January 16, 2019
Wednesday, 1st week in Ordinary time
Hebrews 2: 14-18; Mark 1: 29-39
Casting out the demons has right from the Old Testament times been cited as one of the signs of ushering in the Reign of God. And that is the tradition that the letter to the Hebrews abides by, when it explains what the Son of God has done to humanity. The first reading explains that one of the key processes of establishing the Reign undertaken by Jesus was to cast the devil away! The Gospel tells us too, that Jesus stayed on and cured the people and cast demons away from their midst.
The primary tool of the devil to control human beings has always been fear! It is through fear that the devil has its way into the minds, hearts and lives of human persons. Fear makes one falter, fear induces needless anxieties, fear takes away the capacity to think and fear makes one slave to the moment! That is when we do something out of fear, it normally goes wrong and later or in the long run, we look back and say, 'how foolish we have been!'
Fear, which is the tool of the devil, cannot be a criterion in faith, that is our relationship with God! The Fear of God that has always been praised as the greatest gift of the Spirit, is not the fear that we speak of here! Fear of God is the due reverence to God and not a fright that compels us to do things or perform duties or obey commands. If I do anything out of fear, it insults a God who is so loving, merciful and concerned about my well being! Instead, one of the signs that we can mature in our relationship with God is to cast our our fear, and place all our hope and trust in the goodness of God. Yes, that is our way to the Reign... casting our fears, casting out the demons from our midst or sometimes even from within us!