of Jesus Christ brings awe, amazement and wonder to those
who are willing to hear him. And the
authority of Jesus Christ sets us free, to live in the freedom of the children
of God. The word of Jesus Christ brings
healing and liberation.
He is the true prophet. He is the one who is raised up after Moses,
the one on whom the Spirit of God dwells, and the one through whom the people
of God shall experience true and abiding freedom. Moses led the people of Israel out of the
slavery of Egypt. Moses led the people
through the Red Sea upon dry land. Moses
led the people through the desert. He
gave them the law of God. He gave them
the law of God so that they could live in freedom and not return to the slavery
of Egypt. Moses stood before the Lord
and interceded for his people. Moses led
them and he fed them. He prayed for them
and he taught them. He loved them, and
he brought them to the Promised Land.
Jesus Christ is the
prophet like Moses. He brings healing
and liberation by divine authority. In
the synagogue of Capernaum, by the power of his word, the Lord Jesus brought
awe, amazement, and wonder to those who heard his preaching. He spoke with authority. In the synagogue of Capernaum, the Lord Jesus
commanded the unclean spirit to be silent and to release the man the spirit
held in bondage. He spoke with
power. The Lord Jesus preached with
authority about the kingdom of God and he preached with the power to inaugurate
the kingdom of God. This is greater than
Moses. This is greater than all of the
prophets. Jesus Christ does not speak with
the message of a servant. He does not
speak with the voice of an angel. Jesus
Christ speaks with the power and the authority of the Son in the house of the
Father. And by his authority and with
his power, Jesus Christ brings healing and liberation. Jesus Christ brings us healing and
liberation.
We were not slaves in
Egypt, dear brothers and sisters, but we have been led to freedom just the
same. At the word of Christ and by his
authority, the Church silenced the unclean spirits and cast them away from us
on the day of our baptism. Not through
the Red Sea, but in the water that flows from the heart of Christ into the
baptismal font, we have been led. We
have been given the law of the kingdom and we are fed at the table where the
Lord of heaven and earth is the host, the table, and the meal that is
given. At his word, and by his
authority, Jesus Christ has set us free to live in the freedom of the children
of God. Amen.
Preached
at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Monroe, NC
