Tuesday of Twenty Second Week Ordinary Time

30th August 2022

Readings:

1 Corinthians 2:10b-16

Psalms 145

Gospel: Luke 4:31-37

"Satan trembles at the glorious presence of our Blessed Lord".

>> Evil cannot stand Holiness!

>> Wickedness cannot tolerate Goodness!

Today's Gospel presents this expression and dread of the evil one, who is unable to bear the presence of the Divine Saviour. The incident of the curing of the demoniac (Lk 4: 31-37).

The preceding passage (Lk 4: 1-30) described the dramatic inauguration of the public ministry of Jesus in His home-town, Nazareth. Initially, there was a lot of amazement, wonder and awe that was expressed by the people but when the Lord, began to explicate His Mission, especially of being a Saviour of all the nations, there was a change in attitude of the people. The shift from a “goody-goody” expectation of the Messiah to a “challenging” presence, caused them discomfort, and they began to express their anger and infuriation, by seeking to even kill the Lord.

But the Spirit-filled Jesus had no stopping, nothing could stop Him from continuing His Mission and the Duty entrusted to Him

And so, the Gospel says, “He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And He was teaching on the Sabbath” (Lk 4: 31)

As the quote goes, “This is the kind of stuff, champions are made of!”

He was…

… determined in His dedication

… committed to His cause

… purposeful in His programme

Can we also imitate our Blessed Lord in this unswerving fidelity? Oppositions may rock our life, Crises may strangle our hopes. But can i still continue to hold on to being Faithful to the Gospel and to the ways of the Lord?

This requires the tremendous infilling and a constant seeking and doing of God’s Will in our lives. It was this purposiveness that enabled Jesus to be a person of authority and evoke astonishment and amazement from His hearers: “They were astonished at His teaching, for His Word was with authority” (Lk 31b-32)

Therefore, when the man who was possessed by the evil spirit, encountered Jesus, “he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Ah! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?” (Lk 4: 34)

Yes, Satan trembles at the glorious presence of our Blessed Lord.

>> Evil cannot stand Holiness!

>> Wickedness cannot tolerate Goodness!

As followers of our Blessed Lord, we too are called upon to become “people of authority and holiness”

By seeking to grow deeper in our relationship with the Lord so that our Spirit-filled presence will cause the demons of “filthiness, lust, corruption and injustice” to tremble and be cast away.

By making efforts to co-operate still more with the Grace of the Lord so that our life-in-Jesus, will cause the demons of “wickedness, indifference, hatred and pride” to shiver and be chased away.

May our lives, in the Spirit-filled and in Jesus, distort every wicked plan of Satan to conquer this world, and may we shine forth, in brightness and holiness, radiating the Authoritative Presence of Christ to all.