The key word in today's Gospel is 'authority'. We are told that Jesus was in Capernaum and that he was teaching in the synagogue on a sabbath day. The people were "spellbound" by his teaching, because it had such authority. Unlike the Scribes, he was not passing on the teaching of others; this was his own teaching. Then, while they are in the synagogue, a man with an unclean spirit starts shouting about Jesus' identity. Jesus expels the evil spirit and the man is healed. The people are amazed and wonder at the "authority and power" of Jesus. 'Authority' has two meanings. On the one hand, it presumes that one speaks and acts in one's own name. Jesus speaks and acts in the name of God with the power of God.

Secondly, 'authority' at its best does not just control people, it liberates people to use their gifts more effectively. That is what Jesus was doing all the time - liberating them from the blindness of ignorance, healing their disabilities, freeing them from compulsive behaviours and from the power of sinful behaviour. May he liberate us, too, and help us to liberate others.