Homily for Thursday 24th January 2019
_“And whenever the unclean spirits beheld him, they fell down before him and cried out, ‘You are the Son of God.’” *(Mark 3:11)*_
For some days now we have been reading about how Jesus did not find it easy with the religious leaders of his day. Jesus did everything he could to make them recognise his divinity; he would not fast, he ate grains on the Sabbath, he forgave the sins of a paralytic, he healed a man on a Sabbath and so on, yet, instead of these Pharisees to worship Jesus, they became so hardened in heart that they sought for ways to kill him.
It is funny that, while the religious people were finding it so hard to believe, those who belonged to the devil were proclaiming Jesus boldly as the Son of God. Quite ironic. The blind could see but those with eyes could not see.
Earlier on, we read how Jesus encountered a man with an unclean spirit right inside the synagogue. This man cried out: “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” (Mark 1:24-26). Today we read: “whenever the unclean spirits beheld him, they fell down (like the magi did) before him and cried out, ‘you are the Son of God.’
How come demons and evil spirits could see but the “children of God” could not see? Let’s just face the truth. Your ability to see does not depend on the position you hold in the church or the number of years you have been a Christian. It depends on how authentic you are. No wonder Jesus described these Pharisees and religious leaders as “blind guides.” (Matthew 15:14)
One lesson we learn from this is that we cannot hide our true identity from the devil and his agents. We cannot pretend about the truth of what we are made of. We may deceive people, but we cannot deceive the devil. We may work miracles, perform signs and wonders and get people to praise us but the devil knows who is really who.
The higher we grow in our spiritual life, the bigger the threat we pose to Satan. And the closer we get to God, the more equipped we become with the spiritual weapons of our warfare. (Read more in Ephesians 6:12-19). We don’t even need to shout: “Satan die, Satan die, die, die” before he starts running away from us. Jesus did not shout or sweat even a single drop when he performed exorcisms.
Your authority over the works of darkness is in not the volume of your voice neither is it in your ability to dance acrobatics on stage, it is in your authenticity; the truth behind your identity. Stop deceiving yourself saying you are going to church to kill satan only to come home and swim in sinfulness. You only make a mockery of yourself.
The book of Hebrews qualifies the priesthood of Jesus in the following words: “holy, blameless, unstained, separated from sinners.” (Hebrews 7:26). Do these words strike a chord? If you really want to fight the devil, start by fighting sin in your own life, start by fighting hypocrisy and pretence, start by fighting dishonesty and the worship of material things, start by fighting prayerlessness and your inability to read the Bible. Deepen your spirituality and the devil will run like a madman upon perceiving your presence.
Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, make me more like you in everything. Amen.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Thursday of the 2nd Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Hebrews 7:25-8:6, Psalm 40, and Mark 3:7-12).
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