Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Mark (1: 21-28) in which Jesus went to the synagogue and began to teach and those listening were amazed at the authority with which he did this. Fr Paul says the theme of the early part of Mark’s Gospel, which we are reading from, this the growing authority of Jesus. As we heard yesterday, Jesus has called his disciples and they follow him. He has such authority that they drop everything and follow him.

Now, today, in the synagogue Jesus teaches with his own authority. He does not quote other teachers as the other members of the synagogue would do. This is demonstrated by Jesus giving orders to the unclean spirit and this unclean spirit obeys him.

As we hear, this astonishes the people and, naturally, they start to ask questions. For our reflection and prayer today, Fr Paul says we might reflect on this question ‘Do I recognise the authority of Jesus in my life?’