Therefore, Let Thy Words be Few

A Reflection on the Gospel for January 31st, 2021:
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

---

Mark
1.21-28

The disciples went to Capernaum; and when the Sabbath came, Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing the man and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching — with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”

At once Jesus’ fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
​

Pause. Pray.

And then read more...

Since my youth, I have had a tendency to be verbose, loquacious, and garrulous in my speech and my writing, a propensity exacerbated by my purchase of a Roget’s Thesaurus when I was in high school. I would undertake each essay with delight, poring through Roget’s in search of juicy adjectives, which I would then scatter lavishly throughout my writing like ticker tape on a parade. My poor English literature teacher! He taught me two years in a row, time spent primarily in shaping me into a more restrained writer. This is the type of advice he would give me:


“Brevity is the soul of wit.” (William Shakespeare)
“If you can say it in a paragraph, don’t write a book.” (Frank Sonnenberg)
“Writing is 1 percent inspiration, and 99 percent elimination.” (Louise Brooks)


We may live in the time of the sound bite and the 280-character Tweet, but humanity’s appreciation of concision in communication has been around for hundreds — nay thousands — of years. Take Jesus as an example. As Sunday’s Gospel shows us, here is a man who knows how to get to the point. Unlike other exorcists of His time, Jesus does not rely on lengthy incantations to dispel the unclean spirit from the man possessed. Instead, He commands, “Be silent, and come out of him!” (And, let it be said, not once did He feel the need to consult Roget’s.)


Jesus’ example invites me to reflect on an important question: When it comes to prayer, am I confident that God will listen to a simple, unadorned request, or do I feel I need to reiterate my request in manifold ways in the hope that one of those ways will persuade Him?


I have a friend who, for a number of years, had been suffering from a skin infection. The normal course of treatment had been painful and unsuccessful, and he despaired of ever being cured. One day, his wife offered to pray for him, and although he did not have great faith, he accepted her offer. She said, “Lord, I ask you to heal this skin infection, and may it never return.” That was it. The next day my friend woke to find his infection resolved, and it has never returned.


In this Gospel, Jesus speaks to the unclean spirit with authority, yes, because He is God. But He speaks also with confidence because he believes that what He says will happen. There is a lesson for me here. Do I lay my prayers before God, believing that He wants to and will answer them? I should believe it, because Jesus told me I should. In Matthew 7:7-8, He says: “Ask and it will be given to you… For everyone who asks receives …”


Lord, it takes courage to believe. Give me confidence that You hear my prayers, that You will answer those that are for my good, and that in not answering some of my prayers, You have something so much better in store for me. Amen.




Donna Davis

---