Authentic

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/090225.cfm

For some reason, talk of Jesus’ miracles often focuses around making the lame walk, the blind see, the deaf hear or lepers cleansed. But by far, the most common miracle that Jesus performs is the exorcism of demons. I can’t say for sure why this is, but there are a few legitimate theories. These point to some interesting perspectives on Jesus and on the spirit world.

In our lifetimes, we will encounter people with physical ailments. Blind, lame, deaf. These are things that we have seen and experienced. They are physical and concrete, indisputable. We like the objectively verifiable. Yet there are many things that we have not personally witnessed that we do really believe in. Oxygen. We believe with all of our being that not only does oxygen exist, it is necessary for us to live. I have never seen oxygen. I don’t know how to find oxygen. I can’t touch it or measure it. Now some people can and I believe what they say about oxygen. They ARE able to measure it. I don’t know if they can ‘see’ it or not, but they can prove when it is or isn’t in the air. Oxygen can reveal its presence to them.

Demonic possession is something we rarely, if ever, see in our lifetimes, yet it seems so prevalent in the time of Jesus. Many people will propose that those ‘possessed’ might actually be suffering from something else – mental illness or seizure disorders perhaps. While this might have some basis in a few cases, there are a number of Jesus’ exorcisms that involve the demons speaking, as in today’s Gospel. When they speak, their words are very telling: “what do you want with us, Holy One of God?” Well this rules out seizures, and I think almost all mental illnesses (I’m not a psychologist, so I won’t say 100% on that front). I will say that there is clearly some difficulty in discerning between the psychological and the demonic.

We just don’t want to admit that possession is something that happens to people, that COULD happen to us. This is extremely scary. It is scary for those in the Gospels as well. That is why they beg Jesus for help. This is where Jesus puts all of this in an appropriately sized box. We must remember this: Jesus has complete authority over the demons. He is always the victor. He never loses. He has won the victory.

One of the worst things that we can do is just to pretend that these demons are not real. We pretend that our sins do not invite demons into our lives, or worse, we forget to invite Jesus in to keep them at bay, or to tell them to shut up and get out. I don’t want to begin to make everyone feel as though every little temptation or challenge in their life is a demon, but to recognize what we are ‘inviting’ in. What sins are we ‘embracing’, what are our guilty pleasures, so to speak? When these begin to drive us, motivate us, make us turn left when we should turn right, that’s when it is time to invite Jesus specifically into that circumstance.

When Jesus came to earth, He came in the lowliest of circumstances so that we would know that He is comfortable there and willing to go there with us. Don’t hide your sin. Jesus is a ‘roll up your sleeves and do the dirty work’ sort of savior. He will jump right in with you – and when He does – He wins. He is the undisputed, undefeated champion. Jesus can protect us from any demon. Just keep drawing closer. He is the authentic authority.