Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dictators dominate. They take away our freedom. They create fear and anxiety. A sense of dread comes and ravishes our wills because pain and punishment will be inflicted upon those who fail to conform.
Throughout Scripture, dark spirits dominate. St. Paul, a man who had his own thorn in his side, a thorn that many believe to be a demonic presence, warns us. “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Cor 11:14). These “lights” appear righteous but are only self-righteous, trying to destroy our lives forcing us to follow his will. They dictate, yet they come as a light promising delight. Their delights are deceptive as Proverbs teaches, “There is a way which seems right to a man, but it end is the way to death” (Pro 14:12).
Freewill is our most prized power. It makes us totally free to judge as we see fit for ourselves. Ultimately only two choices exist. We either choose light or darkness, life or death. Moses exhorts the Israelites and us of these two choices. “See, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil (Deut 30:15).
Choice is powerful. It comes from freewill. Freewill makes us image God for He gave us this gift to use so we would choose Him, not ourselves. Aquinas discussing freewill quotes from Sirach explaining, "God made man from the beginning, and left him in the hand of his own counsel" (Sir 15:14). A person’s own counsel, Aquinas adds, " is of his free-will" (I, q. 83, a.1). I choose my destiny, no one else. Every choice I make leads either to life or death. Moses exhorts his people, exhorts us, “Choose life” (Deut 30:19).
St. James calls our freewill the Royal Law of Freedom stating, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (James 2: 8). Loving our neighbor humbly breaks the bonds of domination and allows dominion to reign in our hearts. Rooted in the Royal Law, dominion ransoms us from the chains of domination. St. Paul correcting the Galatians explains how to use the Royal Law of Freedom. “You were called to freedom, brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another” (Gal 5:13). The Royal Law of Freedom serves, instead of being served.
Freedom, for most contemporaries, allows indulgence in every desire, whether of the flesh or the world. This freedom is not true freedom. It is a caricature. Like a lure, it attracts us with promises only to give free reign to our desires. Soon our passions rage always craving. We become so enslaved in our addiction death looms. We lost our life.
False freedom leads to domination. Our desires dominate, cultivating a spirit of slavery, imprisoning us in darkness. We are locked in by our very own hands. Trapped, having abused our freewill, the demonic spirits cluster, encircle, then dominate us trying to possess us, causing obsessive and oppressed behaviors. We see this in Mark’s Gospel: “there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit” (Mk 1:23).
The unclean spirit enslaves the man, possessing him. Yet, the man has enough freewill and comes to the Synagogue. The man wants freedom, but the unclean spirit wants to possess the man. Immediately upon seeing Jesus, the unclean spirit recognizes Him as the Light that has the power to cast him out.
We ask, where did this unclean spirit come from? Dark spirits infest individuals who invite them in. Sadly, some persons knowingly invite them into their lives. Others, unknowingly, and being ignorant of the spirit world, allow them access.
Infestation starts with curiosity, dabbling in the occult. Curiosity and ignorance attract demons. They demonstrate a supernatural power and authority over the person. They come, not as one but as a flock, making appealing promises or frightful outcomes. Unless the person rejects the evil, the infestation manifests, eventually creating intense fear, anxiety, and hopelessness. With their supernatural powers, they want domination. It rages in our world as it did in Jesus’ time.
To demonstrate his domination, the unclean spirit declares, “I know who you are, the Holy One of God” (Mk 1:24). No one knows Jesus. He just began his ministry, but this spirit knows Who Jesus is and calls Him, Kadosh l”Adonai, the Holy one of God. Aaron the High Priest received this title, and every high priest was Kadosh l”Adonai, Holy unto the Lord. How does the spirit know Jesus is the High Priest Who has divine authority to destroy him (See Ex 28:36; Ps 106:16)?
Sensitives can read spirits. They distinguish good from bad spirits and bad spirits from good. Those who indulge in dark spirits quickly recognize those who are good. Those who have a divine spirit also distinguish easily bad spirits.
Those with a unclean spirit are critical and negative. They grieve the Holy Spirit because they are filled with bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander, and malice (Eph 4:31). Malice is the worst of the dark spirits, for a malicious person chooses evil knowingly, not out of weakness, ignorance, or deception but out of sheer envy. Demons are malicious. They only want to destroy us, inciting us to be malicious too. St. Paul contrasts the unclean spirits with the Holy Spirit. Those with a divine spirit are true, honorable, just, pure, beautiful, and gracious (Phil 4:8). This Spirit breaks us free from the domination of the unclean spirits.
In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus comes home to Nazareth in the power of the Holy Spirit. He declares, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me” (Luke 4:18). His Spirit, unlike the dark spirits, sets us free. No longer are we impoverished, imprisoned, and blinded by darkness and death of the unclean spirits. Jesus comes. He fulfills the prophecy, “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned” (Matt 4:16). In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus reveals his authority over the dark spirit and casts him out because as Jesus declares “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Mt 28:18). His is power greater than the demon’s and in his power, we have divine power to exercise our freedom, choosing life over death, light over darkness.