Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children
Today’s gospel reading speaks about Jesus being “possessed”. To be possessed is to be “influenced or controlled by something (someone).” Although most people think of this term in a negative way, as I read today’s scripture I was drawn to the idea of being possessed by the Spirit of God. As disciples, if we imitate Jesus in all ways, we must surrender our wills to the power of the Holy Spirit. If we hope to live a life of compassion, mercy, healing, and love then we must allow our lives to be possessed by the Spirit of Christ who will use who we are to bring Him to the world.
In the gospel reading, the scribes are claiming that the healings and exorcisms that Jesus is performing are the work of Beelzebul. Jesus refutes these claims by explaining that Satan cannot drive out Satan, since this would cause division and collapse of Satan’s rule. Jesus then goes on to say that His power is not from Satan, but from the Holy Spirit, and those who cannot recognize the work of the Spirit will never experience the mercy and forgiveness of God.
Jesus is filled with the Holy Spirit and it this power/ grace that allows Jesus to perform miracles and bring healing to many. How are we called as His followers to do the same? I have recently been reading “Sacred Fire” by Ronald Rolheiser which discusses how a person progresses in his or her discipleship. As part of his writing he shares the 5 counsels of John of the Cross that describe how to advance in our spiritual maturity. These seem very fitting as steps in allowing Christ’s Spirit to take possession.
The first counsel is to study the life of Christ and try to live our lives like His. The next counsel is to strive to imitate the motives of Christ- acting out not of our will but for God’s will. The third counsel asks individuals to discern if they are experiencing the cross of Christ, because if we are not experiences these sufferings, then we probably are not really living like Him. The next counsel recommends stepping further away from self and more towards other- i.e. we seek to listen rather than speak- we strive to not be the center of attention but give our attention to others. In the final counsel, we find maturity (what I think is meant by being possessed by the Spirit) when we can completely lose ourselves. John of the Cross describes this as such:
To reach satisfaction in all- desire satisfaction in nothing.
To come to possess all- desire the possession of nothing.
To arrive at being all- desire to be nothing.
To come to the knowledge of all-desire the knowledge of nothing.
To accomplish this complete surrender to Christ requires us to hand over wanting everything “our way”.
Jesus mentions the need to “tie up” the strong man in the house if one wants access to the property. Could this strong man be our willful pride that wants to be in control at all costs? Somehow there must be recognition of our need to step aside and allow the grace of God to take over. This is where I think we start to feel and experience the cross of Christ, since when we say “no” to all of the wants, passions, and demands of our self, we experience little deaths.
Initially this total loss of “self” may make some think that who we are has no worth. But I think that Christ calls us as individuals- with unique gifts and talents. Being “possessed” by the Spirit does not take away who we are, but enhances our ability to be who God has created us to be in the most ideal way. The Spirit uses our strengths and our weaknesses, our joys and our sorrows to draw us closer to God. As we allow our lives to be more “possessed” by the Spirit, then others will see Christ and His Spirit alive in us.
Each of us has received the Holy Spirit, since it is the Spirit that gives us life and breath. Through Baptism and Confirmation our life in the Spirit is further strengthened. As Christian disciples we are called to a daily surrender to God’s Spirit within us. Recognizing God’s great love for us allows us to come to Him every morning with a renewed commitment to surrendering our lives to His care. The more we are “possessed” by the Spirit, the more we will experience abundant grace even in the simple moments of our everyday lives.
Heavenly Father, thank for your Jesus who shows us how to live in Your Spirit. We pray that you pour down Your Spirit on us, so we can be possessed by Your loving Goodness. May our lives be transformed, so we can bring this love, mercy and peace to the world. We pray this through Christ, our LORD. Amen.
Marylynn Herchline