When Jesus taught in the synagouge, His authority was derived not from the power of holding a religious office, nor from mere expertise. The authority that Jesus possessed, then and now, is from His being one with the author, the creator, of the very truth He propounded. As God creates the world by God’s word alone, so Jesus uses His words alone to subdue the forces of evil that have taken possession of the man in the congregation. Recently the voice from heaven at Jesus’ baptism had acknowledged Jesus’ identity. Even while Jesus restores health and wholeness, hostility and conflict are ever present. Here the unclean spirit immediately recognizes Jesus and, in the act of leaving its human host, causes the man to suffer convulsions. The competing authorities of good and evil are ranged against each other from the start.
Hostility between them is a constant theme in St. Mark’s Gospel, although we know who ultimately triumphs. The people in the sotires are challanged to take sides: the disciples, the authorities, the people in the crowds, the listeners. So are we. When we hear the uncompromising position Jesus takes against evil, we are asked where we stand on that. Do we tolerate it, for an easy life? Do we give in, and behave in ways more in keeping with evil that with Christ? Do we face our own demons and, with God’s grace, expel them from our lives? Are we prepared to hear a new teaching, to be shaken by the radicalism of Jesus’ message, or do we prefer to go through the motions of habit and conformity? To speak, act and live with Chirst’s authority is a vocation that calls us constantly to grow closer to Him, day after day. We have the means to do that through prayer; through daily attention to scripture reading, study, and meditation; through the sacraments, and through the constant practice of the virtues. Challenging authority in this world is something that we all may be called to do from time to time. But we are also called to recognize the ultimate authority of God, and to reflect on how that challenges us in our everyday lives.