Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Last week I announced that I was going to DJ the St. Valentine’s Day Dinner Dance. A number of people wondered if I was serious; and though I might get some help, I certainly am! A number of people asked if the dance was only going to have country music; it won’t. I do also appreciate other genres of music. The 9th grade confirmation class asked if I was going to play “All About That Bass,” a current song that is not, despite its title, about a certain register on an instrument or in a voice.
Musical taste is always a funny thing. Some people only listen to one kind of music. Some people listen to many. Some have genres that they’ll never listen to (like rap or country), while others go back and forth between different styles. What I love about country music is that, more often than not, the words are profound, funny, or insightful. What I dislike about many current songs, be they rock, rap, or R&B, is that you can’t even understand the words the artist is singing. And if you do find out, well, you probably wish you didn’t understand them again.
Music shapes us. When we listen to a song and we come to know it, it impacts us. Sometimes the impact is small, especially at the beginning, but it often grows. When we actually memorize a song, it becomes almost a part of us. I often chuckle at students who tell me they hate memorizing poems or dates in history, but then can sing me all the words to “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift. Where do most of the fights occur about the Mass (though not all of them)? Music. We hear hymns or other music and they become a part of us. We are changed by what we listen to.
Moses tells the Jews in the first reading that they need to listen to this prophet that God will send who will be like Moses. When God wanted to speak to His People at Mount Sinai, he spoke from a cloud, with earthquakes, fire, trumpet blasts, and thunder. And the people were so scared that they told Moses that they only wanted to hear from God through Moses. And so at this point in the Book of Deuteronomy in our first reading, Moses promises them another prophet who will also speak for God, to whom they will need to listen.
Jesus, of course, is the fulfillment of the promise. Though He is more than a prophet (He’s the Son of God), He speaks for God the Father and reveals God the Father by all He says and does. And He is not scary (at least not at most times, though Peter, James, and John do find wonder and awe in the presence of God at the Transfiguration), and God speaks through Jesus: just what the people wanted. And the people recognize that Jesus is speaking with authority, unlike the scribes. Even the demons obey the words of Jesus; even they recognize His authority. To have authority, one must be the author. Our English word “authority” even includes the word “author.” Jesus speaks with authority because He is the Author of everything; He is the Author of Life; He created the world.
Is it a wonder that so many people think sexual acts outside of marriage are not wrong? We see it (even if not graphically) on primetime television and in popular music. Is it a wonder than women are treated simply as toys to entertain? So many movies, shows, and songs treat women as if their only purpose in life is to satisfy the libido of men. But the more we listen to the world, and the less we listen to Jesus, the more our problems will increase. Because Hollywood, the media, artists, and businesses don’t care about our ultimate happiness. They may want to do more than just make money, but I can assure you that Apple, Clint Eastwood, and Taylor Swift don’t truly care about me. They can’t because they don’t know me. Jesus cares about me. He wants me to be happy and be fulfilled. He knows me, even better than I know myself. He knows me because He created me, and sustains me in love. And He invites me to listen to Him, to acknowledge His authority, because He is my Author, and wants to have me with Him forever in heaven, enveloped in love. But I have to listen to Him.
