Tuesday of Week 22 of Ordinary Time – Gospel
31He went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbath. 32They were astounded at his teaching because he spoke with authority. 33In the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34“Leave 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.” 35But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” Then the demon, throwing the man down before them, came out of him without doing him any harm. 36They were all astounded and kept saying to one another, “What kind of word is this, that with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits and they come out?” 37And news about him began to reach every place in the region.
Commentary on Luke 4:31-37
Immediately after his mixed reception in Nazareth, Jesus moves on to Capernaum, a town on the north shore of Galilee, which was to be the base from which Jesus did much of his missionary work. As in Nazareth, he taught the people in the synagogue on the Sabbath. Unlike in Nazareth:
They were astounded at his teaching because he spoke with authority.
He did not quote other authorities like the teachers of the law, because his authority was directly from God; it was his own.
At the same time, it was not the authority of domination. It was the authority of someone who has access to special knowledge, the authority of someone who speaks in his own name and not just on behalf of others, the authority of one who empowers others and makes them grow.
The word ‘authority’ comes from the Latin auctoritas, which in turn comes from the verb augere, meaning to increase or augment. And Jesus’ authority is not only in word and teaching. Right there in the synagogue as he speaks is a man possessed by a “spirit of an unclean demon”. The spirit, through the man, speaks in fear of the power of Jesus:
Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.
This title seems to indicate that the spirit recognises Jesus’ divine origin, but not his Messiahship. There was a belief in those times that knowing the exact name of one’s opponent gave one power over him.
Jesus ordered the evil spirit to leave the man, who was thrown to the ground, but not hurt. The people are amazed. Exorcism was not new to them, but they had never seen it done with such speed and effectiveness. They are astounded again at the power and authority of Jesus. They realise they are in the presence of someone very special, in fact, the “Holy One of God”.
Each one of us is given authority of some kind—as a parent, a teacher or perhaps our job responsibility. Let us make sure that we use it in such a way as to enhance the abilities of others rather than diminish them.
