August 30 2022

First reading 1 Corinthians 2:10-16

The Spirit reaches even the depths of God

The Spirit reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God. After all, the depths of a man can only be known by his own spirit, not by any other man, and in the same way the depths of God can only be known by the Spirit of God. Now instead of the spirit of the world, we have received the Spirit that comes from God, to teach us to understand the gifts that he has given us. Therefore we teach, not in the way in which philosophy is taught, but in the way that the Spirit teaches us: we teach spiritual things spiritually. An unspiritual person is one who does not accept anything of the Spirit of God: he sees it all as nonsense; it is beyond his understanding because it can only be understood by means of the Spirit. A spiritual man, on the other hand, is able to judge the value of everything, and his own value is not to be judged by other men. As scripture says: Who can know the mind of the Lord, so who can teach him? But we are those who have the mind of Christ.

Responsorial Psalm 144(145):8-14

The Lord is just in all his ways.

The Lord is kind and full of compassion,

slow to anger, abounding in love.

How good is the Lord to all,

compassionate to all his creatures.

All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord,

and your friends shall repeat their blessing.

They shall speak of the glory of your reign

and declare your might, O God,

to make known to men your mighty deeds

and the glorious splendour of your reign.

Yours is an everlasting kingdom;

your rule lasts from age to age.

The Lord is faithful in all his words

and loving in all his deeds.

The Lord supports all who fall

and raises all who are bowed down.

Gospel Luke 4:31-37

‘I know who you are: the Holy One of God’

Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath. And his teaching made a deep impression on them because he spoke with authority.

In the synagogue there was a man who was possessed by the spirit of an unclean devil, and it shouted at the top of its voice, ‘Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus said sharply, ‘Be quiet! Come out of him!’ And the devil, throwing the man down in front of everyone, went out of him without hurting him at all. Astonishment seized them and they were all saying to one another, ‘What teaching! He gives orders to unclean spirits with authority and power and they come out.’ And reports of him went all through the surrounding countryside.

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The life-giving presence of Jesus

In today’s gospel, Jesus spoke, and people were deeply impressed with Him and His message. In this time of prayer, let us ask the Holy Spirit to help us not to take Jesus and His words for granted but listen to Him with renewed joy and passion.

The passage also speaks of a man “possessed by the spirit of an uncleaned devil” who recognised who Jesus was. He shouted aloud, “I know who you are: the Holy One of God.” This man was afraid of what Jesus might do to him and wanted to be left alone. Like the man in today’s Gospel, we too might have our own “demons” that we struggle with daily. These demons of pride, jealousy, anger, lust, laziness and
deep wounds from past events are sometimes alive and actively influence how we live and love. Today, Jesus wants to lead us to live a full life of freedom and to follow Him with greater faithfulness. May we stay with Jesus and find in Him the source of our healing and comfort.

Reflection question:
What is Jesus’ invitation to me as I listen attentively to His Word today?

Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year C” by Sr Sandra Seow FMVD.