Posted by Third Sunday in Lent
Today marks the Third Sunday in Lent and the Gospel refers to Jesus’ response to those who, when confronted by his exorcisms said that it was by the prince of demons that he cast out demons. Jesus responded that a house divided against itself cannot stand. Satan cannot drive out Satan. Rather, “If I by the finger of God cast out demons, then the Kingdom of God is come upon you (Luke 11: 20).”
But what does it mean to say the “Kingdom of God has come upon you”? What does it mean to speak of the Kingdom of God? The Kingdom of God is the fulfilment of the hope of Israel for a new heaven and a new earth. God had chosen Israel to be his people and in so far as they obeyed his commandments in the Law given to Moses they could be said to be submitting themselves to the reign of God over his people. However, there remains much in the world that is contrary to God’s purposes. In this present age there is a contrast between what is and what ought to be. His people therefore prayed that he would finally establish his kingdom and create a perfect world in which heaven and earth would be joined together, the wolf would dwell with the lamb and sin and death would be no more.
Jesus taught his disciples to pray for this final consummation of the Kingdom, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”. However, he not only looked forward to the final coming of the kingdom at the end of history, he proclaimed that it was actually in the process of being inaugurated in his person and ministry, in his words and mighty works, especially his exorcisms. God was already at work driving out the forces of evil, a foretaste of the final victory over the forces of evil at the end of the age. In Jesus the powers of the world to come were already at work. Any Jewish teacher might have said, “if you repent and obey God’s commandments you are taking upon yourself the yoke of the kingdom of God”. But Jesus went further and said, “If I by the finger of God cast out demons, then is the Kingdom of God come upon you.” It is not simply a matter of accepting the kingship of God by obeying his commandments. It is actually being confronted by God himself in the person of Jesus Christ driving out the forces of evil that disfigure the world.
Jesus’ exorcisms were a sign of the binding of the strong man by one even more powerful than he (Luke 11:21-22). In other words the forces of darkness that so often seem triumphant in this world were now being bound by a power greater than themselves. Perhaps in speaking of the binding of the strong man Jesus refers back to his temptations in the wilderness. His triumph over Satan in the wilderness was a prelude to his own mighty works in his ministry. It was because he had himself triumphed over Satan that he could deliver from bondage to Satan. In another context Jesus said that he beheld Satan fall like lightning from heaven (Luke 10: 18). In other words he has a vision of the heavenly world that parallels what was happening on earth in his mighty works in his own ministry. In other words, the victory of the forces of evil was being won and their final defeat was assured.
But is it really necessary to see the world as under the dominion of dark forces from which human beings need to be delivered or exorcised? It is certainly true that what was then described as deliverance from bondage to Satan would now be usually described in terms of psychology and sociology. People tend to speak of social forces and economic forces, and focus on the therapeutic aspect of the Christian faith. Such an analysis explains everything at one level, yet at a deeper level it explains nothing. The assumption is often that if the social circumstances were changed the problems themselves would disappear. Doubtless this is sometimes the case and Christians should always be seeking to address the social problems that confront us in the world around us. But there is also a danger when people are transformed from being responsible agents to passive victims of circumstances. The fundamental problem lies not simply in man’s environment but within man himself and that is better understood in the terms of exorcising a demon than a type of therapy. The bad habits that all of us tend to acquire have to be cast out or exorcised, so that good habits are put in their place. Otherwise, as in the parable in today’s Gospel, the demons will return and the last state will be worse than the first.
This is what the Christian life, and in particular the season of Lent is all about, the casting out of the bad habits of the old self and the putting on a new self. Originally this applied especially to the catechumens who were preparing for baptism at Easter. But it also applies to all of us who have been baptised. We are called to become by grace what Christ is by nature.
This is a battle and a struggle, for all of us have bad habits that need to be exorcised and replaced by good habits. But the good news is that it is a battle that has already been won on our behalf by Christ himself. Jesus’ victory over the forces of darkness in his ministry is but a prelude to his victory over them in his death and resurrection. “Now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this world be cast out” (John 12:31). God in Christ has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of his love, in whom we have redemption by his blood, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:13-14). He has triumphed over the principalities and powers through the cross (Colossians 2:15). We now live in the time between his fighting and winning the battle over the forces of darkness in his death and resurrection and the final victory when God will be all in all, in that new heaven and new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
Soldiers of Christ, arise