Gospel: Luke 11:14-23
And if Satan is divided against himself how will his
kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If
I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them
out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that
I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
In today’s Gospel, after Jesus cast out a demon from a man, some people accused Him of being one with the demons. Instead of rejoicing that a man had been freed from evil, their hearts were filled with suspicion and disbelief. They could not accept that Jesus performed this miracle out of goodness and compassion. Their hardened hearts led them to accuse the very One who had come to bring freedom and healing.
This invites
us to reflect: Who is truly one with the demons? Is it Jesus, or those who
refuse to believe in Him?
In our lives,
we are always faced with a choice—to believe in Jesus or to reject Him. Yet
believing in Him is more than simply saying with our lips that He is our Lord
and Savior. True belief calls us to walk in His path and to live according to
His teachings. We cannot claim that we believe in Jesus while at the same time
refusing to follow the way that He has shown us.
Those who
turn away from Jesus make themselves vulnerable to the influence of evil.
Without the light of Christ guiding our hearts, we can easily be led astray by
the temptations and deceptions of the devil.
Sadly, many
people today resemble those who lived during the time of Jesus and refused to
believe in Him. Why does this happen? Sometimes we become so focused on
ourselves that we begin to think we know better than God. At other times, we
say that we believe in Jesus, yet our actions contradict our words because we
fail to follow His teachings in our daily lives.
The
consequences of rejecting Jesus can be serious. When we close our hearts to
Him, we open the door to the influence of evil. Without the guidance of Christ
and the voice of a well-formed conscience, people can begin to commit wrong
actions without feeling remorse.
Perhaps this
is why we see painful realities in our world today—such as the taking of innocent
life through abortion or the breaking of the sacred covenant of marriage
through adultery. These actions remind us of what can happen when people allow
themselves to be led by selfish desires rather than by the truth and love of
Christ.
Yet even in
the midst of these realities, there is still hope.
Hope remains as long as there are people like us who believe in Jesus—people who are willing to stand firm in His teachings and values.
When we
cherish the gift of life and defend its dignity, we become witnesses of God’s
love in a world that often forgets its sacredness.
When we honor
the sanctity of the marriage covenant and remain faithful despite temptations,
we become living testimonies of Christ’s faithfulness.
And when we
choose to follow Jesus even when it is difficult, we allow His light to shine
through our lives and bring hope to others.
The Lord
gently invites us to examine our hearts.
Do we truly
believe in Jesus—not only with our words, but with the way we live our lives
each day? And are we willing to stand with Him, follow His path, and let our
lives reflect His truth and love in a world that so desperately needs Him?—
Marino J. Dasmarinas
No comments:
Post a Comment