Today’s Gospel depicts Jesus as having extraordinary influence to teach with authority and power to command and expel evil spirits. The people of Capernaum are astonished he seems to have such authority over evil spirits. Paul, in today’s letter, finds himself dealing with the spiritual immaturity of the Corinthians. Some members of the community thought they were on a higher spiritual plane than others. But Paul believes they have a long way to go before they can begin to comprehend “the depths of God” (1 Cor 2:10b).
For many in the world today, the idea of spirits, evil or
otherwise, is often met with disbelief. Our American culture likes the idea of having
a patriotic spirit or a spirit of generosity. We are very comfortable with
those who have a “sixth sense” and are aware of “spirits.” But another realm,
beyond our physical works, often seems a bit far-fetched in this scientific
age. Now a days, we would often see the
man possessed by unclean spirits in the Gospel as a sign that he’s mentally
ill.
However, we cannot deny there seems to be an evil power at
work among people who commit horrendous crimes, perform deliberate violent
acts, and live out of hatred. We often respond to hearing or watching violent
acts in the media by asking, “What possessed that person to randomly shoot into
a crowd?” or “What possessed peaceful protesters to turn to looting and destruction of
property?” In turn, we can all look back to some of our own actions with regret,
wondering: What possessed me to lie to…, to relentlessly blast my waitress or
cashier for a mistake, or treat that homeless person with such discord and
disgust. Could it be that we, in our human weakness, were powerless to the
influence of an evil spirit?[1]
In the final chapter of “Rejoice and Be Glad”, Pope Francis
writes, “the Christian life is a constant battle.” For the Pope, this battle is
not just against the world and our human weakness but also against the devil
himself. For Francis, the devil is not a
mythical figure but real. “It is precisely the conviction that this malign
power is present in our midst that enables us to understand how evil can at
times have so much destructive force” he writes. “We should not think of the
devil as a myth, a representation, a symbol, a figure of speech or an idea.
This mistake would lead us to let down our guard, to grow careless and end up
more vulnerable.”[2]
The irony in this Gospel is the demons recognize who Jesus is, while the people who knew him best (Lk 4:16) do not. God is greater than the evil afflicting our world and our hearts. Today’s Gospel reminds us that Jesus is “the Holy One of God” and he still protects us from every evil as we continue to contemplate “the depths of God” as we prepare to enter into the depths of his love within this holy and spiritual feast.
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