By whose authority
Gospel Reflection
Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee.
He taught them on the sabbath,
and they were astonished at his teaching
because he spoke with authority.
In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon,
and he cried out in a loud voice,
“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, “Be quiet! Come out of him!”
Then the demon threw the man down in front of them
and came out of him without doing him any harm.
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.”
And news of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region.
How do you use your influence?
Jesus spoke with authority because his authority does not come from himself, nor does it come from the world, but it comes from the Father who is the source of all Wisdom, of all authority.
My dear brothers and sisters, today is Tuesday of the twenty-second week in ordinary time.
In our readings today, we heard how the Spirit allows us to understand God's will, God's desire for us and for all of humanity. This, my dear brothers and sisters, would also allow us to declare and proclaim the Good News with authority.
These days we hear of influencers who make a lot of money through different social media platforms. Many of them are ordinary people who make others feel good, make them laugh, inspires so many, that is why they were able to get a following, for so many people to actually decide to follow them. But there are also a significant number of influencers who, sadly, use their social media platforms in order to spread misinformation and allow for evil to prosper, and for what? Because they have been eaten up by the spirit of this world, by selfishness and greed - greed for the good life, for money, for more influence, for power.
Well, they are rewarded by the world because of what they are doing. They do get so much money, they get influence, and they get power.
But, my dear brothers and sisters, as Christians, as followers of Christ, we are not of this world, we are dead to this world, and our lives are lived for others, to benefit those who are in need.
Our influence comes from God and we are to use it to spread the Good News, to inspire people, to give hope to the hopeless, to spread God's love to those who continue to grope in darkness. We are to bring kaginhawahan to God's anawim - the poor, the oppressed, the abused, the ignored, the forgotten.
This is how we differ from the so-called influencers of this world. Just as Jesus used his authority to drive away the spirit of an unclean demon from a man, in our Gospel today, we too are to use our influence, our authority, to bring to the world's attention the demons plaguing our world and to drive it out in order to bring kaginhawahan to those who suffer from its enslavement.
"Be quiet! Come out of him!"
That is our war cry, my dear brothers and sisters, as we declare war with the demons that enslave this world.
Let the authority that comes from God allow us to have the courage to expel the demons of this world.
Let this be our prayer.
My dear brothers and sisters, today is Tuesday of the twenty-second week in ordinary time.
In our readings today, we heard how the Spirit allows us to understand God's will, God's desire for us and for all of humanity. This, my dear brothers and sisters, would also allow us to declare and proclaim the Good News with authority.
These days we hear of influencers who make a lot of money through different social media platforms. Many of them are ordinary people who make others feel good, make them laugh, inspires so many, that is why they were able to get a following, for so many people to actually decide to follow them. But there are also a significant number of influencers who, sadly, use their social media platforms in order to spread misinformation and allow for evil to prosper, and for what? Because they have been eaten up by the spirit of this world, by selfishness and greed - greed for the good life, for money, for more influence, for power.
Well, they are rewarded by the world because of what they are doing. They do get so much money, they get influence, and they get power.
But, my dear brothers and sisters, as Christians, as followers of Christ, we are not of this world, we are dead to this world, and our lives are lived for others, to benefit those who are in need.
Our influence comes from God and we are to use it to spread the Good News, to inspire people, to give hope to the hopeless, to spread God's love to those who continue to grope in darkness. We are to bring kaginhawahan to God's anawim - the poor, the oppressed, the abused, the ignored, the forgotten.
This is how we differ from the so-called influencers of this world. Just as Jesus used his authority to drive away the spirit of an unclean demon from a man, in our Gospel today, we too are to use our influence, our authority, to bring to the world's attention the demons plaguing our world and to drive it out in order to bring kaginhawahan to those who suffer from its enslavement.
"Be quiet! Come out of him!"
That is our war cry, my dear brothers and sisters, as we declare war with the demons that enslave this world.
Let the authority that comes from God allow us to have the courage to expel the demons of this world.
Let this be our prayer.
Image: bruce mars on Unsplash
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