READINGS FROM HOLY SCRIPTURE:
Jeremiah 26:1-15
Ephesians 5:1-9
- St. Luke 11:14-28
Grace to you and peace. (1 Thess 1)
Jesus speaks to you on this day from His Gospel heard, saying:
“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
I have never liked this Gospel reading. Up to today, I have always seen the problem that we have with satan and his angels. That they can appear fair, they can make nice things happen, and can do “good” in order to deceive everyone. In this case, there could be an exorcism done where a demon casts out a demon.
Jesus tells us that false Christs will come, in St. Matthew 24, saying, “For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray” (v.24). Just what are these great signs and wonders? Exactly everything that Jesus and His Apostles did to prove the Word of God true, including casting out demons or baptism.
Why will so many be deceived? They refused to love the truth. 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10, NIV. "The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved."
How do we love the truth and not be deceived by the devil’s chicanery? We think that if we focus on results, that we will see the difference. That anything that happens that produces a good result and helps us progress in our lives is heavenly and anything that hurts or harms is of da debil.
The devil can fake good. He can make it so that it appears as if he is dividing his house in casting out demons, just to spite Jesus at His Word, when really its all just an act. He can make it so miracles and great wonders happen to you. He can save you from that accident, he can fabricate a medical miracle, he can even send you what looks like your grandma to give you advice and we feel good about all of that.
In this life of sin, you look for relief, you look for pragmatic results. Something immediate that you can turn to and say, see God really does love me and this proves that I believe in Him. Because something practical has happened, you base your belief on that.
Repent. The Lord says in 2 Corinthians 11:3-4, “But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.”
Listen. Another Jesus, another spirit, another Gospel. We immediately head to the pragmatic and measurable when we think of God’s goodness towards us. We want that practical sign from heaven, demand it. But that is not what Jesus says in the Gospel and it is not what the people marvel at.
The devil can and does fake the pragmatic, putting our focus on ourselves and making us shift our faith into signs and wonders. The Key to understanding the difference is understanding that the crowd marveled at the speaking of the man after his exorcism, as in what he spoke about.
Yes, it is a miracle that a mute man speaks. But marveling is saved for revelations of God in Christ. So what this man is speaking is important. And we have clues as to what this is from other, similar exorcisms Jesus has done.
In St. Mark 7, another man who was mute was released from that prison by Jesus. Afterwards it says that “his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly” (7:35). This “plainly” is better translated as “correctly” and better yet, as “orthodoxy”.
Which means that when we hear verse 23 from our Gospel, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters” we hear the true purpose of exorcism: to give Faith. The true purpose is not to fulfill some tiny wish of temporary satisfaction, but to be with Jesus and to be gathered with Him.
The Other Jesus, a.k.a. satan, promises strength and prosperity now, because you follow A, B, and C. The other spirit promises spiritual gifts, Apostolic gifts, now, so long as you follow and bow down. The other gospel promises favor so long as you uphold your end of the bargain.
Dear Christians, there is but one Jesus. One Lord, one Faith, one baptism. One God Who is made man in order to expose satan’s kingdom for the sham that it is, and suffer and die to fulfill all righteousness for you.
Had we been accused of casting out demons by Beelzebub, we would have no proof to offer to the contrary. It would be our word against theirs. Jesus Christ is the Word. He is the Truth that shines the light on exorcisms and baptisms.
So it is that when we encounter any wonder or exorcism or baptism, we are to prove it by hearing God’s Word, as Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it”. Faith separates false exorcisms from true exorcisms. Though we may see practical effects in our lives resulting from baptism, and the demon cast out of course, the sign that the Holy Spirit is working and not satan is faith to confess Christ Crucified.
This is the confession of the mute man that speaks freely after his exorcism. He speaks of Christ and His Church. He speaks of unlimited mercy and forgiveness. He speaks of the miracles of the Gospel creating faith in those who hear it and the grace found in the water.
Jesus comes to fulfill all righteousness by taking on the world’s sins and paying the full price to cover them up and by dwelling and living with you. A true exorcism involves Jesus being close, not just good things happening to you afterwards. A true baptism includes a strengthening of faith to see Jesus where and when He promises to be and to speak with Jesus because He is that near.
To not just leave this up to how emotional we can get to “prove Jesus is close”, the Lord leaves us with a gathering, as He said.. This gathering is His Church who, in turn, gathers around His presence. His presence that He promises in Word and Sacrament.
No longer do we have nowhere to point when asked “where is Jesus”. No longer must we feel insecure about our feelings when asked to give a reason for our hope. Jesus settles in His own house, opens up the bulletin, and declares, “The Lord be with you”.
The house that is built on the Rock: His Gospel preached in its purity and His Sacraments administered according to it, stands. We who now enter through the Rock, hear the Gospel, and are washed and eat and drink according to it, also stand. In boldness and confidence we stand, because now we can point.
When satan begins exorcising or even raising the dead, we can say, “My Jesus is forgiving sins”. When satan is performing wonders and filling bellies, we can say, “My Christ is filling us with His Body and Blood.” When satan is offering a clean slate, a great reset, we can say, “I am baptized into Christ.”
In Christ Crucified through His Gospel and Sacraments He suffered and died to purchase and win for us, there are no more questions or doubts as to who is casting out demons. When a demon is pulled out of a person, when the unclean spirit departs, and when sins are forgiven for the 490th time, that person immediately wants to hear of Jesus.
This newborn Child of Light now wants words of truth to repeat with his own lips, hymns to sing at the top of his lungs, and prayers to hurl against the darkness. And Christ’s Church provides, from the youngest to the oldest. In this way, the Way, Jesus places us with Him. He takes us from darkness, which we love, into His Light. And His Spirit and His means, in Baptism and Communion, keep us there by virtue of the Father’s love towards His only Son, Jesus Christ.
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