Reading: Gen. 21:5.8-20; Ps. 34; Matt. 8:28-34
Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia
THE AUTHORITY TO OVERCOME EVIL IS IN JESUS
A critical study of the scriptures, it seemed as if Jesus 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, every day is a struggle against the malice of the evil ones, and people are doing everything they can to overcome them.
Little wonder that our Gospel passage today presents to us Jesus’ encounter with two demoniacs from the countryside 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 recognise that the presence of Jesus in the world brings about victory over the evil ones. Demons recognise Jesus as the power of God. And his power over demons is a direct defeat of the evil ones. 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 lead 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However, he had been superseded by Isaac, the true heir.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 is called to seek good and not evil, to promote justice and integrity, lest we 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 every day 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 every day to do your will, may your presence be felt and drive away all evil in our midst through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful day.
