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And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled. But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons." Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven. But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
"When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first."
- Luke 11:14-26
In Saturday's reading, Jesus was praying, and when He finished, He was asked by one of His disciples, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples." He taught them, "When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." He told them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have noting to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'? I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence, he will rise and give him as many as he needs. So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"
And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled. But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons." Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven. My study bible notes that Beelzebub was a pagan god, derided by Jews as "The Lord of the Flies." Here, it says, it is used as a direct reference to Satan. A sign from heaven, it notes, "would be a spectacular miracle validating Jesus' authority. Jesus refused to do such a sign in His temptations in the wilderness by the devil, and He declines here as well." So we get a sense now, that perhaps because of His success, Jesus is running into opposition and denial.
But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls." We note that He knows their thoughts. If is often said in the Gospels that Jesus understands the heart, reads into people what their thoughts are. It is a part of His divine insight -- and He addresses those thoughts. Here is the famous statement that tells us about the way to understand this paradigm: what is the nature of this kingdom, this house, this name in which Jesus acts? Should a dynasty or kingdom be divided against itself, it will fall.
"If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub." The obvious inference to accusations that Jesus' power to cast out demons is really an act of Beelzebub is that somehow Satan's kingdom is divided against itself. Why would the power of demons to oppress (and occupy) human beings be rebuked by Satan? How then would his kingdom stand? Let's remember that in yesterday's reading, Jesus taught His disciples how to pray for God's kingdom to come into the world, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." So Christ gives us a picture here, of two kingdoms in a war for hearts and minds.
"And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges." My study bible notes that exorcisms were part of the tradition of the Jews. Jesus here refers to Jewish exorcisms.
"But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils." The finger of God is traditionally understood to mean the Holy Spirit. Again we have reference to the ways that kingdoms work: a strong man guards his own goods, unless a stronger one comes, takes away his defenses, and divides his spoils.
"He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters." My study bible has a helpful note pointing out the seeming contradiction between the statement here and the statement in a recent reading: "He who is not against us is on our side." It notes that "the unique action of gathering or scattering is the issue: each person does one or the other." And there is another powerful difference: the ones Jesus referred to earlier (in chapter 9) were also working in His name. It is also a strong statement regarding His more powerful kingdom: a bold statement that He is the one to follow, and that He is here to assert this power. To "gather" here is synagon in the Greek, the root of the word synagogue.
"When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first." My study bible says, "Those who have been cleansed are here warned not to be careless. Dry places, deserts, were thought to be the abode of demons." It's a kind of warning about the power of exorcism: someone can be healed, but the awareness or watchfulness of each one of us isn't something that others can do for us. There's an indication that our own constant vigilance is always asked of us. It's implied that the "strong man" will keep trying, perhaps with more unity to compensate for his inferiority to the stronger. The work of this kingdom is a daily, even moment to moment awareness, and it is voluntary on the part of each one of us. In a modern example, we may consider the work of sobriety and serenity for anyone in recovery, or having the experience of a Twelve-Step program. There's never a time when awareness or vigilance is something that's not needed. The same applies to any of us struggling through personal problems that may require tough choices, and Christ rests upon our shoulders His statements about our responsibility for seeking discernment as His disciples. Everyday issues of parenting, being a friend or colleague, spouse or even citizen, ask of us continually to seek how best to do that, in His name.
Today's statements about kingdoms, and gathering and scattering, give us an image of a kind of spiritual war, something that's been called "unseen warfare." But I want to focus on the power of the image in its implication of how precious each one of us is. Somehow there is this great spiritual battle going on, between two kingdoms - the strong man oppresses, and the stronger man comes to liberate. But this is a battle for who we are, our own identities, our hearts and minds, what we think, what we believe, how we choose. It gives us a sense of who we really are, how much more precious we may be than we may know about ourselves. Therefore the message is that we should never give ourselves away lightly, to anyone or anything, without an awareness of who and what we trust. The verses in the second paragraph emphasize our constant need for watchfulness, awareness, alertness. We don't give away our hearts and minds for anyone to come along and tell us what we must follow, how we must think or believe or choose. We must consider who we are, how valuable we are to the One who comes to liberate, how important every choice really is. The message seems to be implied that even should we be liberated by the stronger man, the importance in ourselves and our own vigilance can't be underestimated. We're still responsible for our choices. So, as Jesus taught in Saturday's reading: "I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." We continue to seek and ask and knock. We must know what we are about; ours is not to passively follow but to remain alert, to know what we are about, to ask and seek and knock so that we know this Kingdom and what it asks of us, how we participate in it, and how we make choices for it. We seek our own discernment: to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves. Let us be aware how essential our choices really are; let us never sell ourselves short. Persistence was the theme in Saturday's teaching on prayer. Today that persistence is extended to our own alertness, and awareness of how important our choices really are.
