ABSOLUTE ALLEGIANCE TO THE ALMIGHTY

like children who cling to their parents...

January 31, 2021: 4th Sunday in the Ordinary Time
Deuteronomy 18: 15-20; 1 Corinthians 7: 32-35; Mark 1: 21-28

It was a home for street kids. As I entered, a calendar caught my attention. It had the words running thus: with the young missionaries of hope and joy. I hoped to see some young religious in formation or some people getting ready to go on a mission. But the picture that accompanied it was more surprising. It was a click of a bunch of street kids with eyes all shining and faces beaming with smiles. They had called them 'missionaries of hope and joy.' Today's first reading came alive to me when I saw this. When the Lord said, the Lord would raise a prophet as good as Moses and that prophet was not only Jesus who did great wonders when he was still alive but in and through Jesus, it is you and I who are called to be prophets today, here and now. 

The second reading points to us the way of being powerful prophets of God... and the way is, an absolute allegiance to the almighty. To profess our allegiance to God with nothing to distract us, nothing to preoccupy us, nothing to hinder our speaking God's word or doing God's works. Today there are any number of conspiracy theories and ideological conflicts, along with the unfortunate things that are happening to humanity and to the whole existence. Regardless of who sounds more logical and what provides more stuff to imagination, our allegiance needs to be to the Almighty and it needs to be Absolute! When that happens each of us become a prophet in our own lives. 

The Apostle speaks of an undivided attention to the Lord - though it upholds the value of celibacy as such, it can be lived in every walk of life. When the right priorities are in place in our personal, family and community life, and these priorities are considered absolute, then we live a life that is inspiring, witnessing and prophetic.

The Gospel presents to us the model par excellence of a prophet of God: the very Son of God who professes and practices such a perfect allegiance to God that every one who saw him, heard him was either taken up or felt threatened. His was an authority that came from his personal integrity and flawless faithfulness to God. 

Our absolute allegiance to the almighty will make us like children who trust and depend totally on their parents. At times even a blind following of the directions given by God would suffice for us to work on our Sanctification and that of those around us.