We should always affirm the presence and power of God's
Spirit in us. We have to support and uphold this truth at all times by
asserting it through our commitment to always allow the Spirit of God to rule over
us and direct our actions. People who have grown mature in their relationship
with God have become an alien in terms of relating to the world. Sometimes they
are being referred to as fools for Christ just like the saints and martyrs who
have given up everything for the sake of God's Kingdom. They are better off as
aliens in this temporary world rather than in the Kingdom of God
1 Corinthians 2:10b-16
... The Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of
God. 11 Among human beings, who knows what pertains to a person except the
spirit of the person that is within? Similarly, no one knows what pertains to
God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but
the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the things freely given
us by God. 13 And we speak about them not with words taught by human wisdom,
but with words taught by the Spirit, describing spiritual realities in
spiritual terms...we have the mind of Christ.
If we have finally considered ourselves as a friend of God
then we ought to really be one in the truest sense of the word and discover the
truth in today's psalm. Sometimes we can't avoid being influenced by this world
we are presently in. We tend to live up to its expectation and subscribe to the
practical suggestions and recommendations that it offers. When this happens we
ought to keep ourselves grounded to this truth that the psalm tells us today. Nothing
could be more rewarding than be in union and conformity with the ways of the
Lord. Submitting to authority is always required by any boss from all his
subjects. Though there are times when we sometimes question the validity or
authenticity of such authority, we can always be assured that God is the
perfect Boss whom we can follow through and through. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalm 145:8-9, 10-11, 12-13ab, 13cd-14
R: The Lord is just in all his ways.
8 The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of
great kindness. 9 The LORD is good to all and compassionate toward all his
works...Let them make known your might to the children of Adam, and the
glorious splendor of your kingdom. 13 Your kingdom is a kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The LORD is faithful in all his words and holy in all his
works. 14 The LORD lifts up all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed
down.
It is a shame when we think that it is enough that we just
believe in Jesus because even the demons in today's gospel know who Jesus is.
And to think that sometimes we even fall short of that aspect of knowing who
Jesus really is. We've got to do better
than this demon if we truly claim that we are His followers. Authority is defined
in the dictionary as the, commanding influence, or right to respect, or
acceptance of one's word, command and thought.
In today’s bible passage the people were astonished at Jesus because He
is referred to as someone who spoke with authority. He even commanded the evil spirit to come out
of a possessed man and it obeyed Him. As Catholic Christians we all claim to
believe in God but are we really subject to His authority. It’s just a shame
that there are times when we do not totally submit ourselves to this Authority.
The evil spirit obeyed Him and came out of the possessed man but we who always
boast of our belief in God and are self confessed Christians are sometimes no
better than this evil spirit. We are all guilty of obeying God only up to a
certain extent, up to a point of comfort and convenience. When it comes to
difficult situations in our lives can we still allow ourselves to be subject to
His authority? Let us all closely examine every aspect of ourselves and search
for those areas where we have not totally submitted to God’s authority. This is
the challenge that I leave all of you and myself as well. Let us surpass the
obedience of the evil spirit to Jesus authority and be more committed to God in
everything that we do. The evil spirit obeyed Jesus out of fear knowing that
God is Almighty and it is of no match to Jesus. In our end we should obey in
the light of love, reverence and trust in God whom we call our Father, Brother,
Redeemer and Savior. There is no doubt that Jesus is the Supreme authority for
only Him can give us the true and everlasting satisfaction, peace and joy we
all long for in our life. We should decide here, now and for always to choose
Him as our Master and Ruler of our life. Amen. Hallelujah!
Luke 4:31-37
31 Jesus then went down to Capernaum ,
a town of Galilee .
He taught them on the sabbath, 32 and they were astonished at his teaching
because he spoke with authority...They were all amazed and said to one another,
“What is there about his word? For with authority and power he commands the
unclean spirits, and they come out.”37 And news of him spread everywhere in the
surrounding region.
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