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 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 

 

On Saturday we read that as Jesus was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."  So He said to 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."  And He said to 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 nothing 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."   Beelzebub was a pagan god (Canaanite Baal).  This is a corruption of the name which was popularly used by Jews, as this god was derided by the Jews as "the Lord of the Flies."  Here, this name is used as a direct reference to Satan.

Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven.  My study bible tells us that a sign is never given to those whose motivation is simply 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.  But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you."   The finger of God my study bible says is the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:28).  This is a warning about what and whom Christ's accusers are seeking to slander with accusations of demonic activity.

"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."  The strong man is Satan, whom my study bible says holds sway over the fallen human race.  The stronger man is Christ (see 1 John 4:4).   An additional note reminds us that it is the work of Christ to gather the children of God.  Those who scatter are in direct opposition to Christ.  The latter are different from those who work in good faith toward God's purpose but are not yet united to the Church (see 9:46-50).  St. Seraphim of Sarov is quoted as saying that only "good deeds done for Christ's sake bring fruit," and therefore deeds done for other purposes, "even if they are good, are deeds that scatter abroad."

"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."  The unclean spirit is a reference to the rebelliousness which was cast out of the Jews by the Old Testament prophets, in order to prepare them to receive Christ.  According to the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, those who refuse to receive Christ are then left open to the wickedness of seven other spirits or demons.  Let us note that seven is also a spiritual number, indicating fullness or completeness.  It underscores the importance of stopping wrongheadedness or dangerous spiritual practice as early as possible.  

It's often said that faith is a journey.  That is, we're never standing still.  We don't decide one moment that "I am this" or "I believe this" and then put it aside and live our lives.  It simply doesn't work that way, because we, as creatures of God, don't work that way.  Life is a journey in which we travel forward through time, always offered choices and always making decisions.  Faith is intimately linked to our choices, to where we place our priorities, to how we think about guidance, and most importantly, it is connected even more deeply to the spirit and the soul.  Therefore the state of our prayer lives, our consciousness about our faith in daily practice and affirmation, and the depth of the unknowable communion with God which Christ came to bring into the world.  This is why daily prayer is important, and it is why our own alert and awake faith, especially as practiced via self-awareness, is essential to our own well-being.  When Christ speaks about the finger of God, or the Holy Spirit, He is referring to the power of God that is at work in us and among us, and right here and now in this world.  He is referring to the action of grace which is present for us.  Here He is being accused of performing marvelous works, and casting out demons, by the power of demons.  But He gives His strongest warning about sins against God:  to label actions done by the presence of God working among us as actions of evil is the ultimate kind of sin.  It is to directly act against the work of God in the world.  Therefore, the adversary one chooses through such action is not simply another human being:  it is the power of God.  If one thing is to be understood from the gospel message, it is that the kingdom of heaven is here and working among us, and that we can be a part of this kingdom even as we live our lives in this world.  But to directly challenge and engage that kingdom is not simply to challenge human beings.  It is to challenge the goodness and grace and power of God.  We suffer real consequences from such choices.  It is possible that in the road of salvation  (for we begin here by speaking about a road or journey of faith) should we, in ignorance, make such accusations or acts, we might be brought round to salvation.  But in so doing, we will have to realize our error -- and so often, that is just possible through loss or difficulty, so that we wake up and get wise to ourselves.  But when we think about Christ casting out demons, we must focus on the fact that this is done through the Holy Spirit, the power of God, or as Jesus puts it, the finger of God.  What He refers to when He says, "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters" is simply those who seek to challenge and rebuke the power of God.  And in terms of Christ's final analogy, of the empty house to whom seven spirits more wicked than the first return, this is a clear indication of faith as a journey.  This is because it points to the fallacy of correcting a mistake while yet failing to make a commitment to faith for further down that road.  Those who are not active and vigilant in seeking to follow the path of Christ's power or the Holy Spirit open themselves up for worse down the road, as every new choice is based fundamentally upon the foundation of what came before.  This is therefore a warning against complacency and uncaring.  We need to be prepared for the "return knock" of that unclean spirit, and those it might bring in addition.  As we continue upon our own journey of faith, let us consider how important daily prayer is, and vigilance in seeking discernment and awareness.  Life isn't simply a random set of facts or luck; instead, so much depends upon how we respond to those facts or luck, especially when they seem to us to be random.  We are on a path, and our journey is simply to make sure we keep going in the right direction, toward Christ who beckons and whose power helps us along the way.