Friar’s Corner: Come, Jesus, draw us closer to you

Deut 18:15-20; Ps 95:1-2, 6-9; 1 Cor 7:32-35; Mark 1:21-28 Theme:

We are now flowing into the early days of Jesus’ public ministry. Last week Jesus was baptizing and announced that the kingdom of God was at hand. Then he called his first disciples, four fishermen. In the gospel this week Jesus was in the synagogue at Capernaum preaching on a Friday night, the Sabbath. The people were amazed by his teaching with authority. His first miracle that night was freeing a man possessed by demons. One of them asked, "’What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God.’ Jesus rebuked him and said, ‘Quiet! Come out of him!’"

With the coming of Jesus and God’s kingdom, the long reign of satan and his kingdom was coming to an end. Its final end will only be at the end of time on earth. Jesus spent 20% of his ministry, healing thousands and 20% of that time was spent driving out demons, for Jesus has ultimate authority over all of them.

Many today question the existence of demons or devils. We have seen demons in many ancient religions. Our own Bible first showed their activity in the Garden of Eden, tempting Adam and Eve to eat of the tree of "good and evil." That was the only command God gave them in that beautiful garden. They were tempted by satan and disobeyed God. Evil began to spread with their first two sons when Cane jealousy killed his brother, Abel. And the evils in our world continue down to our own day. Satan is the ruler of the kingdom of darkness. God, our Father, sent his Son into the world to bring us back into his kingdom of love, peace and joy.

Flies and mosquitoes

Satan, or Lucifer, is the ultimate ruler of darkness with all the other fallen angels. In our world they are like flies and mosquitoes in the summer, pestering us and trying to get us away from God and his loving blessings. These negative spirits want to be in a warm human body and eventually take us off to hell with them in eternal punishment for their disobedience. They do their work by tempting, harassing, obsessing and possessing humans, yet not totally, because we have free will. To possess us, they are invited in where they control some areas of a person’s life, like murder, abortion, drugs and alcoholism. They come in groups and feed on the negative emotions from a person’s past wounds. If they have entered a person, they can get free by asking God to heal a person’s past wounds and negative emotions. Generally the evil spirits can be pushed out rather easily.

The void areas then need to be filled up with God’s graces. With God’s wisdom and insight we can see and sense them. Some priests are given specific training and the power to drive out these spirits. Some "send them peacefully and quietly, immediately and directly" to Jesus in the closest Catholic Church tabernacle to be disposed of as Jesus wishes. Those spirits thus cannot return to the person yet there are many others tempting them in the same way. We need to keep up our guard against them by knowing Jesus personally and much prayer.

We can protect ourselves by praying in the morning as we get up before going out into the world. We praise and thank God for who he is and all he has given us. Then we beg forgiveness for our sins. That is like getting a shower in the Blood of Jesus. Then we put on our spiritual clothes, a shirt or blouse of chastity and pants or skirt of purity, according to our state in life. We put on our belt of God’s truth to keep our clothes together. If we don’t have our clothes on in the world we will end up in jail because our private parts are not covered. Then we put on our shoes of zeal to announce the Good News of Jesus and our breastplate of righteousness, which is our "bullet proof vest." Then we put on our hat of salvation.

Word of God, our aggressive weapon

As we go out into the world we take our shield to put out the dart attacks of our enemies. These are all protective and defensive elements. The only aggressive weapon is the Word of God in the Bible, not guns and bombs. Like Jesus in his temptation in the desert, we beat the demons by quoting God’s Word. We go out into the world protected for whatever will be thrown at us that day. And we do it with delight, which the enemy hates. Now we are ready for work in the world. Does this make sense? If we know Jesus and are surrounded with his light we are at peace and experience joy. We go out like the old "ghost busters," not in a white Cadillacs but with God’s mighty power. Amen.

See Ephesians 6:10-18 on Christian warfare. Also remember that in every Mass, every day all over the world, there are two deliverance prayers. First at the end of the "Our Father" and the prayer directly after: "deliver us Lord from every evil and grant us peace in our days…."

Be of good cheer for we have the victory of Jesus and go into the world shining with his light. Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before. Have a good and victorious week, picking off the swamp rats. Victory is ours in the joy of Jesus.

+ Fr. Bob Hilz
(© 2015 Fr. Bob Hilz, TOR)