Lk 4: 31-37
He went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and was teaching them on the sabbath. They were astounded at his teaching, because he spoke with authority. In the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Let us alone! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”
But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” When the demon had thrown him down before them, he came out of him without having done him any harm. They were all amazed and kept saying to one another, “What kind of utterance is this? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and out they come!”
And a report about him began to reach every place in the region.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Being Freed
Most of us are probably holding onto something that is getting in the way of our relationship with God. While we might not want to call them demons, we can see something in ourselves that relates to the man in the Gospel today. Maybe our desire for money is causing us to forget the poor. Maybe our worship of work is leaving us distant from our loved ones. Maybe our liberty is getting in the way of us relying on God. Regardless of what it is, when we approach God, we can fear that it’ll all go away. We’ll be left with no money, no work, no freedom.
Yet, Jesus doesn’t destroy this man’s demon, he frees him of its power. Today, let’s let Jesus free us of the damage of the evil spirit and put things in their right place in our lives so that money, work, liberty, and everything may be for his greater glory.
—Alex Hale, SJ, is a Jesuit scholastic from the Midwest Province studying philosophy at Loyola University Chicago.
Prayer
Lord God, you have made all things. Sometimes we let those things become more important to us than you are. Help us to believe that you are the only thing that satisfies, so that we may put all things in our lives in right order. Then, we can love you with our whole hearts and love our neighbors as ourselves. Amen.
—Alex Hale, SJ