Posted by The WORD in other words (2009) by Fr. Devasagayam Savariyappan, SVD – Abra, Philippines
Wednesday 13th Week in Ordinary Time
According to James Frazier in his book Golden Bough, men of this era universally believed that some of the spirits of this world were evil by nature and caused all forms of sickness and ill fortune. Ancient cultures developed these concepts before the Bible and the formation of Israel as a nation.
And even some cultures of the modern world also believed that evil spirits could inhabit a physical body and influence human behavior. This usually resulted in a condition called “demonic possession” where the person’s soul loses its will, giving the evil spirits a chance to perform their will.
Evangelist Billy Graham in one of his sermons said that the sinful curse being perpetuated can be just about anything (or a combination of things) which becomes a habitual obsession, such as physical abuse, emotional abuse, constant criticizing, incest, alcoholism, drug abuse, overeating, smoking, witchcraft, idol worship, cursing, disobedience to parents, murdering, committing of adultery, stealing, and lying. Some people, no matter how good or pious, they think are, still do things which they know are not right. Often these things are done defiantly, or amidst threats of adverse consequences or penalties.
All of us, no exceptions, have a sin-contaminated human nature which explains one, basic tendency to rebel against God and His Will. Whether we like to acknowledge it or not, evil spiritual forces are constantly inciting these tendencies within us (such as envy, lust, pride, and rebellion against God, the latter marked by disobedience of His laws and commands) to surface, and attempting to influence our spirit-minds to give the “OK” to go ahead and manifest them.
And when the Holy Spirit speaks to our inner beings, letting us know the right things to do, we often ignore or refuse the advice, because we choose to remain under the control of our sinful nature.
In the Gospel today , Jesus preaches the Word and casts out the evil spirits. The Word that Jesus preached is also available to us, as it was to the people who heard him in Capernaum. The Word of God is all powerful. It is brought to life in our prayer, in our Eucharist, and in our gathered community as we lift each other up in our sorrows and joys. The Word of God guides us, consoles us, disciplines us, inspire us, and protects us from all forms of evil.
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