Tuesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
(Hebrews 2:5-12; Mark 1:21-28)
The struggle between Jesus and Satan did not end in the
desert. With his minions Satan’s
continues his spiritual battle. In
today’s gospel an unclean spirit has possession of a man in Jesus’
presence. The demon makes a defiant
charge: “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” Then it attempts to control Jesus by
revealing his name, “Holy One of God.”
Jesus, however, is unruffled by the verbal assault. With a fierce shout he commands the evil
spirit to leave the helpless victim. The
spirit obeys but not without hurting the man.
The compassion of Jesus in rescuing the possessed man and the evil of
the possessor are manifest to all. Jesus is rightly commended for “teaching
with authority.”
The struggle be Christ and Satan continues in each of our
lives. When we feel tempted to lie,
steal, lust, or whatever, we need to call of Jesus. He maintains the authority to keep the devil
at bay.
