Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Luke (4: 31-37) in which the people are amazed at the authority and power of Jesus when he frees a man of his demons.

Fr Paul says, this Gospel today shares with us the healing ministry of Jesus.  We need to keep in mind, as we read from Luke’s Gospel, that it is believed Luke was a doctor, so we read his Gospel through a doctor’s eyes.

It is amazing to me, says Fr Paul, that the unclean spirit recognises Jesus and calls him the ‘Holy One of God’ but no one in the temple seems to hear this or pay attention to it. The unclean spirit is virtually calling Jesus ‘God’ and yet no one around at this point in time acknowledges this.  Even when the spirit throws the man down and comes out of him, as Jesus commands, those who see this are only concentrating on the authority Jesus has, not on who Jesus really is.

Mindful that we are in the healing ministry of Jesus through this man in the Gospel, for our reflection , Fr Paul says we might simply ask ourselves, ‘What needs the healing power of Jesus, the Holy One of God, in my life?’