Possessed By Beelzebul

The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "By the prince of demons he drives out demons." 

Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables, "How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him.

But no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house. Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness but is guilty of an everlasting sin." For they had said, "He has an unclean spirit." (Mark 3:22-30)

Our kingdom is divided against itself.  Jesus said that sort of kingdom cannot stand.   Alarming but true words spoken by our Savior.

No one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man.  Our country is strong – and is great – but it is being tied up through division promoted by the left and right.

We are guilty of everlasting sins and burdened by unclean spirits when we foster division and refuse to see the other side’s opinion and respect it even if we disagree.  Forgiveness only comes when we seek the common good and the welfare of our country and all its people.

Let’s remember what Jesus said.   He warned us that when divided, we cannot stand, and that’s the end of us.

Today’s Gospel provides an unsettling message in this year of 2024.  Actually, this message has been in play for many years with division of the “kingdom” becoming increasing worse with no reason to suspect it will abate.  This division is republican versus democrat, conservative against progressive, all the while we recognize that the lines between the tribes are not always clearly drawn.

Nevertheless, civility has given way to open hostility, name-calling, and derogatory, personal attacks. The “strong man,” our nation, is being tied up from within. The result: our beloved country – our house – can be plundered.  There are many villains who wait for our own self-immolation.  Unclean spirits roam our nation and encourage division.

Let’s untie the strong man through simple acts of kindness and compassion and through tolerance and understanding. Not easy to be sure, but absolutely necessary if we are to be faithful to our Pledge of Allegiance.  Allegiance is the key and is the knife that stops plundering.

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic, for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all."

Yes, “indivisible!”  Shall we make it so by honoring our pledge?  We wish our political leaders and American citizens who follow them (and social media) would.  Otherwise, we and our nation will continue to be possessed by Beelzebul.

Deacon David Pierce