PRI Reflections on Scripture | Monday of the 3rd Week in Ordinary Time

Join Msgr. Don Fischer as he reads and delivers a short reflection on today’s gospel, followed by 3 1/2 minutes of contemplative music and a closing prayer. Msgr. Don hopes that today’s reflection on the gospel will empower you to carry the Word in your heart throughout the day.

Choose either the video or audio below.

Gospel
Mark 3:22-30

The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus,
"He is possessed by Beelzebul," and
"By the prince of demons he drives out demons."

Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables,
"How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself,
that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided,
he cannot stand;
that is the end of him.
But no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property
unless he first ties up the strong man.
Then he can plunder his house.  
Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies
that people utter will be forgiven them.
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
will never have forgiveness,
but is guilty of an everlasting sin."
For they had said, "He has an unclean spirit."

Reflection
It was impossible to write off Jesus as somebody who was not powerful. So they attributed his power to Satan, which makes no real sense that Satan would work in contrary to Satan's goal to overcome human being's will and to drive them into evil. So what we see here is a clarity of what it means to be in the Kingdom of God.

We need to surrender to the truth that God has given the power to Jesus to overcome all evil. If we believe that we are in his kingdom, and being in his kingdom is allowing God to love us, forgive us, be there for us, and save us from all that is evil.

Closing Payer
Father, the Holy Spirit is your divinity living in each of us. It's up to us to open our hearts to it in order to receive it. So bless us with the conviction that your strength, your power, is what we need and will overcome all of our obstacles of becoming who God wants us to be. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Kyle Cross