Spreading the Word skillfully

January 27, 2015
Tuesday, 3rd Week in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Heb 10:1-10 Gospel:
Mark 3:31-35

Jesus’ mother and brothers came. As they stood outside, they sent someone to call him. The crowd sitting around Jesus told him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you.” He replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?”

And looking around at those who sat there he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. Whoever does the will of God is brother and sister and mother to me.”
D@iGITAL- EXPERIENCE

In the Communication Theory of Marshall McLuhan, “noise” used as technical term for distraction is considered fatal to message transmission. This explains why experts in communication dedicate so much time to noise management as well. In like manner, preachers should not overlook the destructive power of distractions because what preachers transmit is God’s message. One efficient way preachers can manage noise is to incorporate distractions in their homily the sooner they arise. This requires some skills since there is no way one can foresee what kind of noise would arise as they preach. Let’s see how Jesus did it.

As a preacher Jesus had to deal with interruptions such as when a blind man shouted, “Son of David, have pity on me.” (Mk. 10:47). Devils also disturbed him as when they retorted: “Have you come to destroy us?” (Mark1:24). In today’s gospel someone shouted: “Your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you.” How did Jesus deal with distractions? Let’s analyze today’s Gospel reading.

The shout was not totally out of timing since Jesus had just preached about a divided household (see Mark 3:26). Still it was an interruption. Jesus skillfully re-engineered this distraction by using it as a tool to clarify that the Blessed Virgin Mary, more than a mother, was a real follower; more than a disciple and follower, she was his partner in doing God’s will. At the ‘garden’ of the Annunciation Mary said, “Be it done unto me according to your word”; at the ‘garden’ of the Passion Jesus prayed, “Not my will but yours be done.” By clarifying the status of the Blessed Virgin Mary as doer of the Will of God, Jesus came close to saying anybody can be his relatives provided they do the Will of God as Mary did. That was how Jesus skillfully re-engineered distractions. He made “noise” a tool to preach more and preach efficiently.

While preachers are called to learn from Jesus the art of re-engineering distraction, we are called to be good witnesses by being Christians in action. Anything less turns us into a big distraction fatal to the transmission of God’s message to this generation. – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email: [email protected]. Website:www.frdan.org.

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