Luke 11:14-28; Ephesians
5:1-9; Exodus 8:16-24
In the Name of the Father and of the
+ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Is it any
wonder that the Church and the Christian faith are under attack today? Simply
listen again to the Words of Jesus from today’s Gospel: “Whoever is not with me
is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” That’s pretty
black and white. No shades of grey there. This saying is decidedly not post-modern. Our world, our culture,
despises and hates such black and white distinctions. Truly, they do not
believe such distinctions can be made, for they do not believe that absolute
moral truths even exist, but that what’s right or wrong, good or evil, is but
the product of one’s culture and personal context.
For example,
in a discussion I was involved in earlier this week concerning the morality of
ISIS cutting off people’s heads, the majority of the folks involved – not
pastors or even Christian laity, for the most part – were not able to say that the
act is immoral, but only that, it is moral
for them, it is moral for ISIS, within their culture and personal context.
However, if you find this shocking, you should be reminded that this kind of
thinking is not new. For, if you deny moral facts and absolutes, what you truly
deny is truth itself. According to this logic, all truth is the result of
cultural and social constructs and personal experiences. Carrying this logic to
its logical end, the result is that, what’s true is what’s true for you, or for
your community, or in your context. No, this kind of foolishness is very, very
old. It goes back as far as Pontius Pilate who famously quipped, “What is
truth?” It goes back as far as the ancient Greek philosophers like Protagoras
writing in the 5th century B.C. And, it goes back all the way to the
first question about truth ever asked: “Did God really say?”
Truly, when
Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth?” he should have known that he was staring
the Truth right in His incarnate face. And, when the serpent asked Eve, “Did
God really say?” he knew the truth very well, he knew what God had said, and
that His Word alone is true, and the Truth, in contrast to which every other
word is false and a lie. God was, is, and ever shall be the Beginning, and the
End, and, well…, everything in between. Likewise, He is the First and the Last,
the Alpha and the Omega, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
And, He, and His Word, and His Spirit were before all things, His Word being
the very source and the origin of all things, who also sustains all things and
holds them together until the very end. Truly, the laws of physics, chemistry,
and biology are reflections of God, set in place by His design, not the other
way around. Likewise, goodness and truth are measured by the standard of God in
His holiness and righteousness, not by the subjective and limited reason,
wisdom, and perceptions of men and women whom He has created.
And, so it was
that Aaron could cause gnats to arise from the dust of the earth by the Word of
God and by the Finger of God, His Holy Spirit. And, so it was that Jesus could
cast out demons, heal the sick, make the paralyzed to walk, the deaf to hear,
and the blind to see, could raise the dead, and forgive sins by the power of
the Word of God – whom He was and is and ever shall be – and by the Finger of
God, His Holy Spirit, who works in and through the Word of God, Jesus, and who
always, and only, points to Jesus, to the glory of God the Father. And, so,
when Jesus casts out demons, there are two, and only two, possibilities –
either Jesus casts out demons by the Finger of God, the Holy Spirit, through
His Word, or He doesn’t. And, if He doesn’t, then, the crowds were indeed
right, He must, necessarily, cast them out by the power of Beelzebul, the
prince of demons. “Whoever is not with me is against me.”
But, Jesus
does not cast out demons by the power of Beelzebul. In fact, He offers an
impeccable piece of logic to demonstrate this truth saying: “Every kingdom
divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. And if
Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say
that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by
whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.” You see,
it was not a question of whether or not there were demons to cast out, or if
Jesus had the power to cast them out – no, those are modern questions, the
result, not of scientific discovery, as most suppose, but of the decline and
attrition of faith in the Word of God. No, they believed that there were indeed
demons, and they saw that Jesus did indeed cast them out. The question for them
was, from whom did the power come? Did it come from God, or from Satan? Jesus’
words inevitably caused them to remember Aaron and Moses and the magicians of
Pharaoh. In that story of old, even Pharaoh’s magicians had to confess that
Aaron caused the plague of gnats by the Finger of God. That was precisely the
power they believed to be at work when their sons, their own exorcists, cast
out demons. And, they could not conclude otherwise than that Jesus cast out
demons by the same Finger of God, the Holy Spirit, communicated through the
Word of God, even the Word of God made flesh, Himself.
There is a lot
going on in today’s Gospel – Jesus’ authority over the devil and his demons,
the clear line of demarcation between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the
devil, keeping one’s spiritual house in order, what it means to be part of
Jesus’ family, and more – however, I believe that Jesus’ final statement in
this pericope sums it all up: “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and
keep it.” Yes, truly, it all boils down to this point. For, Jesus’ authority
over the devil and his demons comes from the Word of God alone. The line of
demarcation between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the devil is trust in
God’s Word. What enables you to keep your spiritual house in order – that is,
your soul – is that you remain focused upon, and trusting in, God’s Word so
that you are not lead astray by the devil’s deceptions and lies, as appealing
and attractive as they often appear to be. And, most of all, what it means to
be a part of Jesus’ family – His brother, sister, mother, father – His Bride,
is to fear, love, and trust in God above all things, in, and through, His Word,
and His Word made flesh, Jesus Christ. Before, after, and through all of your
life, even all of creation, His Words remain true: “Whoever is not with me is
against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” It truly is that
black and white. The difference between the two ways is a clearly demarcated as
the difference between light and darkness, life and death. You must trust in
God’s Word, you must trust in Jesus, in this way. There is no fence straddling.
There are no shades of gray when it comes to the Truth.
This is why
St. Paul exhorts you to beware of worldly and fleshly desires and deeds. Sexual
immorality, impurity, covetousness, filthiness, foolishness, crudeness – these
are doorways to the household of your soul beckoning the devil and his demons
to come and setup shop. Be certain of this – they will come. And, the more you
practice these things and give yourself over to them, the more will come, and
the stronger their foothold will become for you. Though they were once cast out
of you in Holy Baptism by the Word and Finger-Spirit of God, if you let them
back in and do not continually cast them out by returning to your baptismal
purity in repentance, confession, and absolution, your last state will be worse
than your first.
Therefore, let
Christ be your example, and imitate Him as beloved children imitate their
loving father. “For, at one time you were darkness, but now your are light in
the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all
that is good and right and true.” And, remain constant in faith, hope, and
knowledge in the Word of God, being not deceived by the devil’s and the world’s
“empty words.” “Because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons
of disobedience. Therefore, do not become partners with them.”
You can resist
them so long as you keep your eyes focused upon Jesus. The devil knows this,
and that is why his only goal and purpose is to divert your focus and
attention. He doesn’t need you to bow down and worship him. If he gets you to
look away from Christ, towards anything else, he knows that he has you. Like
Peter, who in faith walked on the water towards Jesus, but began to sink when
he looked away, apart from Christ and His Word, you will sink in the mire of
sin and death. Whoever is not with Him is against Him, and whoever does not
gather with Him scatters, and is scattered. Therefore, let your focus now, and
always, be on His Word, and on His visible Word in the Blessed Sacraments He
has provided you that you may not falter, but embrace and hold fast the unchangeable
truth of His Word. For, blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.
In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.
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