Monday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time
(Hebrews 9:15.24-28; Mark 3:22-30)
In today’s gospel scribes have come from Jerusalem to see
Jesus. No doubt, they want to
investigate the wonders that have been attributed to him. Their conclusion is astonishing. They say, despite his attention to prayer and
compassion, that Jesus can cure illness and expel demons because he is in
league with the devil!
However, Jesus is not dismayed. He responds to the
accusation with an analogy that challenges people today but perhaps was not
lost on those surrounding him. He
compares Satan’s control over the world to a strong man’s possession of a
house. Then Jesus compares himself to an
even stronger man who has come into Satan’s house and tied him up Satan. As a result, the household is liberated of
Satan’s perverse rule.
The evangelist Mark is telling us that Jesus has delivered
us from sin and death. We must not
refuse his liberation out of a liking for or familiarity with sinful ways. For the sake of our salvation and others, we
must give ourselves over to him.
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