Wednesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Genesis 21:5-8-20a; Matthew 8:28-34)
Yesterday’s gospel passage ended with Jesus’ disciples
asking, “’What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?’" Today’s passage provides at least a partial answer. Jesus is a man with divine authority. Not only do the elements obey him; evil
spirits snap to his command. Jesus only
has to say one word (in the original Greek) “’Go,’” to send the
demons away from the possessed.
Jesus’ divine authority begs a question, however. If he can so easily discharge evil spirits,
why does he not just say once and for all, “Devils be gone”? Would not the world then be free of evil? This might be the case if humans did not call
evil spirits back into their lives. As
it is, however, free will, which lies at the base of human freedom, revolts
against the serenity of doing God’s will.
We can say that living in the world we are constantly
tempted to reject the good. This
situation may sound more dire than it is.
We can tame the surliness of our will by constantly following the Lord’s
directives. The more we do so, the more
we grow in true freedom.; that is, freedom from inner compulsions which hinder
our following the natural inclination to happiness. And the more true freedom we have, the more peaceful
our world becomes.
