Reflection for January 10, Tuesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time: Mark 1:21-28

Gospel: Mark 1:21-28

Jesus came to Capernaum with his followers, and on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are–the Holy One of God!”  

Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!” The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him. All were amazed and asked one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him. His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.

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Reflection:

The story is told about a married man who succumb to an adulterous relationship with his  equally married officemate. The man would always attend Holy Mass with his wife every Sunday. Yet, he still surrendered to the enticement of the devil acting through his married officemate by jumping with reckless abandon into that adulterous relationship.   

Why was he overpowered by the woman who was doing it on behalf of the devil? This is for the simple reason that he had superficial faith, he did not allow Jesus to take control of his life. He instead allowed the devil through the woman who was ostensibly nice and accommodating to her to seduce, control and manipulate him.  

When Jesus went to the synagogue He encountered a man with an unclean spirit or a man possessed by a demon. Then after conversing with the unclean spirit Jesus drove it away from the man. 

Everyone, of us is susceptible to be possessed by a demon that is if our faith in Jesus is weak and if we don’t live our faith. Therefore, we are easily tempted by the devil to commit sin no matter how severe without guilt of conscience. This is what the evil one does to us he uses people to probe our faith. And if it’s weak and shallow it would never stop until it capture, ravage and destroy us.  

Unclean spirit and evil spirit are very real it hides deep in our being it only comes out when the environment is conducive for it to come out. For example, when there’s temptation for us to do something immoral, adulterous and sinful. When the opportunity presents itself the demon that hides within us would now suddenly take control of us until it accomplishes its evil will for us.  

Why does the presence of the evil one hide within us? It hides for the reason that we give it space, in other words it hides within us because we consent to it. Most especially when the situation to sin and do evil is favorable.  

However, if we really desire to completely extricate ourselves from any form of evil possession and unclean spirit. We actually can with the help of Jesus, how would we do it? We must get closer to Jesus we must always ask Jesus to weed out and to completely overpower, defeat and eliminate the evil that resides within us.  

And of course we also have to do our part. We have to confront, permanently avoid and distance ourselves from the human representative of the devil which ostensibly appear to be nice and accommodating to us. - Marino J. Dasmarinas