By Fr. Ed Lipton, SDB

Our Scriptures this fourth Sunday open with the ancient promise of God made to Moses that a prophet like him would rise one day among them and how God would speak through him. Yearning for the fulfillment of that prophecy never died. It grew again with the preaching of John the Baptist and was behind the question of the scribes to him, “Are you the prophet or are we to expect another?” For us who believe, we have in Jesus the answer to that question. He is the one that the scribes spoke of. “But when the fulness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we may receive the adoption as sons” (Gal 4:4-5).

Thus, we became sons and daughters of God, and all of us who live not separated from Jesus by sin are the adopted and honored children of God. Christ is the fulfillment of prophecy, but even more so, he is the fulfillment of our lives. He is our connection to the divine life, the source of grace that ties us to eternal life and through whom the gate of the Kingdom of Heaven stands open. We should not allow ourselves to live without Jesus here on earth. We must not only let Him enter our lives, but we must be ready and willing to work to keep Him there.

Nor must we fail to profit from words such as offered by the alleluia verse before today’s Gospel: “The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light. On those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death, light has arisen” (Mt 4:16). The land overshadowed by death, by the darkness of sin, is our own world, our nation, our city. Sin casts its dark shadow all around us. But the Lord Jesus is the light that illumines the way to the Kingdom of Heaven. Our faith in Him must grow strong.

Chapter 1 of Mark’s Gospel plunges directly into the combat of Jesus with evil. The first words which Jesus speaks are, “The time is fulfilled; the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel.” He calls his first apostles; they go to the synagogue; He sees a man possessed by an unclean spirit that angrily cries out, “I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” By divine force and to the amazement of all, Jesus expelled the demon. In rapid style, Mark has challenged us to increase our faith.

We hear these Gospels of the power and authority of Jesus Sunday after Sunday. We ought to be among those whose faith in Jesus has grown. And He ought to be our commander in our fight against the darkness of sin.