SON OF GOD IS BEING ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEMON – OCTOBER 8TH FRIDAY (Lk 11: 15-26)

1. The accusation seems to have been whispered among the people by the Pharisee emissaries from the capital; the words of the charge were evidently not addressed to Jesus. These men could not deny the reality of the work of healing, so they tried to suggest that the great Healer had dealings with some great evil angel. It derives ultimately from the Canaanite God Baal.
2. Through this argument Jesus assumes the existence of a kingdom of evil, armed and thoroughly organized to carry out its dread purposes. He concedes, too in language which admits of no questioning the existence of a chief of this evil confederacy. Throughout his reply, the Master, while carefully bearing in mind the ability and still, it is not thinkable that the prince of evil would fight against himself, which he would be doing if he put such mighty weapons into Jesus’ hands.
3. Jesus as son of God knew their hearts. This is one divine attribute he maintained even as he limited himself to become human. Their logic was faulty. A King did not fight his own army, or the entire war would be lost. A family feud brings ruin for all in the family. Satan would never use his power to exorcise demons for the demons were a major part of his forces.
4. Jesus told another parable to show that defeating Satan and casting out demons is not the point of life. You must do more than get rid of the bad. The demon cast out does not remain inactive. We should not be contented with casting our demons but must fill it with Christ’s words, his life.
5. People think that if they had a spectacular sign, then all would believe and two things would happen. 1. There would be no abuse, ridicule, or persecution by friends or neighbours or anyone else. 2. The whole world would be converted. The Kingdom of God would come to earth and there would be plenty for everyone. There would be no need to protect what one has nor to fear the selfish and self-centred, seeking to control his own life. People would still disbelieve and distrust God and would still choose to do what he desired instead of God’s will.

Absence of evil does not necessarily mean the presence of good. We tend to think that way because we are taught to think always between two extremes. In the sacrament of reconciliation we wash out all the stains of sin with the detergent of grace, but that alone is not sufficient. We need to fill our lives with a lot of good deeds. When we leave our hearts empty, the vacuum that is left has the every possibility to attract the evil in stronger way. The best thing is to fill it with Christ and His values.

Courtesy
The Holman’s Commentary
The Pulpit Commentary
The Preacher’s Outline and the Sermon Bible
Sacra Pagina Series