Tuesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
In a subtle yet poignant way, the Gospel reading today is helpful for re-focusing on the big-picture scope of salvation history. In our modern age of scientific skepticism regarding the spiritual, it is important to be reminded that Jesus’ authority over the demons (demonstrated through the multitude of public exorcisms that He and his disciples performed) was one of the most striking signs of his divinity. The reactions of observers are consistently clear: they had never seen anything like this before. Jesus presented them with teachings backed by a power and an authority beyond that of any ordinary mortal.
The repeated presence of the demons throughout the Gospels should remind us that we actually live our seemingly ordinary lives in the midst of a great drama. The rebellion of satan and his legions are directly related to the fall of the human race into separation from God. The big-picture beauty and glory of the Christian life is that we are invited day after day to live into the fruits of the great victory that Christ has won for us through his Passion, Death, and Resurrection.