First Friday Reflection

Friday, Sep. 30, 2016

For my second column reflecting on the Gospel for a First Friday Mass, I was hoping not to have to struggle as I did with the first, but the Gospel for Oct. 7, Luke 11:14-26, initially seemed very disjointed to me. First Jesus drives out a demon and the crowd accuses him of doing so by the power of Beelzebul. Jesus replies with the well-known line that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. He then goes on to say that a strong man fully armed can defend his home, unless one stronger comes along. Next Jesus gives another saying we all know: “Whoever is not with me is against me.” The reading ends with Jesus saying that when an unclean spirit is cast out, it wanders through arid regions without discovering a resting place, so it returns to its former abode and “finds it swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there, and the last condition of that person is worse than the first.”

Pondering for almost a week, I considered (with all due respect to the inspired author) that this was just bad storytelling. None of the elements seemed to go together. Not until I read a translation indicating that the “one stronger” was Jesus did I link Beelzebul to the “strong man fully armed.”

With those dots connected, I was able to see a coherent whole to the passage. 

Here is what I gleaned from this Gospel reading: Jesus can and does drive out demons. He is powerful enough to overcome the demons in our lives and redistribute all the possessions that the demons have gathered, leaving us clean of all the baggage, including the guilt. We are left with a soul that is “swept clean and put in order.”

It’s also a soul in need of something to fill it. That something could be our old demon – despair, negativity, chemical abuse or whatever – which returns,  bringing with it all the guilt that comes from failing once again, which leads to yet more failure as we despair of ever conquering our own personal demon, and so allow ourselves to surrender to temptation again and again and again.

The alternative is to invite Jesus into our soul. With him present, we will still face temptation, but he is stronger than any enticement the devil or the world or the flesh can throw at us, and if he is with us our last condition will be infinitely better than our original one.

Once I understood this message, I realized that although I have often asked Jesus into my soul, I have never actually requested that he stay. Not that I encourage him to leave, but when temptation comes knocking and I welcome it in with open arms, permitting Jesus to be squeezed out.

This particular Gospel made me conscious – much as I am ashamed to admit it – that I have never treated Jesus as an honored guest. Now my prayer is to do everything I can to ensure his permanent presence in my soul.

When I first had difficulty grasping this Gospel passage, I complained bitterly because I want God in my life, I really do, but only if he makes it easy, which he doesn’t. Turning our souls over to God takes effort. Demons are so much less demanding.

On the other hand, our personal demons wreak destruction on ourselves and others, while God leaves us swept clean and able to do good in this world. God’s presence is a great gift; he is worth the work required to welcome him.