What are the demons saying?

Between Sunday and Monday we have been looking at some demons. They are different stories but to me they had something in common. The demons told Jesus the same thing. Oddly, it's what I hear when people tell me why they don't come to Church anymore. Coincidence? May be not!

"What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?" How many people think that Jesus doesn't have anything to do with them? This is the lie that the devil is spreading: God doesn't care. I believe that many of us bring this belief even to our Churches: Yes, we know God exists but our lives don't intersect. We go to Church because it's what we do, but... God caring for us? Really? NAH. 

I believe that it's time for us to listen to the demons. If this is what they are telling people, we want to be ready and make sure that people hear the truth: God is interested in them, God cares because He loves us.

God's love and care for each one of us must be the starting point of any conversation we can have with people. It's the first point of the "new evangelization" and of any true Christian spirituality. No wonder Pope Benedict chose this topic as his first encyclical.

How can we be witnesses of God's love for us? Do we really believe that God has something to do with us?

Authority of Jesus and "our little demons."

 From: Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry

IV Sunday in Ordinary Time -                       Readings of the Day

Jesus gathered his first followers as He walked around the lake. He called them to follow Him and to be His collaborators ("I'll make you fishers of men."). I also follow Him and in faith I begin a new adventure, my Holy Journey.

Jesus stops at Capernaum, a large city, and goes to the synagogue. He's given permission to do the teaching; He's already known in town and people heard about Him and respected Him enough to invite Him to teach. We are not told what He was saying. Perhaps some of his radical ideas were already being preached; we know that people recognized in His words something different, something new. Jesus knows what He's talking about and His teaching, somehow, connects to life making it more meaningful, more bearable, more ... alive. This preaching is contrasted with that of "the other guys," who, according to what we know,  just recited quotes and notes of other great Rabbis. Jesus' preaching is sees as fully of "authority" not because He was telling or ordering them what to do but because He was telling them how to live. As a preacher I find myself challenged to take a look at my form of preaching and do an "examination of conscience."

I am sure their preaching was interesting but apparently it didn't move anyone; in the midst of the congregation there is a man with an unclean spirit. What is an unclean spirit doing in a place of worship? Is it possible that he was so comfortable there? We certainly have to admit that evil is a reality and "it" can live in our midst, even in places where we think would be safe from its influence. Thinking that our Churches are off-limit to demons is foolish. The fight between good and evil has no demilitarized zone.  Confronted with a life fully lived, the unclean spirit can't take it anymore and engages Jesus' teaching.

It's interesting to see that the evil spirit reacted only at the teaching and words of Jesus; this is another example of the power of the Word of God: it makes us aware of our "little demons," those ugly things we carry with us. The more we strive to live the Word the more Jesus gives us the power to face our own evil and eventually He takes our demons out.

This man was "filled with" an evil spirit. It's a spirit that stands against all that God desires for us. While Jesus has come to give us life, demons take our life and, although they promise to give us all that we want, we always find ourselves diminished, belittled and all together "less human" than we were before. Every time we are "filled" with our own pride, our own points of view, with all that goes against God and His vision for all of us, we have to question ourselves if we need to start again. We need to pray that God will allow us to see more clearly what fills our hearts....

"What have you to do with us? Have you come to destroy us?" How many times we also think that Jesus has nothing to do with us, nothing to do with our lives. We put Him somewhere on a shelf and expect Him to stay there until the following Sunday. But Jesus has a lot to do with us! A lot to do with our everyday life, and Yes! He has come to destroy all that our pride has created, all that separates us from others, from God and from ourselves.

"I know who you are...." Even the devils know who Jesus is. In the story of the Temptations, we learned that the devils even know the Bible. Knowledge by itself cannot do much, we need to live what we know. This is the difference between us and the demons. We can live the life of Grace. They can't.

Jesus takes care of the demon with very few words. "Be quite!" or "Be muzzled." Demons confuse us by making us think and talk too much. We need to "have the mind of Christ" (1 Cor 2:16). And we can only have it if we fill it with His Word and constantly meditate upon them and act accordingly. Falsehood is not defeated by arguing with it but by standing on the Truth. And the Truth for us is a person who left us His Word as the only guidance. As a Church, we collectively and individually, proclaim and live out the Gospel. Standing on this Rock, we will stand secure. But it starts with a choice... God cannot force us.

The destructive power of evil is mostly seen when someone tries to get rid of it. Sometimes we are so deeply involved with evil that liberation is physically demanding. Jesus is after the well-being of the host not of the demons. He's not influenced by the shrieks and convulsions of the man; it's part of what needs to happen in order to be set free. Freedom is worth a bit of suffering! Never give up, Jesus is there with His grace!

People are amazed; they have seen Jesus' authority changing someone's life. They have seen that His teaching is "integrated," it's not just words, theory, nice thoughts but something that can change lives.

Ever since that day in Capernaum, Jesus has continued to offer all of us freedom from the snares of evil. We can come to Him for liberation but we have to acknowledge his authority on us. Do His Words bind us? mean anything to us? They have the power to give us new life, but are we willing to take and use this power?

It's the beginning of a new adventure: a life lived in Freedom under the authority of Jesus. How do we respond?

Falling from a horse is not required

Jan 25th - Conversion of St. Paul - readings of the day

© 2010 Bruce Denny Sculpture. All rights reserved.

Our life as followers of Jesus may or may not begin or have dramatic moments of conversions like Paul's. Although my personal life did not have moments as dramatic as Paul's, but I can certainly say that I had moments in which I faced truly the "Truth" that made me a different kind of person. All of us, therefore, have a moment in which we "convert," we become aware that we have to change our way and respond to God's love and grace.

The Conversion of Paul is recorded and given to us for many reasons: historically speaking, it's the event that represent the major turning point in the spreading of Christianity - Paul's strenuous effort to share his experience of Jesus Christ as risen from the dead gave birth to "the Church as we know it." It is also given to us for another reason: we are called  to convert constantly, to move from our opinions to God's will, from our sinfulness to God's grace. This has to happen over and over again.

Paul is a vivid example of what this conversion is all about. He put so many Christians to death because he couldn't understand how the Messiah could be put to death on the Cross. He was not an evil man, but simply unable to understand that God is bigger than himself. How many times I claim to know what God is doing and really become a hindrance to His grace. I pray to St Paul that he may pray with me and for me so that I, too, may "fall from the horse" and surrender to God's grace.

I like what Pope Benedict says about Paul's conversion:

"Paul's conversion matured in his encounter with the Risen Christ; it was this encounter that radically changed his life. What happened to him on the road to Damascus is what Jesus asks in today's Gospel: Saul is converted because, thanks to the divine light, "he has believed in the Gospel". In this consists his and our conversion: in believing in Jesus dead and risen and in opening to the illumination of his divine grace. In that moment Saul understood that his salvation did not depend on good works fulfilled according to the law, but on the fact that Jesus died also for him the persecutor and has risen. This truth by which every Christian life is enlightened thanks to Baptism completely overturns our way of life. To be converted means, also for each one of us, to believe that Jesus "has given himself for me", dying on the Cross (cf. Galatians 2: 20) and, risen, lives with me and in me. Entrusting myself to the power of his forgiveness, letting myself be taken by his hand, I can come out of the quicksands of pride and sin, of deceit and sadness, of selfishness and of every false security, to know and live the richness of his love." (from address given on January 25, 2009)

 As followers of Jesus, we are invited today to become aware of the great gift that God has given us: to be called to be members of His household, His body. It happened on the day of our Baptism, the moment in which a new creation happens in us.

Do I understand what it means to be a Baptized? Do I understand that everyday I have to renew this Baptism, and join in the death and resurrection of Christ? This is what it means to be converted: put the "old man" (as St Paul called the "old self," or as I call it, "the even twin," the part in me that wants to take over, do it my way...)


How can we convert ourselves? The death of the old self happens when we focus our mind fully on His Word. By letting the Gospel become "Good News" to us, we embrace His way and everytime the evil twins wants to come up, we can bless ourselves (if possible), or simply tell Jesus to help us to die to ourselves and give us the grace to rise up with Him.

Christian: Family or Bystanders?

Tuesday of 3rd in Ordinary Time - Readings of the day

I am called to follow Jesus and become a "fisher of men." Jesus called the first disciples and made them what they were, fishermen. Yet, something new was added. They were sent to fish for people. This is always what is at the center of God's heart: people, not things. By becoming "fishers of men" we also see that our dignity is lifted up. We become what God is looking for.

There is a double call: to follow Jesus and to be a fisherman. I cannot help but thinking of the "new evangelization" the Church asks us to do. It is by following Him that we can invite others to join us. To become a Christian is not to enroll in a class or in a program. It's to let Him transform my whole life.


As I follow Him I find myself invited to become part of something bigger, something that I have never could have been part if I were not invited: become member of God's household as a family member. It's a nice and conforting thought but quite challenging. As I see Jesus' own family members taking a central role today, I wonder: do I know I am part of God's family? When I see and hear Jesus, do I stay outside or go in and sit with Him? When I see what Jesus does in the world today, do I hinder His ministry or actually help Him?

It's a fine line. Sometimes I want to be surrounded by strongly committed people, who are uplifting and inspiring and then I see Him calling the poor, unfortunate and the sick. Sometimes I want Him to strengthen me to move ahead in my life and instead He asks me to take care of the outsider. Sometimes I want to get to now Him more intimately but He calls me to go out into the world. I desire the intimacy of a family and a small group of friends,  and He calls everyone to be part of it.

What do I do? where do I go? Do i follow my desires and wants or do I follow Him? do I help or hinder? do I stay outside or do I go in and be with Him? I think that Jesus' family went there with good intentions: I am sure they saw him overworked and tired. They wanted him to take a break. And that is good but probably it wasn't the right time. Do I also withdraw sometimes thinking that "it's good for me to take a break from living the Gospel?"

Something amazing happens when we allow ourselves to follow Jesus: we become family. His family. God's family. How can I really understand this reality? I dare calling God my father but do I understand the consequences? If I call God my Father, then each person who does the same is member of the same family. This is a stronger reality than the natural family because it is God who binds us together. How do I see the other? Even in my own church? Are they my brothers and sisters, or simply people who pass by?


It's tough to talk about family nowadays; I am quite aware that many people have very different ideas and experience of what a family is and how family members live with one another. Too many times I see people living like roommates, using each other for whatever they need and want. It's only natural, then, that talking about family can be misunderstood. How can I understand this reality properly? Obviously, what Jesus has in mind is quite different than what goes on today in many households. He was thinking of people who make reciprocal love their only rule of conduct, people who desire to be together, work together, and share life's burdens and joys. Is it like this today in our churches? If not, what can I do? how can I change things? how can I change myself and start experiencing God's love?

"Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother." Here's how! It's forgetting all about my desires, wants and needs. Empty myself so that I can live the Word of God and start changing my point of view. This is an invitation to embrace His will. Seems easy! But I can take little steps everyday: I can find His will in His Word, the Gospel especially. The Ten Commandments, the directives the Church gives me to live a christian life. What matters is that I start today to say Yes to His will and enjoy whatever He is going to do with me.

After all, I have chosen to live in His houseld, not as a bystander but as a family member.

Am I going to be a murder or a lifebringer today?

January 5th - Readings of the day

He comes and calls us to follow Him. This encounter with Him and His invitation change us completely: both from within and from without. Following Jesus is never only a matter of the "spirit" or the heart but it's a life lived fully. 

I continue my meditation on the first letter of John. After speaking about how much God loves us and how much this love transforms us making us His children, he invited me to think about how my life really reflects this transforming love. John clearly states that those who are children of God do not sin anymore. What?!? Certainly he is saying that once we accept the invitation of God we stop doing certain things which are considered sinful and focus on doing others which are considered virtuous. But even when we commit an individual act of sin we should not loose our hope because we have someone interceding for us with the Father. This is certainly a life lived in a deep and intimate Fellowship with God.

But now things seem to be getting more demanding. The love that I have received from God, this new life that God has "planted in me" with the "seed" of the Holy Spirit has to germinate. The fruits are seen and found in the way I live my life and my relationships with others, starting with those who are members of the Community. Everything is regulated by Reciprocal Love.

This is the key to live a fully developed and mature Christian love. A choice is given: Cain or Christ? Which of the two most represents me? It is interesting to notice that both lives are motivated by a relationship with God. Cain slaughtered Abel because God did not accept his sacrifice but Abel's. This makes me think: does my "spirituality" make me "murder" my neighbor when I don't get my way? or, like Christ, do I bring life? Is this why John says that whomever does not love their neighbor is a murder?

Christ clearly came to bring life and life in abundance. How did He do it? By loving to the end (John 13:1). If I claim to be a Christian, that is another Christ, how can I justify my lack of love?

I have to choose how to live my life: will be a murderer? or a a reflection of God's love that brings others to life? Hmmm..... how does this concept carry over  all my relationships, especially with those who don't agree or persecute the Church, or.... ? my leadership style? Is there ever a good reason for not being loving?

Christmas Witness Program

January 2 - Readings of the Day

After a week spent looking at the manger and contemplating the great gift that God has given us, the gift of His own self, now I am asked to look at my relationship with this mystery. How do I react to the coming of the Lord into my life? What kind of life am I supposed to live now that I know that God is with us?

As I continue to meditate on 1 John, I hear in the background the controversies that were going on at that time; although a bit different, these controversies are still going on today: Who is Jesus? And what does it have to do with me?

How strong the temptation to romanticize the "first time" of Christianity, when everybody seemed to get along, when they understood who Jesus is, lived out His words and were filled with the Holy Spirit. The reality is that they struggled more than I do in understanding who Jesus is. I have the luxury of standing on the shoulder of the great thinkers of early Christianity, from John to Basil and Gregory (whom we remember today). Yes, they struggle to understand who Jesus was: was He simply a powerful and spiritual man? was He God? but if He is either a man or God, then what does salvation mean? Today these questions can only find a bit more clarity then at the time of John, since they are all a mystery... but we all struggle.

The struggle points to something deep and important: if we stay with what Jesus said, and we understand Him correctly than we can talk about a fellowship with God, about a deeper communion and union with Him. This is what we have been called to: sharing in God's life as He now shares in ours.

But how can I do that? How can I grow in this relationship? The story of John in the Gospel helps me. Before the manger I hear, too, hear the question: "Who are you?" and "what do you say about yourself?" I need to answer these questions. If I want to proclaim Jesus as Messiah, I have no other choice but to answer these questions.

"I am not the Messiah, the Christ." This is how John answers. This is how I am supposed to answer, too. "I am Not...."If I say that Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior, the Redeemer than I say that I am NOT all those things. But, as I keep my eyes on the manger, I know that these opposing realities are now merged into one as a "holy exchange". I am not the Savior but I live as a "saved" person. I am not the redeemer but I live as a redeemed.

This is what I want to witness, then. The "holy exchange" is a reality and we can live our lives together with God. Ultimately, the truth comes up again: we are more truly ourselves when we think less about ourselves.

It's time to start a new kind of Christian Witness Program.