In today's passage Jesus frees a person from enslavement to an evil power which had rendered him mute, so that he could not speak. Once liberated, the man could speak and he did so, much to the amazement of the crowd. Let us, too, pray for this gift of speech, to be able to say the right thing at the right time, not to be afraid to share our faith.

But there were those present who accused Jesus of using the demon's power to drive out the evil spirit. In spite of the extraordinary signs that Jesus was initiating on almost a daily basis His enemies asked Him for a sign from God. And why would an evil spirit cast out another spirit doing his work? There is a clear gap between the leaders and the people here. While the leaders keep asking Jesus for His credentials, the people are shown as constantly praising and thanking God for all that is being done among them through Jesus.

"Those who are not with me are against me, and those who do not gather with me scatter." There can be no neutrality where Jesus is concerned. We have to make our choice - for Him or against. Not to choose is itself a choice - against Him.