In the synagogue, there was a man possessed by an evil spirit, who shouted in a loud voice, “What
do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I recognize you: you are the
Holy One of God.” Then Jesus said to him sharply, “Be silent and leave this man!” The evil spirit then
threw the man down in front of them, and came out of him without doing him harm.
Amazement seized all these people, and they said to one another, “What does this mean? He
commands the evil spirits with authority and power. He orders, and you see how they come out!”
And news about Jesus spread throughout the surrounding area.
Reflection:
In 2012, one of the greatest atheists and the “high pope of Darwinism”, Richard Dawkins, had a
debate on BBC Radio 4 with Rev. Giles Frazer, on a national poll which found that 50% of the
British Christians couldn’t even name the gospels. Dismissing the finding as trivia, Fraser
challenged Dawkins to name the full title (a long one) of his favoured book, On the Origin
of Species. Dawkins fumbled. His attempt to recall went like this: “On the Origin of Species
…. uh… with.. oh God… On the Origin of Species… There is a subtitle….” Here is the greatest
atheist, in a moment of simple crisis, calling upon God! It is not only the evil spirits who know
and recognize God; even the atheists do! As they say, there are no atheists in foxholes. Even
when we try our best to deny God, the Holy Spirit that inhabits and probes our depths cannot
be silenced.
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