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

 

 "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.  Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'  And when he comes, he finds it empty, 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.  So shall it also be with this wicked generation."  

While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.  Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You."  But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"  And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother." 

 

- Matthew 12:43-50 

 

On Saturday, we read Jesus' remarks to the Pharisees who had accused Him of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub, whom they called the ruler of the demons.  Jesus said, "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.  Brood of vipers!  How can you, being evil, speak good things?  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.  Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."  But He answered and said to them, "An evil an adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.  The queen of the South will rise up in judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."

 

  "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.  Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'  And when he comes, he finds it empty, 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.  So shall it also be with this wicked generation."   My study Bible comments that when the Israelites were delivered out of Egypt, they did not repent of their impure ways, and an unclean spirit took up residence in their hearts (Deuteronomy 31:20; Psalm 106:34-39).  So, therefore, we are to guard our hearts.  Unless there is full repentance and the Holy Spirit dwells in a person, my study Bible explains, an expelled demon will return with others and re-occupy its above.  

While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.  Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You."  But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"  And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother."  My study Bible comments that Christ's relatives have not yet understood His identity and mission.  He points to a spiritual family which is based on obedience to the will of My Father.  My study Bible adds that in Jewish usage, brother can indicate any number of relations.  It cites Abram who called his nephew Lot "brother" (Genesis 14:14); Boaz who spoke of his cousin Elimemlech as his "brother" in Ruth 4:3; and Joab who referred to his cousin Amasa as "brother" (see 2 Samuel 20:9).  My study Bible adds that Christ Himself had no blood brothers, as Mary had only one Son:  Jesus.  The brothers who are mentioned here were either stepbrothers, sons of Joseph by a previous marriage, or cousins.  At the Cross, Jesus commits His mother to the care of His disciple John (John 19:25-27).  This would have been unthinkable if Mary had had other children to care for her.  

We might find Jesus' words strange, in the early part of today's reading.  He speaks of a person as a kind of a house, in which an unclean spirit once dwelt.  But the spirit goes out into the world and finds only "dry places," and finds no rest.  The spirit returns to the house to find it cleaned up, swept, and in order.  And so the unclean spirit gathers "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."   We should remember that He is speaking to the Pharisees (and scribes) who have accused Him of casting out demons by the power of demons; even by the power of "Beelzebub" whom they call the ruler of the demons.  This is a warning to them about the importance of spiritual consistency.  That is, it is not enough to be "cleaned and swept," to follow all the rules that declare holiness or cleanliness.  But it is essential to be more than that, to be consistent and persistent in our faith, so that we are actively involved with prayer and the love of God in what we do, and seeking God's way for us in our lives.  As He will remind them in the words of Isaiah, "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me" (Matthew 15:8). Recently I heard a sermon on the passage of the woman with the twelve year flow of blood (or hemorrhage) as told in this reading.  The priest giving the sermon pointed out that what was necessary in her case was that she took the initiative -- she reached out to Christ with faith.  She touched the hem of His garment in hope of being healed.  It seems that Christ's preaching to the Pharisees in today's reading backs up that understanding of the passage.  It's not enough that we simply take care that we are doing no wrong.  Instead, our seemingly passionate, "jealous" and loving God wants us to take the initiative, and be as involved as we can be with God's healing embrace, and especially calling upon the energies and power of Christ, as did that woman with the twelve year flow of blood.  We are to be engaged with our faith, active in it, even if that means we devote time to prayer, we participate in our sacraments and services, we call upon God for help, we engage as actively as we can so that the Holy Spirit dwells in us.  For everything we read in the Gospels affirms the notion that we need to be actively engaged in pursuit of God, like that woman.  We need to affirm our commitments and grow in our faith, and if that is difficult, then we need at least to be asking, seeking, and knocking (Matthew 7:7).  In the second part of today's reading, we understand that those whom He will consider to be close to Him, His family, are those who seek the will of the Father and to do it -- and this is yet another affirmation that we need to be actively engaged in seeking our faith.  For the Lord wants those who will return His love.  As Jesus, He came into the world seeking His own, with a mission to save, to endure the Cross and human death in order to make it possible for all of us to dwell with Him.  That kind of love does not want those who are lukewarm, but those who can return that love.  A few readings earlier, we read that Jesus taught, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force" (Matthew 11:12, in this reading).  One way of interpreting that passage is to understand the ardent zeal with which those who would belong to this Kingdom are pressing into it, desiring to be a part of it, and use of the word "violence" is meant in this sense.  Let us consider, in the world which we might often find simply "lukewarm" to our faith, what it means to passionately pursue Christ, as we would pursue One who is beloved and dear to us.  Let us make our own pursuit of faith as much an ardent priority as He did His pursuit of us and our salvation to be with Him.