Gospel LK 4:31-37
Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee.
He taught them on the sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching because he spoke with authority.
In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out in a loud voice,
“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are–the Holy One of God!”
Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet! Come out of him!”
Then the demon threw the man down in front of them
and came out of him without doing him any harm.
They were all amazed and said to one another,
“What is there about his word?
For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.”
And news of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region.
Reflection:
“Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee.
He taught them on the sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching……”
It would seem that Jesus was initially accepted in the Galilean town of Capernaum. He performed many miracles there, including the one mentioned in today’s gospel when he drove a demon out of a man on the Sabbath, without being rebuked by the people for violating the law of Moses.
“They were all amazed and said to one another,
‘What is there about his word? For with authority and power he
commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.’”
Jesus, the miracle worker, may have been initially accepted by the people of Capernaum, but he also had his distractors.
The scribes and Pharisee, the religious and political rulers, were constantly working to discredit Jesus. They considered him a threat to their authority and their strong influence over the people.
Later, in the gospel of Luke, Jesus says,
“And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!” Luke 10:15
Still, regardless of whether they accepted or rejected Jesus, we are also told in today’s gospel that “……news of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region.”
As Christians, our job is to speak of how Christ works in our lives. Whether those listening agree or disagree is not up to us.
We are called to make Jesus known by planting the seeds of faith and then trust in God to make them grow.
“The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” 2 Corinthians 9:6