Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia
IN
JESUS RESIDES THE POWER AND AUTHORITY TO OVERCOME EVERY EVIL
There
is no doubt that there is an active presence of evil in the world, which
manifest itself in different forms and occasions. This is really obvious in the
time of Jesus, for he seemed to have lived in a world of hostility; political
and family divisions as well as the conflict between good and evil just like we
have in our societies today. Thus, everyday is a struggle against the malice of
the evil ones, and people are doing everything they can to overcome them.
Little
wonder, our Gospel passage today presents to us Jesus’ encounter with two
demoniacs from the tomb in country side of Gadarenes, who had been tormenting
the community. They were so fierce that no one could pass that way. So when
they saw Jesus, they started shouting, ‘What do you want with us, Son of God?
Have you come here to torture us before the time?’ And Jesus said to them, Go,
and they came out from the men and immediately entered the pigs and the pigs
rushed into the lake and perished in the water.
Here,
we are called to recognize that the presence of Jesus in the world brings about
victory over the evil ones. Demons recognize Jesus as the power of God. And his
power over demons is a direct defeat of the evil ones. While the restoration of
the two demoniacs signifies the inauguration of God's kingdom in the world. It
also signifies the healing of God’s people who had sinned and disobeyed God by
abandoning His precepts and laws, preferring instead the wicked ways of life
and worldly practices which leads to destruction.
This
is evident in our first reading today, where we heard the story of Abraham and
his two sons, Isaac and Ishmael. For while Ishmael was born of a slave woman
named Hagar, Isaac was born of Abraham’s wife Sarah, so he was the lawful and
legal heir of Abraham. But this created friction between Ishmael and Isaac,
because Ishmael was older and the supposed heir before Isaac was born.
However,
he had been superseded by Isaac, the true heir. To resolve this conflict,
Abraham sent both Hagar and her son Ishmael away after providing them with some
food and water. They both wandered in the desert and in places without food and
sustenance. It was then that Hagar cried out to the Lord for mercy and
compassion, which the Lord heard and sent his Angels to help Hagar and her son
Ishmael.
Dear
friends, today each and every one of us are called to seek good and not evil,
to promote justice and integrity, less we will be enslaved, rejected and
possessed by the evil of this world, just like the two demoniacs that lived in
the wilderness away from other people. We must know that no matter how great
our sins may have been, God alone has the power to heal us and to bring us back
to Himself. And Jesus has given us the gift of his presence in the person of
the Holy Spirit, which God has bestowed on us in our baptism.
In
this gift resides the power and authority to confront the evil of this world
and overcome it. For Jesus wishes to set us free from sickness, forces, power
and manipulations of the evil ones. He desires to be with us as we struggle everyday
to overcome the evil in our lives, our families, our societies and the world at
large. Therefore, we should not be afraid to stand firm against the
manipulations of the devil, because Jesus will not abandon us in this battle of
life.
LET US
PRAY: Lord God, the world is full of evil and wickedness, give us the grace to
seek what is good and hate what is evil, and as we struggle eevery dayto do
your will, may your presence be felt and drive away all evil in our midst
through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.
.jpeg)
No comments:
Post a Comment