Tuesday, September 24, 2024  

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Today's Scripture
Luke 4:31–37

He went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and was teaching them on the sabbath. They were astounded at his teaching, because he spoke with authority. In the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Let us alone! 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.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” When the demon had thrown him down before them, he came out of him without having done him any harm. They were all amazed and kept saying to one another, “What kind of utterance is this? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and out they come!” And a report about him began to reach every place in the region. (NRSV)

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Reflection

This man has an unclean spirit, and while I have no idea the specifics of this imagery, I can imagine it. We have all witnessed or experienced conditions, circumstances, and experiences that have sucked the life out of us. While we are not told the specifics of what this unclean condition meant for this person, we are told that he was “in the synagogue.”

A synagogue was a collection of people of faith. You could think of this as a church, your church. This person attends church with an unclean demon, a life-eroding reality, and apparently the church offers no help. The church had learned to “make peace” with whatever it was that was leaving their sibling in a state of brokenness.

We often do that ... we make peace with the way things are. But Jesus, while always meeting us where we are, refuses to leave us as we are. He speaks a word that brings healing.

Healing is not always within our power. There are some circumstances that no matter what we do we can’t make things better. But sometimes we can. And when we can, we should. This gospel word is a word of authority that can breathe life where life has been sucked out of us. So, when the need presents itself, we should do the good that is ours to do. It matters. Even if no one else notices, Jesus will.

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Prayer
God of mercy,
for the harvests of the Spirit, thanks be to God.
For the good we all inherit, thanks be to God.
For the wonders that astound us, for the truths that still confound us,
most of all that love has found us, thanks be to God.

Amen.

(Prayer text by Fred Pratt Green, from the hymn “For the Fruit of All Creation”)

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Reflection written by Tom Are Jr., Interim Pastor

Reflection © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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