Thursday of 3rd Week of Lent
“Anyone who is not with me is against me; and anyone who does not gather in with me disperses.”
Jr.7,23-28 Ps.94 Lk.11,14-23
3rd March 2016
“Jesus was driving out a devil and it was dumb; and it happened that when the devil had gone out the dumb man spoke, and the people were amazed. But some of them said ’It is through Beelzebub, the prince of devils, that he drives devils out. ’So long as a strong man fully armed guards his own home, his goods are undisturbed ; but when someone stronger than himself attacks and defeats him, the stronger man takes away all the weapons he relied on and shares out his spoil.”
As Jesus is proclaiming his Word, once again the devil manifests itself.Each time the Word speaks to us about the devil, we can perhaps feel a little ill at ease because of our culture.It is true that evil does exist , that it has roots so deeply established in us that it is not so easy to eliminate them. Evil imitates God ,and is ’at work’ at all times.
Jesus came to combat all forces of evil.
Jesus has this man get out of his mutism, allowing him to express himself, and to live. Whereas the crowd was in admiration of what Jesus Christ had come to accomplish, some began to say ’’It is through Beelzebub the chief of demons that he expulses demons.’
They used calumny against Jesus, so when lies rage around us, sowing trouble, confusing good with evil, we have the help of running to Jesus.
Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit who allows us , when our time comes to combat, to remain in Love. It is an enlightened Love, one that is just and gives Peace. The Apostles are healed by Jesus who bears His Cross, and who undergoes all sorts of humiliations : Jesus said about John the Baptist ’They have done all they wanted with him.’
It is by His Passion and Resurrection that Jesus frees us from all evil.
"Others asked him, as a test, for a sign from heaven ; but knowing what they were thinking, he said tot hem,’ Any kingdom which is divided against itself is heading for ruin, and house collapses against house. So, too, with Satan : if
he is divided against himself, how can his kingdom last?- since you claim that it is through Beelzebub that I drive devils out. Now if it is through Beelzebub that I drive devils out, through whom do your own sons drive devils out? They shall be your judges then."
This situation is a hard reality, for it is always being played out over and over again : Jesus accomplishes a miracle, the crowd admires this healed man, and then some people begin to doubt and to criticize.
Jesus proposes to us something now and radical. We ought to question ourselves about our way of acting. Jesus reminds us how all action takes its strength in the Holy Spirit given to us. He tells us again that the space in which He tells again that the space in which He proposes we act is one where we enter into Hs way of doing things, where the Kingdom of God lies. In order to enter into this Reign, we ought to accept to be born once again. Jesus’ response shows the absurdity of the argument of his contradictions, this response is for us a call to unity, to strength in union.
Jesus comes to join us, He is there for us, always Love and Goodness. He opens up for us a path in his agony : My Father’, he says when faced with this evil ’take this cup way, but your Will, not mine, be done.’
Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit so that we may be delivered right down in the depths of our being. He transforms the whole of our life from the inside.
“But if it is through the finger of God that I drive devils out, then the Kingdom of God has indeed caught you unawares. So long as a strong man fully armed guards his own home, his goods are undisturbed; but when someone stronger than himself attacks and defeats him, the stronger man takes away all the weapons he relied on and shares out his spoil.”
If we are going through a paroxysm of struggle, Jesus doesn’t stop accompanying us. We contemplate Him, seeing how despite being ’troubled’, He saves us.
It is in being in Communion with His Father that He will overcome all darkness. The ’strongest’ will be crucified and from the top of the Cross He will cry out ’My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?’ It is the Resurrection that will manifest the victory of Love.
May Mary intercede next to her Beloved Son Jesus, so that He may expulse from our heart and from the world all ills.
Mary, Mother of the Church and Queen of Peace, pray for us!
We know how the liar, that savagely dominates humanity, is reduced to silence by Jesus who saves us. It is right that we should meditate upon our participation in ’expulsing demons’, in this refusal of evil. This is how all our weaknesses and situations of fragility in Jesus become a path to victory for we mustn’t take the same arms of divisions and lies as the liar! The friend of Jesus lives by the Holy Spirit who is given to him, joining Jesus in the mystery of Salvation.
We ask for the grace to hear this word in order to contemplate Christ in his mystery.
THURSDAY of 3rd WEEK of LENT
"Jesus was driving out a devil and it was dumb; and it happened that when the devil had gone out the dumb man spoke, and the people were amazed. But some of theme said ’It is through Beelzebub, the prince of devils, that he drives devils out. So long as a strong man fully armed guards his own home, his goods are undisturbed; but when someone stronger than him attacks and defeats him, the stronger man takes away all the weapons he relied on and shares out his spoil.’
Jesus gets this man come out of his mutism, letting him express himself and live. The presence of the demons manifested again in the Word of God. Each time that texts speak to us of the devil we recognize that it is true that evil does exist, that we cannot eliminate it by ourselves since it goes so deep within us! This evil spreads ’working’ through lies all the time and we can barely discern it. But Jesus came to combat the devil and the forces of evil, he alone can reject it. So the crowd was in admiration of what Jesus came to accomplish : ’Some began to say ; ’It I through Beelzebub, the chief of demons that he expulses demons. ’Jesus was accused and the object of calumny. When lies grow around us with the confusion between good and evil we can run to Jesus for help. God, the Strongest One, is full of Goodness and Love in all circumstances. In his Passion, Jesus will spare his Apostles by saying to his torturers ’If it’s me you’re looking for, let them go.’ Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit, who will give us the strength, when our time comes, to remain in Love. It is an enlightened love, a just one, that gives Peace. The Apostles will be healed by Jesus who bears his Cross and undergoes every humiliation possible. ’They did everything they wished with him’, said Jesus about John the Baptist. It is by his Passion and Resurrection that Jesus frees us from evil.
"Others asked him as a test for a sign from heaven; but knowing what they were thinking, he said to them, ’any kingdom which is dived against itself is heading
for ruin, and house collapses against house.So, too, with Satan; if he is divided against himself, how can his kingdom last? - since you claimed that it is through Beelzebul that I drive devils out. Now, if it is through Beelzebul that I drive devils out, through whom do your own sons drive them out? They shall be your judges, then.’
Jesus’ reply shows the absurdity of the argument of those who contradict him. This response is a call for us all to enter into unity, a call to the strength of union. The world is distinguished by these evil spirits that prevent understanding and recognition by each other. Jesus joins us, He is there for us, always loving and good. He opens up a path for us by his agony : ’ My Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me,’ but he continues, ’Nevertheless let your will be done, not mine.’ Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit so that we may be delivered right down in the very depths of our being, transforming our life from the inside. If we go through a paroxysm of struggle he never stops accompanying us ,and so we contemplate Jesus who is ’disturbed’ , who saves us. He will overcome all darkness in being in communion with the Father. The ’strongest’ will be crucified and he will say from the top of his cross ’My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?’ It is the Resurrection that will manifest the victory of Love.
’But if it is through the finger of God that I drive devils out, then the Kingdom of God has indeed taken you unawares.So long as a strong man fully armed guards his own home, his goods are undisturbed, but when someone stronger than himself attacks and defeats him, the stronger man takes away all the weapons he relied on and shares out his spoil.’
May Mary intercede to Jesus her beloved Son, so that he may expulse from our heart and the world all our ills. Mary, Mother of the Church and Queen of Peace pray for us! We know that the liar, savagely dominating humanity is reduced to silence by Jesus who saves us. It is good for us to meditate upon our participation of ’expulsing sermons’, this refusal of evil.’ ’Evil thoughts come from the heart’, Each one’s response is our personal collaboration to good which is so important.In this way our weaknesses and all our fragile situations become in Jesus a path to victory for we mustn’t take up the same arms of division and lies
as the liar! The friend of Jesus lives by the Holy Spirit given to him, joining Christ in the mystery of Salvation. We ask for great assistance in the action of Jesus who delivers us and we remain in goodness and love.