22nd Week in Ordinary Time : Tuesday 30th August 2022

Today’s readings deal with God’s power and authority. The reading from the first Epistle to the people of Corinth is intriguing. Only God can fully know God, but I think this Epistle reminds us that we can know about God and see things as God sees them by the power of the Holy Spirit in us, by our life in Christ. Then the Psalm sings our praise of God – merciful God, glorious God, faithful God, and God lifting us up when weakness and sorrow bring us down.

The Gospel depicts one of a series of little scenes in the narrative of Jesus’ public life, in which Jesus is teacher, healer and prophet. Here he’s also exorcist, calling an “unclean demon” to come out of a man. Already astonished at how Jesus teaches with authority and wisdom, the people of Capernaum are amazed at his power and authority over evil spirits.

Today we might diagnose the man with “the spirit of an unclean demon” in him as mentally ill. Yet who among us has not seen or felt the power of an “evil spirit” in the hostility, errors, crimes and misbehaviour of quite sane people? Haven’t we all, reading a newspaper or hearing news on TV had thoughts like, “What could have possessed him to take out his gun and fire it?” or “What possessed her when she wrote such a cruel letter?”.  And, sadly, I think most of us have had moments that make us wonder later, “WHAT POSSESSED ME that led to my making such a stupid mistake?” or “saying something so hurtful”?

Lord, create in me a pure heart.