Some years back I remember seeing and hearing a report about Isabelle Dinnoire, the first person to receive a face transplant in medical history,"We must warn you," the reporter said, "some of this report is hard on the eyes." Indeed it was. Isabelle's "before" the transplant operation was shocking to behold, and my immediate reaction was to turn away and not look. And so it is with most of us, we find it hard to look upon the deformed and mangled, mutilated countenance of one who has been brutally maimed and deprived of the normal, or at least near normal, visage of a human being.

First off, we look to the Gospel (Mk 1:29-39), which recounts the healing of Peter's mother-in-law. The amazing thing here is NOT that he wanted his mother-in-law healed (or even that the first Pope was married), but rather that before we even leave the first chapter of Mark, Jesus has formed an inner circleSimon and Andrew, James and Johnand they have bonded so close to Jesus that they are seeking healing with full confidence and faith and they are panicked when they cannot find him. Here too in Mark's first chapter it is established that Jesus frequently "goes off to pray alone" and that he lives by a "gospel imperative"his mission"Keep moving" he basically tells his apostles, "I must preach elsewhere, for this reason I have come." [Gospel application to daily life: we should also live with some gospel motivation or imperative to be about the mission we share in Christ; we should not presume that we know what today's mission is or God's will if we do not take time out to pray. And, perhaps, that it is a mistake to stereotype mother-in-laws.]

What is this?  A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him."

We have seen that liturgically, the Liturgy of the Word that begins Ordinary Time after the Christmas Season speaks to us of vocation (call and response), to formation in Christ and "his ways," to continuous and consistent surrender to Jesus' divine authority.  Hence today's readings so proclaim:  "A prophet like me will the Lord, your God, raise up …to him you shall listen" (Deuteronomy), and "I am telling you this for your own benefit …for the sake of propriety and adherence to the Lord without distraction" (St. Paul). Make no mistake, from the letters of Paul, John, and Peter, from the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—that is, from the writings of the New Testament forward—we are meant to take the same journey as those who heard THE GOOD NEWS for the very first time:  vocation, formation, surrender.

Picking up from the Gospel of John, last Sunday, which recounted John the Baptist's handing on of the baton to his cousin, Jesus, and his consequent instruction to his disciples to follow HIM, we turn to Mark's account today which depicts Simon and Andrew, James and John dropping and abandoning everything to do just that—follow. Last week I wished to underscore the obvious theme of "Call and Response." And, of course, the most important call and response of one's life has to be one's vocation from God. But the readings of this Sunday actually bring about a shift in theme as they draw our attention to what has to be the first request on the lips one who follows, "Teach me your ways O Lord!"