The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “By the prince of demons he drives out demons.”
Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables, “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him. But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house. Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin.” For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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There is only one sin that cannot be forgiven, Jesus says in the Gospel today: blaspheming against the Holy Spirit.
We do not know exactly what that means, which is why Christians have been haunted by this passage. Although the literal meaning is unclear, we can still make an educated guess as to what it means.
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One of the primary roles of the Holy Spirit is to forgive sins. For example, in baptism the Holy Spirit washes away the stain of Original Sin.
We return to that same Spirit throughout our lives, particularly in confession. But if a person deadens their conscience to the point that they no longer know the difference between right and wrong, then they cannot be sorry – and therefore – they cannot repent.
That would be a sin against the Holy Spirit – feeling you aren’t in need of God’s forgiveness.
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Consider it another way.
If you live in darkness long enough, then you lose the ability to see.
If you remain in bed long enough, then you lose the ability to walk.
If you stop speaking a particular language, then you lose your vocabulary.
And if you stop recognizing the difference between right and wrong, then you lose the ability to repent.
That’s the sin against the Holy Spirit.
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In what ways am I in need of God’s forgiveness?
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“Ask and you shall receive,” Jesus says. “Seek and you will find.”
May all who are in need of God’s forgiveness seek it out, because the only thing that cannot be forgiven is a soul unwilling to repent.
Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and ministers of the word have handed them down to us, I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings you have received.
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.
He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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I heard a joke recently – based on a true story! – about a zoo that was planning for its grand opening in Scotland. Pre-sale tickets were skyrocketing as the zoo was promoting its most famous resident, a gorilla who painted.
Three days before the zoo opened, the gorilla died.
Scrambling for ideas, the general manager decided to hire a teenager to put on a gorilla suit and sit in the gorilla’s pen. They just couldn’t miss the grand opening.
Not long after the doors opened, the boy sitting in the gorilla suit started getting bored. So, he got up and started walking around.
Instantly, the crowds wondered if he was going to paint!
But he had a different idea. Moving across his pen, the boy lunged for a low-lying branch, but missed it completely, and landed in the lion’s den next door.
Frozen with fear, he crouched in the corner shivering as he watched the lion walk slowly over to him, sniff his fur, and breathe down his neck.
Crying out in desperation, the boy started banging his chest, screaming, “Help! Help! I’m not a gorilla! I’m not a gorilla! I’m a man!!”
Then the lion whispered in his ear, “Stop screaming or we’ll both lose our jobs!”
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Until that moment, the lion and the gorilla had everyone fooled. But there was more to them than met the eye.
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Similarly, there’s more to Jesus than meets the eye. He’s not just an ordinary man; he’s also God in the flesh. After thirty years of living humbly in Nazareth, the time has come for him to share the fullness of his identity.
So, in last week’s Gospel, he revealed his power, turning 150 gallons of water into wine at a wedding in Cana. Instantly, he became the most popular guest in town!
Now he enters the synagogue in his hometown. Quoting the prophet Isaiah, he says, “Today this scripture passage has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Meaning, “I, Jesus, am the one whom you’ve all been waiting for. I am God’s anointed one. Because of me, the blind will see, the lame will walk, and the dead will be raised.”
Mic drop.
The rest of Jesus’ life and mission will be defined in those terms – performing miracle after miracle until he himself is raised from the dead.
Like the lion and the gorilla, people begin to realize that there’s more to Jesus than meets the eye. As the Gospel tells us, he’s, “filled with the Holy Spirit.”
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You and I are filled with the same Holy Spirit and, therefore, there’s more to us than meets the eye. Like Jesus, we’re powerful, holy, anointed, and commissioned to do God’s work in the world.
As Saint Paul tells us in our second reading, we are now the Body of Christ on earth. Each of us plays a role – God needs good parents, teachers, priests, musicians, grandparents, doctors, volunteers, nurses, and so on. Everyone counts.
Just as we could not imagine life without a hand, foot, or finger, so God cannot imagine the world without you. Nor could I imagine this parish without you.
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Have you ever considered how important you are to our community?
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Each of us contributes to our mission of building community, worshiping God, and making disciples.
Some of the more visible roles include serving on staff, singing in the choir, working with the Knights of Columbus, in the Soup Kitchen, in CCD, or in Welcome and Hospitality.
And I envision in the years to come many other opportunities for us to put our talents in the service of our community and the Gospel.
But we all contribute when we come to Mass or community building events… When we greet others with a smile, or invite someone to “Come and See!”
When we pray for the growth of our parish… When we pray for one another… Or, when we bake cookies and cupcakes – as some of you have done – for the SPX café.
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Just as there was more to Jesus than met the eye, there is more to us than meets the eye. We are God’s presence – his heart, his hands, and his feet – in the world.
May we be emboldened by this truth – and humbly live it out.
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Image credits: (1) City Tech Openlab (2) Jesus, Pantocrator Icon (3) Christ Community Church Ocala
Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his disciples. A large number of people followed from Galilee and from Judea. Hearing what he was doing, a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan, and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon. He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him. He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him. And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him and shout, “You are the Son of God.” He warned them sternly not to make him known.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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If you compare the beginning and end of Jesus’ public ministry, it would seem we are talking about two different people.
In today’s Gospel, we find Jesus at the very beginning of his ministry. He’s caused such excitement that “crowds” are following him, literally thousands of people – so many that Jesus has to get into a boat in order to not be crushed to death.
But three years from now, he’ll be abandoned by nearly everyone, even his closest friends.
What happened? Why was there such a dramatic decline in numbers?
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Those who sought Jesus early in his ministry were often looking for a transaction. They discovered that the sick, the paralyzed, and the possessed could be healed if they touched him. So, people pressed in on him out of desperation.
But as he moves further into his ministry – and begins teaching the crowds – Jesus urges them to go deeper, to think about who he is and what he’s saying.
He tries pushing them from a transactional to a transformative relationship, where they seek Jesus not because of what he can do for them, but for who he is.
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The same dynamic happens in our spiritual lives.
Initially, we might be drawn to God out of what he can do for us. “Lord, I need this or that.”
But as we move deeper, the Spirit pushes us into a transformative relationship, where we seek Jesus because we love him. We want to be with him. There’s nowhere else we’d rather be.
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So, where am I in my relationship with the Lord? Is my devotion based upon immediate results or is it driven by love?
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“You will find me,” says the Lord, “when you seek me with all of your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)
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Image credits: (1) Wisdom Hunters (2) America Magazine (3) The Salvation Garden
