Message of Abbot Paul - Thursday 11th November
St Martin of Tours
Message from Fr Paul for Thursday, 11th March 2021
The enemies of Jesus often accused him of being in cahoots with the devil or Satan, especially when he healed people who were possessed by evil spirits. They could not understand where his power came from and doubted that it might come from God. It’s interesting to note that the evangelists never tried to cover this up when setting forth their Gospel narratives. They could easily have done so. Today’s Gospel reading from Luke, (Lk 11: 14-23), is no exception. “Jesus was casting out a devil and it was dumb; but when the devil had gone out the dumb man spoke, and the people were amazed. But some of them said, ‘It is through Beelzebul, the prince of devils, that he casts out devils.’” Now, it’s clear that most people looked on this act of liberation in a positive way: they were amazed. Often, they give thanks to God. However, a small minority disagree and say that Jesus casts out devils through the power of the prince of devils, Beelzebul. You can look up that name online and find extensive information. Suffice it to say that Beelzebub or Beelzebul is a name derived from a Philistine god and later adopted by some Abrahamic religions as a major demon. The name Beelzebub is associated with the Canaanite god Baal. In the New Testament, Beelzebub is another name for Satan.
Another small group of objectors asks for a sign. Jesus is not afraid to take them on. “Others asked him, as a test, for a sign from heaven; but, knowing what they were thinking, he said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is heading for ruin, and a household divided against itself collapses. So too with Satan: if he is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? – since you assert that it is through Beelzebul that I cast out devils. Now if it is through Beelzebul that I cast out devils, through whom do your own experts cast them out? Let them be your judges then. But if it is through the finger of God that I cast out devils, then know that the kingdom of God has overtaken you.” Jesus’ reply on the demand for a sign is to state the obvious, that a house or a nation divided by internal strife will fall apart. It follows that Satan is hardly going to assist Jesus in casting out evil spirits if Satan puts them there in the first place and is their lord and master. All this talk of Satan leads to that final statement of Jesus, which is the very heart of this Gospel passage and what really matters, that Jesus works his miracles of healing through the creative power of God and that the kingdom has come in Jesus, in fact, “has overtaken you.” Essentially, that is all that matters and all we really need to know.
There follows a short parable: “So long as a strong man fully armed guards his own palace, his goods are undisturbed; but when someone stronger than he is attacks and defeats him, the stronger man takes away all the weapons he relied on and shares out his spoil.” This illustrates what Jesus has been saying, but more important still is the final proverbial saying of Jesus, which we also find in other contexts: “He who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me scatters.” The questions we need to ask ourselves today are whether we are for Jesus or against him, not so much in words but in the way we live and the things we do, and whether we gather or scatter, whether we build up or destroy his Church.
