Readings:
1 Thessalonians 5:1-6, 9-11
Luke 4:31-37
Reflection
In the Gospel account of Jesus casting out the devil, I find it significant that, while the people in the synagogue are not so sure about who Jesus is, the demon does. The devil is a believer! So, is it a different spirit that is behind our growingly secular society that no longer believes in God?
The English poet, Stuttart Kennedy, wrote a poem that compared Christ’s coming to modern-day Birmingham with Christ at Calvary. It went like this: “When Jesus came to Golgotha, they hung him on a tree; They drove great nails through hands and feet and made a Calvary. They crowned Him with a crown of thorns. Red were his wounds and deep, for those were crude and cruel days, and human flesh was cheap.
“But when Jesus came to Birmingham, they only passed him by. They never harmed a hair of him; they only let him die, for men had grown more tender, they wouldn’t cause him pain; they only just passed down the street and left him in the rain. And so it rained; gentle rain that drenched him through and through, and when all the crowds had left the street, without a soul to see, then Jesus crouched against a wall and sighed for Calvary.”
Fr. Ray Sanchez CP is the leader of the Oxley community and responsible for Parish Missions and Retreats throughout Australia and NZ.