Drive Out Demons

When Jesus had driven out a demon, some of the crowd said: “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.

When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. “When an unclean spirit goes out of someone, it roams through arid regions searching for rest but, finding none, it says, ‘I shall return to my home from which I came.’ But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there, and the last condition of that man is worse than the first.” (Luke 11:15-26)

This reading is quite relevant to the condition of the United States – divided with unclean spirits laying waste and preparing to distribute the spoils of what could be our fallen house. I suppose this conclusion is held by each side seeking to defeat their political opponent.

Too many of us believe “whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”  This attitude is destructive to ourselves and our nation – certainly to our Church. 

We must always be on guard because whenever we drive out an unclean spirit (such as hate), it “brings back seven other spirits more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there, and the last condition of that man is worse than the first.” Driving out demons is not an easy chore especially when the demons’ identities are masked, and they work to remove our armor through misinformation, disinformation, malinformation, and outright lies with their allies flaming the fires of fear and anger.

Such is America, the land that we love yet betray when we treat our Constitution with distain and break our solemn oaths sworn before God. When that happens, the demons hold sway.

Deacon David Pierce