3rd Sunday of Lent 27.3.11 Expelling the demons
The Lord expels the demons. In one sense this is an instant thing; in another sense a long, long process requiring patience and application, a kind of spiritual surgery.
Christ is the ‘stronger man’ of the Gospel. He has removed the previous strong man but (as Our Lord warns) the devil will return if he gets half a chance.
In victory Our Lord dismantles the structures the devil has set up. The devil has kept the human race in slavery to sin. Our Lord sets the captives free by first forgiving the sin and then removing every trace of it, even the desire for it.
Thus the epistle: there must be no impurity or even hint of it. You have been set free from such things. No more darkness. Don't mix light and dark. Don't even think of it.
We should have the same horror for every sin as we have for some sins (eg if a gunman shoots people at random we can all see that is wrong; but we do not all see that abortion is wrong, or blasphemy, or refusal to forgive enemies.)
We are born for the light but we hanker for the dark; we want to go back to Egypt. We do not like the discipline or harshness of desert life, which requires a lot of sacrificing and abstaining as we ‘de-tox’ from sin. The new discipline can be painful but only at first, until we realize how much happier we are. (Thus the Israelites eventually preferred the Promised Land to Egypt).
It is hard for us to be free from sin entirely because the sin already committed darkens our intellect; makes us confused in judgment.
We do not always see clearly what is what. We find it hard to distinguish right from wrong. So that when we face a choice it is not so easy to decide.
The material or physical domain is clearer: eg that smoking is bad for you. But the moral or spiritual domain is harder to penetrate. Funny that some messages are acceptable and not others. We see anti-smoking signs everywhere. But when did you last see an anti-adultery advert on the back of a bus? Why do we advertise against less important evils and let the more important ones go?
When it comes to sin we dimly perceive that it will harm us (or others), but we manage to push that knowledge to the background. We find excuses - just this once; not really doing anything wrong etc.
And then the will is weakened - which means that even if we do see what is wrong with an action we just can't be bothered. The wrong is so much easier, so much more pleasant. I’ll repent another day.
Jesus has come to set us free from all this.
It is not as easy as being let out of jail. We are messed up inside; the wiring is wrong. So it is a process rather than a moment to get this fixed.
We need to get back to the state of sanctification achieved in baptism; so that we can think, act and speak as integrated beings with all systems working properly.
The more we turn to the light, the more we ask for grace, the more likely we can be strengthened, and from that stronger position make further progress.
We become less likely to commit the sins we used to commit, and more able to respond positively to God’s will (cf Our Lady).
And our poor society which is so much in darkness... where we are allowed to believe in God but not allowed to say so! We try to get the full truth into the open. Consequences follow actions. If we ignore God we will have chaos on all fronts, as we already see.
The battle rages on. May each of us find the freedom that is offered to us, so that all we think say and do will reflect the new life of Christ in us.
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