10/13/2023 (Friday) Today’s gospel reading: Luke 11:15-26

15 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.”
16 Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.
17 But he knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house.
18 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.
19 If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
20 But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
21 When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe.
22 But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils.
23 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
24 “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.’
25 But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order.
26 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.”

10/13/2023 (Friday) Today’s gospel reflection / homily / sermon: Luke 11:15-26

In the gospel reading above, we see people accusing Jesus as a dark force whose power comes from the prince of demons. It is very difficult to imagine how these people are so blind that they can’t see, much less appreciate, the good and mighty deeds of the Lord. Yet Jesus took the occasion to teach about the Kingdom of God where there is freedom and love.

Some people are really judgmental even if they lack the capacity to judge. These are the people who are friends of the enemy. We must never allow them to sow intrigues and cause division in our community. Even as we continue to engage with them, we must always pray for them because only with the power of God through the Holy Spirit can they be converted. We must always remember that they are not our real enemy. They are just being used by the enemy.

Then we must look into our own selves. The gospel reading above is reminding us about the importance of unity and the danger of disunity. How many times have we become the source of misunderstanding and disunity? Perhaps our loose tongue needs some kind of discipline. Perhaps our constant disagreement with other servants in the vineyard of the Lord becomes the hindrance for our community to grow and reach out to more people. We might not be aware that the devil is using our tendency to argue a lot and thus, we become the reason why the Kingdom of God takes longer to be fully realized.

Therefore we must always let the Holy Spirit to be with us to guide us in what we think, do or say. We must always seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). Moreover, we must always be on guard against the influence of the enemy. Through constant prayer, the enemy will have no place in our life and in our community.

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