In the gospel today (Luke 11:14f.) Jesus describes a situation in which a demonic spirit departs, but returns with seven friends so that the last state of the man is worse than the first. That is to say, there is a danger that the evil removed from our lives might be replaced with yet a greater evil.

For example, a person might overcome gluttony in food or drink through prayer and counsel. But, after a season, pride might begin to surface. The person might begin to think about how magnificent he is to have overcome his problem, and how much better he is than others who do not have similar resolution. His last state is worse than the first because pride is worse than gluttony.

This is a common danger in the Christian life. We “clean up our act” so that our former and obvious sins are less evident. But then we fall into covetousness or envy. Or we come, as the Pharisee, to thank God that we are not like other men (Luke 18:9f.).

The problem is that we can’t overcome sin by focusing on it. Sin is the absence or perversion of good. The sin will be gone only when we possess the good. We are only proud because we lack the virtue of humility. We only covet because we aren’t thankful and contented. We only lust because we lack purity and chastity. Thus, it is only by growth in virtue that there can be a decrease in sin.

This is what Jesus teaches us in the gospel. It is not enough to chase a demon away, for that creates a vacuum that many other demons are willing to fill. The “place” formerly occupied by the demon must be occupied by Christ through the Holy Spirit.

This is the essence of baptism. We renounce the world, the flesh and the devil and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. We pray “that all sinful affections may die in [us] and that all things belonging to the Spirit may live and grow in [us]” (BCP 278). The evil is exorcized so that the good may be planted, but if the good is not planted the evil will return.

The epistle expresses the good in terms of love. “Be followers of God as dear children and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering to God.” When we walk in love–love for God and love for neighbor–there can be no sin.  That is why St. Paul says, “Love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10).

We are to “walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself for us” The love of Christ for us precedes our own ability to walk in love. Change, growth, takes place as the love that comes from God begins to fill the emptiness that we used to fill with sin.

We experience this change in the Eucharist. Here we continue to empty ourselves of the evil through repentance and confession. Here we continue to be filled with Christ, the bread from heaven. We come, again and again, as sinners. He is always present as love. The change that takes place in the Christian life is a dialogue between our sin and love. We drift back into our sinful patterns, but we return to discover Christ’s unchanging love. The more we are filled with the love of God in Christ, the less attached we are to sin.

Today’s gospel is primarily about Israel. The unclean spirit was exorcized in that God saved the nation from slavery and idolatry in Egypt and gave Israel the Torah. Israel’s history came to its climax with the coming of the Messiah, in fulfillment of the law and the prophets. But Israel was in the process of rejecting the Messiah. Thus, refusing the good, Israel was to be inhabited by evils worse than its first state in Egypt. This greater evil would lead to the destruction of temple and nation in AD 70.

A woman in the crowd, upon hearing the words of Jesus, gave praise to his mother. “Blessed is the womb that bear thee.” Jesus said, “Yea, rather blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.” The unspoken connection here is that the mother of Jesus is “blessed” precisely because she is the preeminent New Testament person to hear the word of God and keep it. As she said to the angel Gabriel, “Be it unto me according to thy word.”

Mary reminds us that an affirmative response to God must accompany our renunciation of the evil one. It is not enough to say no to sin. We must also say yes to Christ.


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