Gospel: Mark 1:21-28
Jesus and his disciples went into the town of Capernaum and began to teach in the synagogue during the Sabbath assemblies. The people were astonished at the way he taught, for he spoke as one having authority and not like the teachers of the Law.
It happened that a man with an evil spirit was in their synagogue and he shouted, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: You are the Holy One of God.” Then Jesus faced him and said with authority, “Be silent and come out of this man!” The evil spirit shook the man violently and, with a loud shriek, came out of him.
All the people were astonished and they wondered, “What is this? With what authority he preaches! He even orders evil spirits and they obey him!” And Jesus’ fame spread throughout all the country of Galilee.
Reflection:
Our gospel for today depicts the authority of Jesus and His power over demons. Demon possession was an accepted reality in the New Testament. The person possessed by the demon is a picture of our own soul pulling away from God. We are always conscious about the things we do that will draw us away from the Grace of God yet we still do it. The bitterness of sins that we actually don’t realize automatically will somehow put us in the pit of hell. This is the reason why Jesus exercises His power with authority and told the devil to exit the person’s body at once.
Jesus made it clear how the gift of power should be expressed without dominance but in healing service. In driving out evil forces we need to express it through our authority to do good to others despite struggles. There should be no room for violence and exploitation of power. In the world today where demons are all over the community waiting to devour our souls, we need to let Jesus come to us and live within us to avoid the evil.
I believe in myself that we can withstand everything as long as our faith in God is as clear the clearest water in the wilderness. We should not doubt our faith and trust His mercy to come upon us in times we are tempted and lured by the worldly pleasures.
Jesus is the only savior who will have authority within us and our lives. He is the way, the truth and the life. We all should follow Him and do good will ahead. It is actually very simple to offer kindness to the needy. You don’t need to be rich to do everything. You only need to have faith in the heavens above. – Clea | Helpline PH
