TENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR B
WHY EXORCISMS?
Introduction
Since ancient times, the belief that malignant spirits caused evil led people to guard against them by resorting to magical practices, chanting formulas and prayers, and performing ritual acts such as destruction of statues, aspersion, spraying, and everything to force the demons to leave. Exorcism, along with divination, was the essence of the Assyrian Babylonian religion. It was also practiced in Israel, where the disciples of the Pharisees successfully cast out demons (Mt 12:27). Exorcism often bordered on magic. To increase its efficiency, invocation of names likely to contain divine power was added. Someone used the name of Jesus, sometimes getting good results (Mk 9:38), some other times causing the angry and aggressive reaction of the possessed (Acts 19:11-17).
Jesus heals the sick, and adapting to the mentality of the time, he resorts to exorcism, but he never performs magical gestures or esoteric rites. He does not pronounce incantations as the healers of his time did. He triumphs over evil only by the power of his word and asking people to have faith.
Exorcism should be practiced in the Church in the same spirit. The belief that God would allow malicious spirits to take possession of his children is incompatible with faith in God, who is Father. But there is no doubt that the ‘snake’ spreading the poison of death is present in every human being from the moment of conception (Ps 51:7).
An exorcism is performed in the rite of baptism. It is the celebration of the victory already won by Christ over the spirit of evil. It also expresses the Church’s care for her child, who now will struggle for life against the evil one. The fraternal community tells the child: You’ll never be alone; we will all be at your side.
“I’m not alone in the fight against evil; Christ and my community are with me.”
First Reading: Genesis 3:9-15
After the man, Adam, had eaten of the tree, the Lord God called to the man and asked him, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself.” Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked? You have eaten, then, from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!”The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.” The Lord God then asked the woman, “Why did you do such a thing?” The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.”
Then the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, you shall be banned from all the animals and from all the wild creatures; on your belly shall you crawl, and dirt shall you eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.”
To those who have some familiarity with the literary genres of the Bible, it may seem excessive, once again, to warn of the naive and simplistic interpretations of this passage. However, it’s worth it because the temptation to give it a historic value always returns. It’s then better to repeat it: the story of Genesis, taken from today’s reading, is an account of something that happened at the beginning of the world. Using the language of myth, it is a text that answers the riddle of the presence of evil in the world. It explains not what Adam and Eve would have done but what we now are and do.
It’s not sensible to imagine that man who, having eaten of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, plays hide and seek with God; he is afraid of God and is ashamed of being naked now, while earlier he felt no discomfort. It is not sensible to hold that snakes now crawl on the ground because, for no reason, God had chastised them (before they had their legs?). They are not to blame if, to deceive the first humans, the devil assumed their appearance. The story also says that they were condemned to eat dust, but today it does not appear that they do so.
The story of the so-called ‘original sin’ is, in fact, the description of the origin of all our sins, and this touches us very closely. In God’s plan, each creature has a meaning and a purpose and is part of a masterpiece. It is like the piece of a beautiful mosaic that man is called upon to make in harmony and working with the Creator. Plants, animals, work, rest, sexuality, joys, celebrations, and even pain and misfortune have a special place and specific function in the universe's equilibrium. When “God saw all that he had made and it was very good” (Gen 1:31). It did not refer to the absence of disease and death but to the fact that every creature made sense, and all served perfectly to the realization of God’s project.
What should man do? Study the creation, understand its meaning, discover the task he was called to perform, and adapt his every action to God’s will. Everything would be harmonious if man had kept his place and had complied with the order established by God. There would be harmony between man and God: harmony is represented in the book of Genesis with the sweet image of God strolling in the garden beside man while the evening breeze caresses them (Gen 3:8). There would be harmony between man and nature: the world would be loved, respected, and cared for like a garden. There would be harmony between man and man: no domination, no oppression, no selfish manipulation, just the joy of being God’s gift to each other.
It is at this point that the serpent entered the scenario. It convinced the man to go beyond the limits imposed by his condition as a creature, set aside the Creator's plan and invent a new one, follow his whims and wiles, deceiving oneself of obtaining his full realization and happiness. Who is this snake? Nothing but the folly of man who, in a delirium of omnipotence, claims to replace God. He declares himself self-sufficient in making decisions about what is good and what is bad. This thrill of self-sufficiency tempts him subtly and quietly, as the serpent does, and causes him to make choices of death.
Sin causes the break of all the harmonies, and the reading presents the tragic consequences through images. Man, who lets himself be seduced by the ‘serpent,’ is displaced. God seeks him, calls him, ‘Where are you?,’ but cannot find him (vv. 8-10)because he is not where he should be. As a father, the Lord grieves the evil that the son has done and is concerned about. To save him, God invites him to consider to what statehe has reduced his own self. ‘Where are you?’ means ‘Where did you end up? What have you done with your life?’
Man’s response: “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid myself” (v. 10) expresses the rejection of God’s presence, no longer considered as a friend, but as an opponent to be avoided, as a tyrant who threatens man’s independence and freedom. Hiding oneself from God is to get away from prayer, reading the Bible, the life of the community in order not to be questioned, not to be hampered in one’s choices. Man is afraid of God because he fears that God may deprive him of happiness, but in reality, man falls into the abyss of complete confusion.
The second consequence of the decision to distance oneself from God in moral choices is the separation from one’s brothers and sisters (vv. 12,16). Adam accuses Eve; she blames the serpent, both reproach God for having created a wrong world. It was you—Adam insinuates—who put me next to a person who, instead of leading me to you, has distracted me from your plan. I trusted her because you had given her to me.
This reaction is an attempt to put the blame of evil on a scapegoat, that could be the family in which one was born, society, upbringing, and, ultimately, on God who wants man to to realize himself in a meeting with his own kind, which, however, instead of helping him flourish, often drags him down.
The woman, in turn, blamed the serpent. As the serpent is just the other side of our humanity, her words constitute a new accusation against God: you have done evil things, creating man as he is, capable of performing follies and crimes. Why didn’t you make him different, perfect? Why is there this insidious ‘serpent’ that injects deadly poison in him?
After addressing the man and the woman, we would expect God to query the snake. However, he does not because the snake is not a creature different from man, but the counterpart of man, which is opposed to God. Will the serpent rule unchallenged forever? From our point of view, the human condition seems hopeless. Paul describes it in dramatic terms: “I cannot explain what is happening to me, because I do not do what I want to, but on the contrary the very things I hate. In this case, I am not the one striving toward evil, but it is sin, living in me. In fact, I do not do the good I want, but the evil I hate. Alas for me! Who will free me from this being which is only death?” (Rom 7:15-24).
Will the defeat of man be final? God responds to this disturbing question in the last part of the passage (vv. 14-15). The struggle between ‘the serpent’ and man will continue until the end of the world. Here’s what the outcome of the confrontation will be: ‘the snake’ is declared accursed, that is deprived of supernatural and irresistible strength. It can be defeated, and in fact, it will be, as God assures, through live and efficacious images. It—God says—will lick the dust, that is, his defeat is inevitable and sensational (Ps72:9); will crawl on the ground, as the defeated enemies are forced to do in front of the victor (Ps 72:11); will have its head crushed, and even if, to the end, it will attempt to implement its deadly pitfalls, but will not have its way.
It is the promise of universal salvation. ‘Who will free me’ from the slavery imposed by the ‘serpent’ asked Paul (Rom 7:24). We will find the answer in today’s Gospel, but it is already announced in the passage of Genesis: one of the woman's offspring will prevail over the ‘serpent’ and will crush its head.
Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:13–5:1
Brothers and sisters: Since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke, we too believe and therefore we speak, knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and place us with you in his presence. Everything indeed is for you, so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God. Therefore, we are not discouraged; rather, although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal. For we know that if our earthly dwelling, a tent, should be destroyed, we have a building from God, a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven.
This letter was written at a time when relations between Paul and the Corinthians were tense. Within the community, meddlers had arisen. They caused tension and discord, spreading opinions contrary to the Gospel, and sought in every way to put a bad light on the person and the works of the apostle. After years of toil and hardships he endured for the sake of Christ, Paul also began to feel his strength failing.
In today’s passage, he gives us a poignant reflection on his internal situation. I do not get discouraged—he says—although I realize that my body is wasting away. Physical awakening is not—he assures—an inner decay. Every day I check on the growth of the new man destined to stay forever (v. 16). This thought that gives Paul joy and consolation is developed in verses 18-19 by contrasting the present tribulation that is ‘light and momentary’ and the future glory that is instead ‘eternal and immeasurable.’
From this observation comes the invitation to look away from visible things and focus on those invisible and imperishable things. Paul does not teach us to despise the things of this world. He does not encourage disengagement and disinterest in facing the problems of this world. He, instead, invites us to give them their correct value. Material possessions cannot in any way be transformed into idols. They are not the ultimate goal of life. Man uses them to live but does not live to accumulate them. He knows that this life is not definitive; it has a beginning and an end. Wise is the one who believes that this life is only a gestation that prepares for birth.
In the last verse (5:1), the apostle proclaims his joyous certainty: When this earthly dwelling is destroyed, we shall count on a heavenly home not built by human hands.
Gospel: Mark 3:20-35
Jesus came home with his disciples. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “By the prince of demons he drives out demons.”
Summoning them, Jesus 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 the 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.”
His mother and his brothers arrived. Standing outside they sent word to him and called him. A crowd seated around him told him, “Your mother and your brothers and your sisters are outside asking for you.” But he said to them in reply, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
‘Who is this person?’ is the question that, from the beginning of Mark’s Gospel, everyone is asking about Jesus. Who is—they ask—this man who casts out demons, teaches with authority, caresses the lepers, sits at a table with sinners, does not practice fasting, breaks the Sabbath precept, and dares to challenge the scribes and the Pharisees“watching them with indignation” (Mk 3:5)?
Two interpretations of this very enigmatic character’s identity are presented in today’s passage. The first is family members who are introduced at the beginning of the episode(vv. 20-21) and reappear at the end (vv. 31-35). The second is made by a delegation of scribes, probably sent by the Sanhedrin of Jerusalem to ask him an official account of the inexplicable position he assumed about the law and religious institutions of his people (vv. 22-30).
We reconstruct the scene: Jesus is in a house—supposedly in Capernaum. He is surrounded by a large crowd and is exposing his ‘new doctrine.’ The interest is such that people forget or do not even have time to take food (v. 20). At this point, the scene is interrupted and moves to Nazareth. There the family came to know that Jesus, by his preaching and his works, is causing tensions and provoking severe problems. They left to fetch him and interpreted what was going on, saying: “He’s out of his mind!” (v. 21). An opinion causes worry, especially if one considers that in the group, with brothers and sisters, there is also the mother (v. 31).
Between the departure and arrival of these family members in Capernaum, the discussion of Jesus with the scribes from Jerusalem is inserted. The scribes open the hostilities with heavy accusations, which is their answer to everybody’s question: ‘Who is this?’ He is a sinner—they assure; he is in league with the prince of demons. Jesus replies with images and parables: speaks of Satan, about a broken home that cannot stand, a house occupied by a strong man who is bound, and ends with the enigmatic statement that sin cannot be forgiven.
Let’s examine the contents of the passage; first, the verses at the beginning and end that deal with family members. They made the trip ‘to take charge’ of Jesus. How does one explain their decision?
A few months passed since Jesus left Nazareth, and he has been traveling throughout Galilee “preaching in the synagogues and driving out demons” (Mk 1:39). Conflicting reports on his activities came to his hometown. Some spoke of him with enthusiasm, but most people had objections and remained baffled. All have now realized that his message is not in tune with the official doctrine of the scribes the Pharisees. His behavior does not conform to the sacred traditions of the elders. Some started to call him crazy and ‘Samaritan,’ that is, a heretic (Jn 8:48,52). The fact that the Pharisees and the Herodians have already met to consider how to get rid of him is somewhat disturbing (Mk 3:6). There is, therefore, every reason to be worried. The family feels called into question; it asks whether it’s high time to recall him to order, to get him to adjust to the more conventional behaviors. In the Orient, the clan typically intervenes, a move led by the father or the eldest son.
When his mother, brothers, and sisters arrive at Capernaum, Jesus is in the house, in the middle of a circle of people. They do not go in; they want to talk to him and expect him to come out. The spatial image acquires a clear theological significance: there is a clear distinction between those outside and those inside, between the old and the new brothers, sisters, and mother.
Relatives who remain outside represent, in Mark’s intention, ancient Israel. Rightly, the evangelist does not mention Mary by name but simply calls her ‘mother.’ He considers her the symbol of the ‘woman Israel,’ of the people from whom the Savior was born. Ancient Israel was caught by surprise by the Messiah of God. She saw all of her theological convictions and hopes accumulated over the centuries called into question. She felt called to conversion, to a radical change of mind, and tried to reclaim Jesus, her son. She wanted to put him back in the family, to bring him back into traditional patterns.
Jesus cannot accept it. He is not the one that has to go out. Those who stayed outside are the ones who must enter and accept the conditions put by God to belong to the new family, to the new mother Israel, the Christian community. They must abandon their dreams, sit around him as brothers and sisters, let his eyes scan them (v. 34), listen to his word, and put themselves at the disposition of the Lord to fulfill his plan (v. 35). The one who stays outside of this perspective, this ‘new home,’ although biologically a child of Abraham, is neither his brother nor his sister nor his mother. They exclude themselves from the Israel of God.
These relatives are also those that belong only ‘materially’ to the family of Jesus. They have their names written in the records of baptisms. They are convinced of knowing him because, since childhood, they grew up hearing about him, but they are not always ‘seated at his feet’ to listen to him. They do not orient all their choices on his word. They try to adapt it to human ‘common sense,’ but they do not follow him when they disagree with him. They remain outside of the new home, even if they lead a little better life than before.
In the middle of the passage (vv. 22-30), sandwiched between the departure and arrival of the relatives, a second group is introduced. They are the scribes who formed their opinion about Jesus and are spreading it among the people. He is possessed—they say—and performs healing in league with Beelzebub, the prince of demons.
For several centuries in Israel, there was a widespread belief that an ordered array of demonic powers caused all evil in the world. They believed that Beelzebub was the leader of this ‘army of darkness.’ Immediately below him in the hierarchy were six archdevils, under whom other demons acted. These are personifications of evil's provocative forces: violence, arrogance, greed, sloth, lust. At a lower level, there were the ‘malignant spirits ’ that caused diseases, misfortunes, and calamities.
This was the language used to formulate an explanation of the evil that exists in the universe, and Jesus is adapting to the mentality of the time. To convey his message, he used the usual image: the ‘kingdom of God’ and the ‘kingdom of Satan.’ They face each other with their angelic armies deployed in battle. It is the relentless struggle between the life-giving divine forces and impulses to evil, rooted in man, causing death. These diabolic and murderous forces, it is true, are embodied, that is, act in and through humans. A prime example is that of Peter: he is called ‘Satan’ by Jesus (Mk 8:33) because he let himself be seduced by the wisdom of this world and rejected the judgments of God.
Jesus responds to the scribes' accusation with an argument that at any time, one can determine who works according to God and who is on the side of evil. The criterion for discerning is the pursuit of the good and human life. Anyone who acts against man is moved by the devil.
It is easy for Jesus to prove that his works are from God because he heals and gives life to man. His actions are therefore incompatible with the designs of Satan. Those who act on behalf of humanity, those who dress the naked, cure the sick, break bread with the hungry, whether that person is a believer or not, can only be animated by the Spirit of God.
The second image that Jesus uses to refute the scribes' accusation is that of a strong man who is defeated by a stronger one. He ensures that the kingdom of the devil has its days counted; its end has already started because a vastly superior force for good has entered the world. Although Satan still seems to be the ruler, in fact, he has already been dethroned and no longer dominates from the top. In fact, Jesus sees him “fall like lightning from heaven.” ‘The stronger man’ has removed his ability to harm (Lk 10:18-19).
These statements are an invitation to hope, a stimulus to grow in the certainty that God’s plan of salvation will be implemented, even if it will take a long time before this victory is manifested in its fullness. To think otherwise, to give up in the face of evil, to let the arms down, is to recognize that Jesus is less powerful than evil.
The group of scribes who believe Jesus is an agent of Satan represents those who, then as now, are fighting against those who take the side of man. The one who oppresses and enslaves man always feels threatened by the Gospel of Christ. Because of this, he reacts, becomes aggressive, and defends his own position with all the tools of evil, with threats, insults, slander, and even violence.
In concluding his own defense, Jesus makes a solemn statement: “Every sin will be forgiven except slandering the Holy Spirit” (vv. 28-30). We emphasize, above all, the first part of the phrase. Jesus assures that every sin will be forgiven. The defeat of evil—he is sure about it—will be complete, universal, and definitive. What then is the sin against the Holy Spirit?
From what is said in v. 30, it is intuited that Jesus accuses of this sin those who say that his work comes from the evil one, those who argue that his word acts against man. He blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, who turns away from Jesus and his Gospel because he believes that they point to ways of death.
Jesus’ statement, of course, does not refer to the condemnation of hell. He talks about the present, not the future. He wants to stir the conscience and denounce the gravity of a choice contrary to God’s plan and the impulse of the Spirit. To achieve his pastoral goal, he uses an impressive image, as the rabbis of his time used to do when they wanted to teach an important truth. He does not threaten eternal punishment: he warns of a present danger.
