“People always try to find base motives behind every good action. We are afraid of pure goodness and of pure evil.”

The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.      —  Albert Einstein (1879-1955, German-Jewish physicist)

Gospel Text: (Luke 4:31-37)

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.

 

Reflect, today, upon the reality of evil and the reality of demonic temptations in our world.  We’ve all experienced them.  They are nothing to be overly frightened about.  And they should not be seen in an overly dramatic light.  Demons are powerful, but the power of God easily triumphs if we let Him take control.  So as you reflect upon the reality of evil and demonic temptations, reflect also on God’s desire to enter in and render them powerless.  Allow God to take command and trust that God will conquer.