Gospel: Luke 4: 31-37
A man possessed by a demon enters a house of worship. Everyone in town seems to know the man as he has been so for some time. The authorities both religious and civil know him too. He can't be helped, say these authorities; it's his own fault he finds himself in this situation; we can't help everyone; he just has to cope with it. And so everyone becomes accustomed to this situation, accepts it, and consigns this man to this fate.
But along comes Jesus who upsets this comfortable arrangement of convenience. In removing the demon from the man Jesus announces the exact opposite of the authorities of his day (and ours): this man matters; he can be helped; we ought to help him; and everyone can be helped. Such a statement is a shock to people in Jesus' time, as well as our own times.
What demons do we tolerate and accept as a given in our society? Whom have we written off as not able to be helped or cared for? What people in our society do not matter to us? Today's Gospel is a challenge to us to expand our love and our circle of concern. Those we thought unreachable or beyond help are reachable and can be helped. How many conditions we once thought beyond repair are now fixable? How many more can be so if we just follow the example of Jesus and look for a way?
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