10th Sunday Ordinary time (B) 9 June 2024 The devil
How did the devil get to be a devil? He was created an angel but rebelled against God, so losing the beauty with which he was created and becoming deformed instead. This happened to Lucifer and all his allies.
The fallen angels suffered from the sin which is at the heart of all sins, namely Pride. This is a sin to which we are all tempted. Rational creatures who can think and decide things of a spiritual nature are subject to this temptation.
The fallen angels cannot recover from their fallen condition but humans who have fallen away from God can recover if they make a good repentance. God is always welcoming towards a repentant sinner, cf prodigal son, or later workers in the vineyard. (Lk 15,11-32; Mt 20,1-16)
The fall of the angels has had a flow-on effect in the world, one sin leading to a lot of other sins. Worse for us the devil has a malevolent attitude towards us and seeks to lead us into sin and eternal loss if he can.
He can be like a sneaky serpent as in today’s first reading (Gen 3,9-15), or a roaring lion (1 Peter 5,8), respectively offering us seductive delights, or filling us with terror. If we recognize his methods we have more chance of repelling him. We can resist but we have to be alert.
We cannot afford to be complacent, as there are many ways from which temptations can come. The man who thinks he is safe must be careful he does not fall (1 Cor 10,12).
Nor can we afford to despair of our ability to obey God. He will provide the grace we need to overcome our sins, if only we ask for that grace.
God wants us to rise above the whole sordid world of sin, leaving it behind like an old set of clothes. From now on we put on Christ, we wear the white garment of purity and innocence.
Being this good all the time might sound too hard, but it can be managed if broken down to small pieces. If I get the next thing right, and then the next one. And if I fall I can then get back up again and start fresh. A good deed here, a prayer there, a change of habits – whatever is needed.
Even if we are relatively safe at the moment we have to be concerned for other people as well, and pray for them, give them instruction or at least example of the right way forward.
Generally in our preaching and teaching these days we do not mention the negative factors such as the devil, or hell, or mortal sin. but these things are still with us and must be acknowledged. Salvation is not automatic and can be forfeited.
A false optimism could be fatal.
It is much like when we talk about physical health – try not to catch a disease. It is negative to a degree, but necessary.
Many do not believe in the devil, thinking of evil as a kind of negative force, but the devil is a personal being, full of cunning, and seeking to cause as much harm as possible. The amount of evil in the world and its intensity, tell us we are dealing with a malevolent intelligence here, not just a blind force.
We are not overly fearful, just careful. Swim between the flags.
It is all worth it for the sake of the reward which awaits us, the weight of glory which far exceeds the suffering we go through in this life. (second reading).
We must hold on till the end, every day applying what we know and taking up the task.
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