Possessed by an evil spirit

Tuesday, September 3, 2019 22nd Week in
Ordinary Time
First Reading: 1 Thes 5:1-6, 9-11
Gospel Reading:
Lk 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.
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
The evil spirit that enslaved the man in today’s Gospel reading recognized Jesus as the holy one of God. Was the devil making a public confession of Jesus’ divinity? Far from it! Recognition is not confession until there is submission. While the evil spirit was confessing Jesus’ identity with his lips, his heart remained evil. The evil spirit was under duress; he confessed Jesus as Lord because he was afraid Jesus would cast him out. Confession will never ripen to submission if done out of fear.
To a certain extent, the devil’s confession was advantageous to Jesus. Spontaneous affirmation coming from a biased enemy is believable a thousand times compared to a similar affirmation coming from a friend. When the evil spirit recognized Jesus in public as the holy one of God, it was, for Jesus, advertisement at its best! But Jesus had to cast out the evil spirit just the same. First, Jesus had the welfare of the possessed person in mind. Second, Jesus was not the typical ego-tripper that a flatterer can easily tame with praises and affirmations.
All jaws dropped when at the command of Jesus the evil spirit scrammed. Then they asked: “What does this mean?” The answer was obvious but they weren’t ready for the commitment that the obvious answer could demand from them. They may not have scrammed for their lives as the evil spirit did. But neither did they get closer to God in terms of relationship.
We Christians also recognize Jesus as the holy one of God. But recognition must ripen to submission so that as we confess with our lips that Jesus is Lord, we may also allow him to reign in our lives and so grow deeper in terms of relationship with him. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., D.M.