Tuesday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
(I Thessalonians 5:1-6.9-11; Luke 4:31-37)
In the gospel yesterday Jesus says that the Spirit anointed him to let the oppressed go free. Today we see that he means business. Before we consider how, let us make a few notes about demons. Most people see demons as tempters nudging the innocent to bad choices. The demons of the gospels, on the other hand, affect people physically and mentally, not morally. True, Satan tries to allure Jesus into sin, but he is the devil, not a demon. Today we seldom speak of demons possessing people as a diagnosis of physical or mental disease. Rather, we use other terms like “cancer” and “bipolar condition” to describe these conditions. Still, we should remember that Jesus came to terminate all forms of oppression
The man possessed by the demon in the gospel is already in the synagogue where Jesus is teaching. Evidently, the words of rabbis and the prayers of the people have not been able to relieve him of his torturer. But Jesus teaches with authority; that is, he both knows what he is talking about and can execute what he proclaims. Jesus’ words provoke the demon to intimidation as it cries out, “’I know who you are – the Holy One of God.’” But Jesus is more than up to the challenge. He speaks even more forcefully in the duel of words, “`Be quiet! Come out of him!’” The demon finally succumbs to Jesus’ power by dispossessing the man.
With medicine’s amazing success over disease we may today have difficulty considering Christ’s healing power. Of course, we can think of Jesus as working through medical professionals. But he also brings people from sickness to health beyond the profession’s capability. True, he may decide not to remove the physical or mental malady affecting the patient. But still, as physician of souls, he will always strengthen those at physical life’s end with the surety that the harmful symptoms of their disease will dissolve in eternal life.
Showing posts with label demons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label demons. Show all posts
Homilette for Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Tuesday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
(Luke 4:31-37)
In the gospel yesterday Jesus says that the Spirit anointed him to let the oppressed go free. Today we see what this means. Before we examine the story let us make a few notes about demons. We see demons as tempters that nudge us to make bad choices. The demons of the gospels, however, affect people physically and mentally, not morally. True, Satan tries to allure Jesus into sin, but he is the devil, not a demon. Today we seldom speak of demons possessing people as physical or mental torture. Rather, we use other terms like “cancer” and “bipolar condition” to describe these states. Still, we should remember that Jesus came to terminate all conditions of oppression
The man possessed by the demon in the gospel is already in the synagogue where Jesus is teaching. Evidently, the words of rabbis and prayers of the people have not been able to help him. But Jesus teaches with authority; that is, he both knows what he is talking about and has the power to execute what he says. Jesus’ words provoke the demon to try to intimidate him. The demon cries out, “’I know who you are – the Holy One of God.’” But Jesus is more than capable of the challenge. He speaks up even more forcefully (exorcism is often a duel of words), “`Be quiet! Come out of him!’” The demon succumbs to Jesus’ power by dispossessing the oppressed man.
With medicine’s amazing success over disease people today have difficulty considering Christ’s healing power. Of course, we can think of Jesus as working through medical professionals. But he also is at work beyond the profession’s capability to bring us from sickness to wholeness. He may decide not to remove the physical or mental malady affecting us. Still, as physician of souls, he will always strengthen us to accept it knowing that its harmful effects will dissolve in eternal life.
(Luke 4:31-37)
In the gospel yesterday Jesus says that the Spirit anointed him to let the oppressed go free. Today we see what this means. Before we examine the story let us make a few notes about demons. We see demons as tempters that nudge us to make bad choices. The demons of the gospels, however, affect people physically and mentally, not morally. True, Satan tries to allure Jesus into sin, but he is the devil, not a demon. Today we seldom speak of demons possessing people as physical or mental torture. Rather, we use other terms like “cancer” and “bipolar condition” to describe these states. Still, we should remember that Jesus came to terminate all conditions of oppression
The man possessed by the demon in the gospel is already in the synagogue where Jesus is teaching. Evidently, the words of rabbis and prayers of the people have not been able to help him. But Jesus teaches with authority; that is, he both knows what he is talking about and has the power to execute what he says. Jesus’ words provoke the demon to try to intimidate him. The demon cries out, “’I know who you are – the Holy One of God.’” But Jesus is more than capable of the challenge. He speaks up even more forcefully (exorcism is often a duel of words), “`Be quiet! Come out of him!’” The demon succumbs to Jesus’ power by dispossessing the oppressed man.
With medicine’s amazing success over disease people today have difficulty considering Christ’s healing power. Of course, we can think of Jesus as working through medical professionals. But he also is at work beyond the profession’s capability to bring us from sickness to wholeness. He may decide not to remove the physical or mental malady affecting us. Still, as physician of souls, he will always strengthen us to accept it knowing that its harmful effects will dissolve in eternal life.
Homilette for Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Tuesday, XXII Week of Ordinary Time
(Luke 4)
In the gospel yesterday Jesus says that the Spirit has anointed him to let the oppressed go free. Today we see exactly what he means. Before we examine the story it is necessary to make a few notes about demons. We tend to see demons as tempters that nudge us to do what is wrong. The demons of the gospels, however, did not affect people morally, but physically and mentally. True, Satan makes appearances in the gospels, but he is not a demon but the devil, who tries to allure Jesus into sin. Today we don’t speak of demons possessing people with physical or mental disease. We use other terms like “cancer” and “bipolar condition” to describe these maladies. We should remember, however, that Jesus came to put an end to all conditions that oppress people.
The man possessed by a demon is already in the synagogue where Jesus is teaching. Evidently, the words of the other rabbis and the prayers of the people do not bother him. But Jesus teaches with authority; that is, he not only knows what he is talking about but also has the power to execute what he says. Jesus’ words disturb the demon who cries out in a loud voice trying to intimidate Jesus. He says, “’I know who you are – the Holy One of God.’” Jesus, however, is more than ready for the challenge. He speaks up more forcefully (exorcism is often a duel of words), “’Be quiet! Come out of him!’” The demon submits to Jesus’ power by dispossessing the oppressed man.
With the amazing success of science over disease we have difficulty thinking of Christ healing people. Of course, we should think of Jesus as working through medical professionals. But he also is at work beyond their powers to bring us from sickness to wholeness. God’s grace may not overcome the physical or mental symptoms of disease. But it can strengthen the person to accept them knowing that their harmful effects will dissolve in eternal life.
(Luke 4)
In the gospel yesterday Jesus says that the Spirit has anointed him to let the oppressed go free. Today we see exactly what he means. Before we examine the story it is necessary to make a few notes about demons. We tend to see demons as tempters that nudge us to do what is wrong. The demons of the gospels, however, did not affect people morally, but physically and mentally. True, Satan makes appearances in the gospels, but he is not a demon but the devil, who tries to allure Jesus into sin. Today we don’t speak of demons possessing people with physical or mental disease. We use other terms like “cancer” and “bipolar condition” to describe these maladies. We should remember, however, that Jesus came to put an end to all conditions that oppress people.
The man possessed by a demon is already in the synagogue where Jesus is teaching. Evidently, the words of the other rabbis and the prayers of the people do not bother him. But Jesus teaches with authority; that is, he not only knows what he is talking about but also has the power to execute what he says. Jesus’ words disturb the demon who cries out in a loud voice trying to intimidate Jesus. He says, “’I know who you are – the Holy One of God.’” Jesus, however, is more than ready for the challenge. He speaks up more forcefully (exorcism is often a duel of words), “’Be quiet! Come out of him!’” The demon submits to Jesus’ power by dispossessing the oppressed man.
With the amazing success of science over disease we have difficulty thinking of Christ healing people. Of course, we should think of Jesus as working through medical professionals. But he also is at work beyond their powers to bring us from sickness to wholeness. God’s grace may not overcome the physical or mental symptoms of disease. But it can strengthen the person to accept them knowing that their harmful effects will dissolve in eternal life.
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