He spoke with authority

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

In the Gospel reading today St Mark commented twice on the impression that the teaching of Jesus had on the people when he preached in the local synagogue in Capernaum.

In the practice of the day it was allowed that, if you like, ‘guest preachers’ could address the local community at their sabbath gathering.

The local people then would have heard from a number of different preachers and teachers at different times, especially some like the scribes who had some training in interpreting the Law of Moses.

The people immediately noticed that Jesus was different. They sensed that when he spoke, he spoke with an ‘authority’ that they had not experienced before. 

They experienced his teaching as clear and decisive, and the people were refreshed and inspired by what he had to say.

Receiving clear and sound teaching is a great blessing. In the world in which we live we are exposed to such an array of ideas and attitudes on all manner of things. We are living in an age of the rapid advancement of modes of communication and the spread of information.

From newspapers, to radio, to television, to the internet, and to social media we have been living through vast changes in information technology.

New digital tools are changing the face of communication and they are having a profound impact on all levels of society – from business, to patterns of consumption, to public administration, to education and our personal interactions.  

Our minds are saturated with views and opinions, images and new patterns of thought. We cannot but help being swayed one way or another by what is often very skilfully presented to us.

We know that we need to develop a greater level of critical evaluation of what is presented to us. We are aware of the spread of misinformation, and we now speak of the dissemination of ‘fake news’. The algorithms that drive what comes to us in social media can easily be manipulated.

They are able to extract data that can enable them to control mental and relational habits for commercial or political purposes, often without our knowledge. The effect of this is that it can endanger our freedom of choice.

On the Web these algorithms can structure the flow of data according to criteria of selection that are not always perceived by the user.

Technology is not neutral because those involved in its development and application are conditioned by their own personal, social and cultural values.  

Now with the advent of artificial intelligence new horizons have opened up. Artificial Intelligence can be used to make a beneficial contribution to the future of humanity or it used in dangerous ways to control or manipulate human freedom. It is so necessary that those involved in its development act ethically and responsibly.

Thus, in the future, the reliability of an applicant for a mortgage, the suitability of an individual for a job, the right for social assistance or a visa to enter a country could all be determined by artificial intelligence systems. The danger here is that systems and not people will be determining outcomes that will deeply affect people’s lives and futures.

Algorithms must not be allowed to determine how we determine the decisions that deeply affect human life, and so set aside essential human values like compassion and mercy.

In this new and emerging world of social communication it is so important that we have a sound foundation for our thinking and evaluation of what is being proposed to us. More than ever we need a sound authoritative foundation for our life.

And we have this in our Catholic faith. Like the people in the synagogue we know that in the teachings of Jesus we have the truth about human life.

In the midst of a bewildering array of ideas and attitudes we look to Jesus and to his teaching as a sound grounding for our lives. Further to this we are blessed in the Catholic Church to have a systematic articulation of this faith found in the Catholic Catechism. 

The Catholic Catechism contains the essential and fundamental content of the Catholic faith in a complete and summary way. It presents what Catholics throughout the world believe in common. It presents these truths in a way that facilitates their understanding.

The Catechism presents Catholic doctrine within the context of the Church’s history and tradition. Frequent references to Sacred Scripture, the writings of the Fathers, the lives and writings of the saints, conciliar and papal documents and liturgical texts enrich the Catechism in a way that is both inviting and challenging. There are over three thousand footnotes in the Catechism.

In 1992 when Pope St John Paul II promulgated the Catechism he said, that we “will find in this genuine, systematic presentation of the faith and of Catholic doctrine a totally reliable way to present .. each and every part of the Christian message to the people of our time”.  

The Catechism is an authoritative source of the unchanging essentials of the faith. At a time when it is so easy to become confused and uncertain about what to believe, we have the consolation of this faithful presentation of the ancient Apostolic faith. It is a protection against being led this way and that by the prevailing winds of thought in our society.

Like the people in the synagogue we can say, “Here is a teaching that is new and with authority behind it”.

Archbishop Julian Porteous

Sunday, 28 January 2024