For those of us over 50, you might remember a comedian named Flip Wilson. Flip had a recurring character in his comedy named Geraldine.
Geraldine would do extravagant things like buy designer dresses that cost too much and her excuse was always the same “The devil made me do it.”
The Devil made me do it.
That may be a convenient excuse for many of us, but in today’s world, whether we know it or not, it’s maybe true.
The devil’s not recognized by many in our culture. But whether we realize it or not, we actually live in the middle of a great spiritual battle, and Satan is our greatest enemy.
In today’s Gospel from Mark, we’re only 21 verses in the First chapter and here’s the start of that battle between Jesus and the Devil.
Jesus and his disciples have come to Capernaum where Peter, Andrew, James, John and Matthew all live. Capernaum’s right on the coastline of the lake of Galilee. It’s called a sea, but it’s actually just a very large lake. And Capernaum’s a place that Jesus makes his main base while in Galilee, probably staying with Peter there.
It’s the Sabbath day and Jesus enters the synagogue.
The synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer and it’s where the Jews gathered to hear the Old Testament proclaimed, sing psalms, and hear teachers preach, much like the first part of our Mass which we call the Liturgy of the Word.
Jesus is invited as a guest preacher that nobody knew too much about, other than he came from Nazareth which was about thirty miles south of Capernaum.
He’s in this synagogue teaching and the devil makes his appearance through one of his slaves, a demon who’s taken possession of a man, a child of God.
When Jesus approaches the man, the demon cries out,“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
Isn’t it amazing that no other person there recognized Jesus as the Messiah, not even his own disciples, but this demon did?
Anyway, Jesus silences the demon and frees the possessed man.
That’s only the beginning of Jesus’ long fight with Satan.
We can’t tell the story of Christ's life and ministry without referring to this battle taking place all around us even today between Jesus’ forces of good and the Devil’s forces of evil.
Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, our Gospel today teaches us an undeniable, uncomfortable lesson: the devil is real, and his job, his only goal, his only purpose is to sabotage God’s work of grace.
The devil is a fallen angel, an angel who was created good by God but then rebelled against God and took many of his fellow angels with him.
And now they try to convince us, human beings, to rebel against God too. He knows that the greatest way to hurt God is by destroying us, God’s most prized possession, for all eternity.
But in this basic spiritual truth we actually can find great comfort.
Knowing there’s a spiritual battle around us and that the Devil is real helps us make sense of all the unpleasant influences at work in and around us:
We’re not crazy; we’re not failures; we’re simply engaged in a spiritual battle.
The Catechism explains it (#414): "Satan or the devil and the other demons are fallen angels who have freely refused to serve God and his plan. Their choice against God is definitive. They try to recruit man in their revolt against God."
That's what the devil does.
That’s why it is so important for us to always stay on guard, spiritually speaking.
Temptations can come to us at any time.
As St Peter puts it in his First New Testament Letter: "Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for (someone) to devour."
We also can take comfort in the actions of the man possessed by the demon that day. He knew he was troubled. He knew he was in pain. He knew he needed help.
And despite what had to be every effort by the demon to prevent him from entering that synagogue in Capernaum on that Sabbath day, he turned with faith to the only remedy that he knew could help him – Jesus.
What about you, my brothers and sisters? What demons are possessing you at this time? In what ways is the Devil battling against the goodness of your hearts? What trials, what temptations, which recurring sins, what events of your past are you fighting?
Because there’s hope.
The same words the demon told Jesus that day in that small town in Northern Galilee are the same words Jesus tells us today – “I know who you are.”
He knows us. He knows us better than we know ourselves.
He knows we are children of God – precious sons and daughters – created with his most precious dignity.
He knows all these battles we’re fighting, all the trials we’re facing, all the ways the Devil is trying to turn us away from Him.
And Jesus is telling you: you are not alone. I am with you. I love you. Give them all to me. Let me fight the battle.
Just trust. Just have faith.
We have to pray.
I know some of you have requests you’ve been praying for a long time. Sometimes it seems like God’s not listening.
But remember, God answers every prayer. Some of you may have heard this, but it’s worth repeating.
God answers prayers in one of four ways.
He can say “no”, especially if what you are praying for is not good for you or others. If someone cuts you off in traffic and you say, “God I pray you flip the car and its driver”, he probably is going to answer with “no”.
He can also answer with “Yes”. If it’s good for you and it is appropriate for his timing and his will, he grants our requests.
Sometimes he answers with “Not now.” Some of our prayer requests take time and God has to make things happen behind the scenes for that prayer to be granted.
And sometimes, God answers with “I’ve got something better.” God sees the whole picture and always wants the best for us. Sometimes, we can’t even imagine what God can do for us.
Yes, No, Not Now, and I’ve Got Something Better.
As we continue this service and receive his precious Body and Blood, let’s ask him for more faith to allow him into our lives and let him fight this battle of good and evil for us, knowing that he loves us and wants what’s best for us.
Because what was true in that synagogue in Capernaum is still true today: the darkness of sin can never overpower the light of Christ.