Word to the Wise
Friday, October 13, 2023 - Friday in the 13th Week in Ordinary Time
[Gen 23:1-4, 19; 24:1-8, 62-67 and Matt 9:9-13]When Jesus had driven out a demon, some of the crowd said: "By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons." [Luke]
Belief in demons was alive and well in Jesus' time. Belief in the Kingdom of God that he and the missionaries of Luke's time preached was not. Jesus' opposition came not just from scribes and Pharisees and other Jewish leadership, but also from the ordinary folks whose belief in demons and "Beelzebul, the prince of demons" was strong. Jesus points out the illogic of their argument that "it is by Beelzebul, the prince of demons that he casts out demons." Why would Beelzebul want to cast out his own powers? No, there is a greater power being shown by Jesus and the early missionaries. It is the power of the "finger of God" and God's Kingdom.
But Jesus warns his disciples that it is not enough simply to cast out demons, they must be vigilant against the return of those same demons. Anyone who has had to overcome an addiction through a 12 step process can testify to this challenge! Stopping the addictive behavior is just one step, even if a crucial one. There has to be support and vigilance against the return of the demon addiction. Part of that is to believe in a "higher power." This is just one example of the challenge. Jesus and the early missionaries were dealing with cultural beliefs and practices that were opposed to the Kingdom of God. The situation has not changed in our day. We are challenged to allow the "finger of God" to cast out those demons in ourselves that come from our secular culture and to be on guard against their return. AMEN