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Gospel Reading for January 13, 2026 – Mark 1: 21-28
A SPACE TO RESIDE
Jesus came to Capernaum with his followers, and on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.
In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; he cried out, “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!” Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!” The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him. All were amazed and asked one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.” His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.
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We say that a person is possessed by an evil spirit when the person loses control of his/her body and mind, foams at the mouth, speaks with a very strange voice and even language which is not his/hers, has intense aggression, etc.. Then, we look for an exorcist who can drive out the evil spirit from the person. If indeed, the person is possessed and the exorcist is good, chances are, the person will be freed from all of these.
Being possessed by an evil spirit in this way may be easier to handle than being possessed by an evil spirit that we ourselves allowed to grow in us, perhaps, not consciously.
When we live a life unconcerned and uncaring about the needs of others; having great disregard for the consequences of our actions; acting without intelligence, thought or purpose as long as we get what we want; not reflecting on the things we do and lack contemplation; or in short, thinking only of ourselves, we are giving the evil one A SPACE TO RESIDE in us. Little by little, the evil one will grow in us until one day, we lose control of ourselves and the evil one gets to be in control. This is the possession that will be very difficult to exorcise because the evil spirit is at the core of our person.
This is why for us Christians, there is great need for prayer or “alone time” with God when we are able to examine the way we live vis-a-vis the teachings of Jesus.
As the Greek Philospher Socrates once said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”
Lord Jesus, may we always remember that we are made in the likeness of God, hence, the absence of God in our lives will deprive us of true happiness and peace!
