The Real Deal - 2nd Sunday of Pentecost 2019

23 June 2019 

2 Timothy 2:22-26; Luke 8:26-39

I have never been one for believing in the literal possession of one’s soul by a demonic force, at least not like it has been portrayed in movies like “The Exorcist”.  I suppose the reason for my cynicism is much like my doubts about “Bigfoot” – I haven’t seen either with my own eyes.  I’ve heard stories and I’ve watched TV documentaries, but I’ve had no personal experiences. 

Yet the Scriptures and the witness of the early Church Fathers seem clear – about demons, not Bigfoot.

I remember as a child listening to a priest talk about the occult.  He was most concerned with the “Ouija Board” game which, in his words and according to Catholic doctrine, is no “game” at all.  Dealing with the occult, summoning spirits and demons, and holding séances all make for scary Halloween fun, but all are very dangerous business not only because our Holy Father prohibits such activity, our Shepherd also shows us these demons and unclean spirits are very real.  And very dangerous.

By the Word of The Lord, then, we are compelled to look more closely, heed Jesus’ experiences with these demons, and stop pretending everything in Jesus is all fuzzy puppies, cuddly kittens, and feel-good theology with rah-rah sermons of “I’m ok and you’re ok, so we’re all ok”. 

The hard truth is coming to faith is not simply a moment of emotional weakness; faith is forged in fire by trial, temptations, and even doubts in coming to terms with the difference between good and evil.  The closer we draw to Messiah, the more fervent and pitched will the real battle become – because what we can clearly see by the Scriptures is these demons, these unclean spirits cannot abide by the Presence of The Lord and will fight back!

Recall the story written in Acts 19.  Some sons of the Jewish high priest were attempting to cast out demons in the name of “the Jesus whom Paul proclaims” (Acts 19:13); calling on Jesus’ Name without actually being connected to Jesus.  But “the evil spirit said to them in reply, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” (vs 15).  We are then told this evil spirit “mastered them all, and so overpowered them that they fled out of the house naked and wounded” (vs 16).

St. James did indeed say, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (4:7).  However, Jesus also taught that “Whoever is not with Me is against Me” (Luke 11:23).  The meaning is simple.  There can be no ambivalence about our devotion to The Lord.  We are in Him and Him in us, or He is absent.  We can take nothing for granted; not The Lord, and certainly not evil spirits. 

I don’t think physical convulsions are the sole, or even the primary, characteristic of a demon who is trying to make himself at home with us – nor is the devil a red person who carries a pitch fork and has horns on his head.  So we kid ourselves if we think a demonic influence will manifest itself so clearly.

It is also important to remember what St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians: “Put on the whole armor of God so you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil; for our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (6:11-12).

This very real danger exists today as it did when St. Paul also wrote to the Corinthians: “I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by its cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (2 Cor 11:3).  This concern was directed toward those who could be led astray by a false gospel that tries to “adjust” the Scriptures to the modern age.

It is not always force by which our faith and our allegiance to The Lord will be challenged; it will be, more often than not, by cunning; by deceit, by evasiveness, by subtle trickery.  It may come into our conversations as we gossip about and slander others.  It may come by a false notion that “love” justifies or excuses adultery, fornication, and other inappropriate relationships.  It may come – especially in an election season – through our support of one candidate by demonizing the opponent.

So I think what we must be consciously aware of is not necessarily the presence of the evil one but, rather, the absence of good – i.e., with Christ or against Christ.  St. Augustine believed if we are not aspiring to our higher calling in Christ (Wesley’s idea of sanctification, “going on to perfection”), we are surrendering ourselves to the absence of good.  The same can be said of the tension between love and hate.  The Scriptures do not allow an ambivalence or a middle ground; if we do not love, we hate.  Therefore, the absence of good is the presence of evil.

If this all sounds like a lot of theological double-speak, it is perhaps because we ourselves have become ambivalent about the presence of evil in the absence of good.  And the open door to the very real threat to the well-being of the Church is the ambivalence of Her members; a spiritual laziness or complacency that simply expects Jesus to do all the work, rejecting our Lord’s own warning to His disciples: “Keep watch; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak”. 

The Lord is our comfort, a “very present help in our time of need”.  Yet we must be willing to admit and confess our need.  We must acknowledge that “good” is not subjective to the culture’s ideals.  Good is The Lord, and He has determined what is good and what is evil.  We do not get to decide for ourselves nor should we kid ourselves into believing so.

It is Jesus – the Living Word of the Living God – who has mastered the forces of evil in this life, in this world, and we must never convince ourselves we can go it alone or that the devil is a made-up story designed to frighten us.  As our Lord showed us in the wilderness, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4).  And this in the face of the evil one himself.

The evil one is present in the absence of Christ our Lord.  We must not kid ourselves into believing the threat is not a real one.  Our homes, our children, our churches and communities are all at stake if The Lord is not there.  The devil is real, and so are his tricks.  There is no middle ground between Good and evil.  Let The Lord have His way so we can find our Way in Him.  Amen.