JESUS HAS COME TO DESTROY EVIL.

FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME. YEAR B.
February 1, 2009.
(First reading: Deuteronomy 18:15-20) (Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9)
(Second reading: 1 Corintians 7:32-35) (Gospel: Mark 1:21-28)


JESUS HAS COME
TO DESTROY EVIL.

"In their synagogue was a man with an
unclean spirit; he cried out, 'What have
you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?'" (Mark 1:23-24)

Yes, the Lord Jesus Christ has come to destroy evil; evil in all its forms.
Just as the Lord Jesus expelled the unclean spirit from a man, so will Jesus also expel all evils from our world. And just as the possessed man went into "convulsions" before the evil spirit left him, so will our world undergo profound "convulsions" before it is freed from evil.

Evil infiltrates all spheres of human society.
The gospel says that the evil spirit infiltrated a synagogue, most likely to give the appearance that evil is acceptable to God. In our world, the evil one infiltrates our families, our societal institutions under seemingly "acceptable" forms.

The gospel also says that the presence of the Lord Jesus forced the evil spirit to come out from hiding.

Evil cannot hide from God.
Evil has the power to hide in our families and our society, however, the presence of the Lord Jesus in his followers gives the latter the power of God to bring evil out of hiding.

People who seek mutual respect and compassion, peace and justice, unity, truth and equality, have the power to exposed lies, division, injustice, war and death.

The sign of a true Christian is his ability to identify, expose and expel evil wherever evil is found, for good and evil cannot coexist side by side, and the struggle between the two produces violent "convulsions".

Jesus shares with us his authority to expel the evil hidden in our families and our society.
God is the source of Jesus' authority, unlike the scribes of biblical times (and the "scribes" of today) who lack that authority because they speak in the name of their own gods, the gods of earthly power, money and greed.

In the Book of Deuteronomy the Lord God says that if a person "presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded him to speak, or speaks in the name of other gods, he shall die" (Dt. 18:20).

Jesus of Nazareth give us your authority to destroy evil.