Friday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Or Optional Memorial of Saint John XXIII, Pope
Luke 11:15-26
The finger of God at work

The astonishment in the Gospel doesn’t always result in belief. The people were amazed when Jesus healed a man who couldn’t speak due to an evil force. However, instead of recognising God’s saving power at work, they accuse Jesus of using Beelzebul to perform the healing.

Beelzebul isn’t a demon; the term is associated with a pagan god, also known as Baal, in the Old Testament. The worshipers of Baal considered it a benevolent deity associated with rain, healing, fertility, and protection from sea storms. It wasn’t uncommon for even the Jewish people to turn to this deity, particularly when they felt their prayers were not answered and couldn’t find healing from their own God. The religious leaders were aware of this practiceamong their own people. When they couldn’t explain how Jesus was able to heal the sick, they conveniently attributed his powers to Beelzebul.

Luke portrays the man’s inability to speak as the outcome of being possessed by evil. In today’s society, when individuals choose not to speak up for truth, justice, and peace or are too afraid to do so, they are under the influence of evil forces. It is important for us to reflect on whether we are similarly possessed by evil forces to remain silent and need healing by the finger of God.

Despite Jesus’s astonishing miracles that amazed the people, his adversaries refused to acknowledge that they were the work of God. Even though the Lord’s opponents professed to have vision, they chose to behave as if they were blind. “There is no one blinder than those who choose not to see.”

Let us pray for the gift of sight and speech to see the truth and say the right thing at the right time.

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