Gospel: Luke 4:31-37
Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee, and began teaching the people at the Sabbath meetings. They were astonished at the way he taught them, for his word was spoken with authority. In the synagogue, there was a man possessed by an evil spirit, who shouted in a loud voice, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I recognize you: you are the Holy One of God.” Then Jesus said to him sharply, “Be silent and leave this man!” The evil spirit then threw the man down in front of them, and came out of him without doing him harm. Amazement seized all these people, and they said to one another, “What does this mean? He commands the evil spirits with authority and power. He orders, and you see how they come out!”
And news about Jesus spread throughout the surrounding area.
Reflection:
“Be silent and leave this man!”
The man in the synagogue is living a tortured existence, condemned to struggle under the shadow of the evil spirit that’s controlling his life. Evil is a negation or absence of good. Evil turns things sour, as it’s a misuse of the good things that God has bestowed upon us. It’s a misuse of our freedom, too: choosing the fruitless over the fruitful or the selfish over the selfless. The man in the Gospel is in an even worse state, as he has surrendered his will to evil, and now he can’t free himself from his plight. Who can free this man? Only God can liberate us from sin and evil, giving us a share in the freedom that comes from being his children. Jesus gives the divine command, “Be silent and leave this man!”, and the man is free once more. Jesus, “the Holy One of God,” shows his divine nature and his divine power. He is the light that darkness cannot overcome (Jn 1:5), and as “citizens of the light” we are to remain in his light if we are to take the right path and make the right choices. “We do not belong to night and darkness.”
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