William Selvaraj csc –
Readings: 1Cor 2: 10-16; Lk 4: 31-37
The gospel reading of the day narrates the healing of a man possessed by a demon. Jesus spoke with full power and authority.
His power and authority came from intimate relationship with his heavenly Father. In our society, the forces of evil are powerful and strong which negatively influence the people.
They influence to oppress the poor and the marginalized, create misunderstanding among people, make a lot of criticism, take revenge, indulge in evil addictions, and in the end destroy our
whole life. A personal question to each of us: How do we confront these evil forces?
Jesus practically fulfilled the Nazareth manifesto in today’s gospel. ‘Be quiet and come out of him’ was the command in casting out the evil from the person. If we really allow Jesus to reside in our hearts and minds, then our whole life will be transformed into the world of peace, love, understanding, mercy, humility, and generosity. The essential aspect is- every person is expected to welcome Jesus and have a strong faith that he will save us from all dangerous situations.
We are personally invited to cast out the evil thoughts from our minds and hearts and to do good to the people in society. Let us pray that we may get the strength from the Lord Jesus to chase away the evil practices and habits which are deeply imprinted in our daily living.