Listening for God in Others

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
 January 28, 2024

SCRIPTURE
Dt 18:15-20
1 Cor 7:32-35
Mk 1:21-28

Associate Christine Krause

PREACHING

Today marks one of the celebrated days of St. Thomas Aquinas. As I did last year, I reread some history of Thomas and tried to find a correlation between today’s readings and his life. And I did.

In the first reading, we hear Moses say that a prophet shall come from one of the kinsmen of the people to lead and teach. We are to be sure that the words spoken by this prophet are true and come from God. The Psalm tells to worship and praise God, “For this is our God, whose people we are, God’s well-tended flock.”

Now the second reading from 1 Corinthians 7, instructs us not to be anxious (whether one is married or not, this is good advice!) and, again, to devote ourselves to God. The Gospel story finds Jesus in the synagogue in Capernaum. He is confronted by a man possessed by an unclean spirit who calls out Jesus for he really is, the Son of God. Jesus is there teaching with authority from God; astonishing those who listen and who witness him cast out the unclean spirit.

Thomas Aquinas was a teacher and wrote books, many for those who were just beginning to learn about the Bible. He was a teacher who wanted the Bible to be more accessible and studied. Although a quiet man, Thomas’s words and written works were very powerful testaments to his theology. He felt that we can learn more through our own study efforts than to have divine revelation planted in our minds.

As we go about our days, may we study about our part in God’s plan without being anxious, may we preach to others by our voices, actions, or prayers, and may we continue to listen for God in others.

by Dominican Associate of Sinsinawa Christine Krause