Photography © by Andy Coan
It’s not just about being saved — it’s about taking others with us. Sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ is called evangelism or evangelization, and to share in this apostolic mission is a responsibility of all Christians.
This post on spiritual warfare and Jesus’s authority over demons or evil spirits is offered as a reflection upon the readings for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) — Job 7:1-4, 6-7; Psalms 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6; First Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23; Mark 1:29-39.
The Bible is not just for Churches and Synagogues. Portions of it are read as literature, even in secular university classrooms. Invariably, when you look at the syllabus of such courses, you find Job.
JOB & THE DAILY GRIND
It’s not hard to see why. Job poignantly expresses what all human beings experience at one time or another–the feeling that life is a burden, that our daily routine is drudgery, that our suffering is meaningless, that there’s not much hope for our future (Job 7:1-7).
Things are tough all over—in Job’s day, in ours, in Peter’s. It’s all about trying to earn a living and raise a family with taxes, government, disease, and unexpected tragedies yapping at our heels.
GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD
The Gospel (Mark 1:29-39) shows us such a world that is suddenly turned upside down by someone who breaks all the rules. Demons that normally inspire terror now run away in fear. Fevers flee. Incurable illnesses yield. Instead of tiresome talk about the law and its innumerable regulations, Good News is announced that gives people hope again.
The Good News is that God is on the move. That He—not the Emperor or the Prince of Darkness—is King. That he is not taskmaster but Father.
The Someone responsible for all this commotion happens to look like one of us, and indeed is one of us. Yet he does things that only God can do. As he speaks, they begin to feel as if the world just may have meaning, that life may actually be worth living. They want to be with him, to hear his electric words and see his astonishing deeds. So they won’t leave him alone. Crowds gather outside the door of the humble place where he is staying.
What happens next is instructive. Knowing his need for communion with his Heavenly Father, he rises early next morning to seek solitude and a few moments in prayer.
SENSE OF URGENCY
But the people need him. So they send the apostles to track him down. When they find Him, he is not annoyed. He does not protest that it is his day off, tell them to come back tomorrow. He has come to bring Good News, to bring light to those in darkness, relief to the suffering. Many are desperate, so his mission is urgent. He gets up, but doesn’t return to Capernaum. Instead, he moves on to other towns. Those who wish to enjoy the excitement of his company must join him in his mission.
St. Paul has the same sense of urgency as his master (I Cor 9:16-19). He is aware of being entrusted with an awesome responsibility. It is not an option for him to share the gospel. What he has received as a gift, the most precious gift imaginable, he must give as a gift. And he must give it not only to those he likes, or those with whom he has some natural bond. He must not do it only when it suits him, when it is convenient.
APOSTOLIC MISSION
No, he must exert himself. He must seek common ground with all—Jew, Greek, weak, strong, educated, uneducated—so as to express the gospel to them in a way that they can understand. And this mission leads him to cover more ground than even his master—not just Judea and Galilee, but what is now Turkey, Greece, and Italy!
It’s true that not all are called to be traveling preachers like our Lord and St. Paul.
But the Church teaches unequivocally that membership in the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic church is not just about being saved and enjoying God’s company. There is a suffering world out there that desperately needs the saving truth and healing touch of Christ.
Notice that immediately upon being healed, Peter’s mother-in-law began working! Baptism is completed by confirmation, an anointing to serve. You can’t be fully a member of the apostolic church without participating in the apostolic mission.
