The Gospel tells us about three realities that our arrogant society, in its various forms, has taken for granted. Hence, the title of this writing. Beyond all that its meaning may reach, many thinkers believe that God cannot break the laws of nature and are even bothered by his doing so in the scenes narrated in the Gospel.
I dare say that many Puritans are even bothered by the fact that he became a man, and even more so by the fact that he now also has human attitudes. That he feels compassion, that he shows his love, that he gets angry,- or that he rebukes. Imagine, then, how the unbelievers described will feel when you say that he still performs miracles today, that miracles exist, and also, of course, that they existed.
Far from being content with rejecting it, they go a step further and try to convince those of us who do have Faith that our Faith is stagnant, that it should not be so “realistic,” or that what we believe does not make sense. They say phrases like “God does not punish” (because they prefer that He does not), “that hell cannot be real” (and therefore neither can the temptations of the devil). To do this, they use circumlocutions similar to “the real hell is here,” or “a good God could never allow an eternal hell.” To counteract all this, you can do it with the First Communion Catechism, with some training, or simply with today’s Gospel. But, before all that, with common sense.
-Hey, you don’t believe it? -Well, I’m sorry, but does it bother you that I do believe it? Well, leave me alone, go on.
So many times it may hurt them that others have Faith, either because they have lost it, or because they do not have convincing arguments in the face of the clarity of the living and lived Faith.
That said, the three points that they consider overcome, even within the Catholic Church, are:
- Miracles do not exist, Jesus could do them, but they are exaggerated in the canonical books and, of course, they are no longer done.
- The devil does not exist, demonic liberation were processes of calm, of schizophrenia or similar.
- We no longer look for Jesus.
The conclusion is that we must recover the “Everyone is looking for you.” So important today and always. A religion that is not Christocentric, ends up being sectarian or, directly, sterile. The devil clearly exists, and all the people who deny it should go to an exorcism. It would be an injection of Faith for them. And, finally, there are still miracles, documented by medicine. There were miracles, as the Gospel clearly describes, and those who do not believe it simply put a blindfold on, or are overcome by ignorance. If they are unbelievers (who once believed and now do not), they are normally immersed in pride, and steps must be taken before trying to convince them. It is better not to waste time.
I believe that the Gospel text speaks for itself: 29 And immediately, as they came out of the synagogue, he went with James and John to the house of Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 31 He went to her, took her by the hand and raised her up. The fever left her, and she began to serve them. 32 At sunset, when the sun had set, they brought to him all who were sick and possessed with demons. 33 The whole town was crowded at the door. 34 He healed many who were sick with various diseases and drove out many demons. But the demons knew him and would not allow them to speak. 35 He got up early in the morning, while it was still dark, and went off to a solitary place and prayed there. 36 Simon and his companions went out to look for him. 37 When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38 But he said to them, “Let us go somewhere else, to the nearby villages, so that I may preach there also; for that is why I came out.” 39 So he went around all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
