He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters

 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."

- Luke 11:14-23

Yesterday, we read that as Jesus and the disciples went toward Jerusalem He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.  And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word.  But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?  Therefore tell her to help me."  And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.  But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."  

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."  In between yesterday's reading and today's there is a passage in which Jesus teaches the disciples to pray.  The lectionary gave us that reading just before Ascension day (see the reading from Tuesday, May 23).  Beelzebub was a pagan god, the name one of ridicule and derision by the Jews, meaning "the Lord of the Flies."  As used here, it is a direct reference to Satan.  Jesus is being accused of using demonic power to effect his healings and signs.

Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven.  Throughout the Gospels, Jesus is frequently asked to prove Himself by providing a sign from heaven.  That is, a kind of obvious sign of astounding power meant to "convince" others of His divine identity.  My study bible says that a sign is never given to those whose motive is merely to test God (see 4:9-12).

 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."  Jesus knows their thoughts, one characteristic of His identity and divinity (He is also called the "Heart-knower"; see Acts 1:24).  He responds with logic:  every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, a house divided against a house falls.  Why would Satan attack his own kingdom.  And we note that exorcism was already a tradition in Judaism, so Jesus asks, "By whom do your sons cast them out?"  Their "testimony," which is accepted as the work of God in the world, becomes the judgment against those who accuse Him.

"But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you."  This is as strong a warning as Jesus gives anyone.   The finger of God is the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:28).

"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."  Jesus makes a clear statement of power here.  The strong man is Satan, whom my study bible says holds sway over the fallen human race.  But the stronger than he is Christ, who comes as liberator or deliverer for human beings (see 1 John 4:4), and clearly a conqueror of evil. 

"He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters."  Finally, this is a statement of absolute power.  It's unequivocal.  My study bible says that it is the work of Christ to gather the children of God, while those who scatter are in direct opposition to Him.  Those who work in opposition to Christ differ from others who work in good faith toward His purpose, but aren't yet united to the Church (see Jesus' statements and teaching at 9:46-50).  A note quotes St. Seraphim of Sarov:  Only "good deeds done for Christ's sake bring fruit," and thus deeds done for any other purpose, "even if they are good, are deeds that scatter abroad."

Jesus presents us with a spiritual paradigm:  there is a kind of "war in heaven," if we may use that phrase.  There are forces allied on one side and another.  Human beings are involved in this battle, and the battleground in our world is the human heart, the interior of a person.  The heart, in biblical language, is the center of the self, of consciousness.  It contains all that makes up who we are as persons, and depths that we don't know ourselves.  In this context, we should keep in mind that Christ is called the "knower of hearts," literally "heart-knower" in the Greek text (kardiognostes).  His statements here indicate not only a kind of battle or struggle for this world and the human beings in it, but also His own supreme power.  To say that he who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters is really to state that there is no battle and no contradiction; in Him is the meeting of all things.  Whatever it is that struggles against this truth, this spiritual reality, does so in vain.  The one thing that may be missing here for those who encounter this language as the language of a worldly warrior is that mysterious but inalienable ingredient in the equation:  the human heart.  God does not compel anyone to love God, to return God's love.  In this we are free to make our choices.  We, unfortunately, have all kinds of influences on us, and part of the characteristic of the demonic is that it is materially-oriented.  Coercion, hypocrisy, persuasive falsehoods that appear truthful, fear and terror, oppressive violence and force, and many other forms of temptation and manipulation are part of the arsenal of that which is against Christ.  But what we put our faith in is His power to liberate, to be the redeemer, the one who ransoms us from captivity, slavery, imprisonment -- especially in the human heart and soul.  All of this battle takes place on a spiritual level, but we do experience day to day its working out in our world in time.  It may never be obvious -- we can view Jesus' refusal to give a sign as a signal that this is not about what manipulates and coerces!   It is ultimately the loyalty and love of the human heart for which Jesus is here in the world as incarnate God.  As He puts it Himself, He is here not to lose a single soul that the Father brings to Him.  But when we're faced with our own difficulties, temptations, terrors, and evil we can see manifest in the world, our faith must be in Him and His words:  "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters."   This is the reality of a universe beyond what we know, the spiritual truth of Christ's identity.  But we walk through a world that will deny its meaning and its value.