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.

"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, it came to pass, as Jesus was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that 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.  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."     Beelzebub (or Baʿal Zebub) was a name given to a pagan god (Baal or Ba'al, meaning Lord) which derided the god of the pagan worshipers.  Ba'al shrines or places of worship were frequently given names to denote a specific "Ba'al" for a place or a specific characteristic.  For example, Baʿal Ugarit was the name of the patron god of the city of Ugarit, or  Baʿal Shamem was "god of the heavens."  In this case Beelzebub is a rendering of a name coined by the Jews belittling this god of the pagans, and it means "Lord of the flies" or the dungheap.  Here in this criticism of Jesus this name is used as a direct reference to Satan.  A sign, my study Bible comments, is never given to those whose motive is merely to test God (see Luke 4:9-12). 

 

"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 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."  My study Bible explains here that the strong man is Satan, who holds sway over the fallen human race.  The stronger than he is Christ (see 1 John 4:4).

 

"He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters."  My study Bible comments 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 are different from those who work in good faith toward His purpose but are not yet united to the Church (see Luke 9:46-50).  Quoting from St. Seraphim of Sarov, my study Bible says that only "good deeds done for Christ's sake bring fruit," and therefore deeds done for any other purpose, "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, according to my study Bible (citing the commentary of St. John Chrysostom) refers to the rebelliousness cast out of the Jews by the Old Testament prophets in order to prepare them to receive Christ.  Those who refuse to receive Him are left open to the wickedness of seven other spirits or demons

How do we think of Christ the stronger Man?  We're to understand from today's reading the "unseen battle" that goes on all the time, a spiritual battle for hearts and minds.  In the Orthodox tradition, it is understood that we, as human beings, may participate in what are called the energies of God.  That is, the ways that God dwells in the world and works in the world, the things of God that are shared with us, like the working of the Holy Spirit, also called the Spirit of God in the Gospels (Matthew 12:28).  We understand these energies also as grace, or God's mercy.  They are the ways that God shares His life with us, through which we may participate in that life.  This happens through prayer, through worship, through al the things we do in the name of our faith.  But in another sense, we can share also in energies that are called demonic.  This is not to give the demonic substance, for it is simply considered to be parasitical.  But, as Jesus puts it here, it is that which is in opposition to God, which works among us human beings in order to oppose God.  As Jesus says, He is the stronger man, and there is none that can oppose God, none that is stronger than God.  But that which is demonic can tempt us, keep us away from God, as the devil tries to do in Luke 4:1-13.  We can look at the activity of the demons in the Gospels and it all seems quite cruel and harmful to human beings, from the young boy with convulsions (Mark 9:22; Luke 9:42) to the demoniac tormented by a Legion of merciless demons, who must live among the tombs (Luke 8:26-38).   To participate in the activity of demons by actions such as cruelty, torment, mercilessness, or lies, deceptions, and manipulation (Revelation 22:14-17) is to participate in demonic energies; this is the the traditional way that spiritual warfare has been understood in the Church.   Whichever "way" we choose, we participate in those unseen forces of the strong man who rules this world, whom Christ came to displace.  It's also important to notice in today's reading that Jesus indicates we don't stand still or stay in one state when we choose one way, but without repentance, or change of mind, we continue down that road ("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").  One thing is clear, Jesus has called upon us to follow Him, to participate in His life and His energies, His mercy, so that the Holy Spirit may dwell in us as temples of God.  St. Paul writes, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12).  Let us play our part allied with the stronger Man and His angels and saints, for we enter into a wide communion, a great cloud of witnesses, and we have been invited into this struggle by our Lord who wants us with Him.  Let us gather with Him.