Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come

 Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.  And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"  Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."  But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them:  "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.  If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself.  How then will his kingdom stand?  And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?  Therefore they shall be your judges.  But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.  Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?  And then he will plunder his house.  He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.  Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.  Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."

- Matthew 12:22-32

On Saturday we read that when Jesus knew that the Pharisees began to plot against Him in order to destroy Him, He withdrew.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.  Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "Behold!  My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!  He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.  A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory; and in His name Gentiles will trust."

  Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.  And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"  Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."  But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them:  "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.  If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself.  How then will his kingdom stand?  And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?  Therefore they shall be your judges.  But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.  Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?  And then he will plunder his house.  He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad."   The name Beelzebub comes from a title for the god Baal.   For the Jews, this reference is a slur, meaning prince of "the dung heap" or lord of "the flies."  Baal was a god worshiped by the Philistines (2 Kings 1:2-16).  Here, Baal is called ruler of the demons.  The impossibility of demons fighting against themselves, my study bible tells us, illustrates both the irrational pride and envy of the Pharisees in their opposition to Jesus.

"Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.  Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."  To blaspheme against the Holy Spirit is to blaspheme against the divine activity of the Spirit; that is, blasphemy against pure goodness.  A sin against the Son of Man is more easily forgiven as the Jews did not know much about Christ, my study bible says.  However, blasphemy against the Spirit, whose divine activity was known from the Old Testament, will not be forgiven -- this is because it comes from a willful hardness of heart and a refusal to accept God's mercy.  In patristic teaching, it is clear that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is neither an "unforgivable sin," nor does Jesus call this sin "unforgivable."  According to St. John Chrysostom, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would be forgivable if a person repented of it.  Jesus makes such a declaration with the understanding that those who blaspheme the Spirit are calling pure, divine goodness "evil," and that these are beyond repentance by their own choice.

My study bible speaks about the irrational pride and envy of the Pharisees, which leads to blindness concerning Christ, and even to the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.  It is an important illustration for us about character, and the things that truly lead us to stumble and to sin.   Both pride and envy keep us from seeing things as they truly are.  Pride leads us to forget about a higher good, a greater depth of knowledge that God leads us toward, and it keeps us from a true focus on God as our source of what we know as good.  Moreover, pride blinds us in ways that have to do with cutting ourselves off from ways in which we may learn more, come to a deeper understanding of what is good, and improve our own lives.  Pride cuts off the Pharisees from Christ, as they are so overwhelmed with the need to express their superior positions and authority, they cannot see nor hear what He is truly about.  Envy is also a way of cutting down another person, but it comes from a lack of thankfulness for what we do have, a lack of appreciation of our own place with Creator.  It cuts off communion and it is also blind to the real communion that exists in the love of God.  It is almost always harmful to community in ways that are subtle and varied and can be unintended.  If we envy others for what they have which we think we do not, then we are missing our own blessedness -- and casting aspersions on the place where we, too, are loved by God.  When both pride and envy seem to pervade the minds of the disciples (on more than one occasion), Jesus teaches them that humility will be the way to greatness within His Church (see these readings for the depth of Jesus' emphasis on casting away what ails us in forms of pride and envy).  Humility and service become ways in which we express the grace that is available to us, and recognize our place is with God who loves us, not merely in competition with others from a limited perspective about who we are and what our capabilities are.  In this week in which we consider the great gift of the Holy Spirit after the celebration of Pentecost, let us consider the myriad gifts we fail to grasp and develop when a limited perspective on our lives is all that we have, when we allow pride or envy to get the better of us.  It diminishes us, in the end, and keeps us from the love of God that gives us so much.  It is the great gift of grace and of the Holy Spirit that leads us to all truth, teaches us to develop our talents and other gifts, leads us to wisdom and real joy which is internal.  Let us consider, then, the truth of the Spirit and all that we are given and is truly at hand when we enter into that communion of love, mercy, and the beauty of God.  As my study bible notes, it is the Holy Spirit that has been at work throughout the history of God's people.  Let us remember the Spirit is present with us in abundance through Christ.  Our true spiritual lives flow through His gift.  St. Paul writes, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God" (Romans 8:14).  If sons, then heirs.  Pride and envy have nothing to offer us but blindness to all that we may inherit, and the mystery that awaits our fulfillment as those who may become "like God" in the work of the Spirit in us, the presence of the Kingdom.