You Are Either With Us or Against Us

Today’s Gospel reading of Luke 11:14-23 is a fascinating story. It is one that seems particularly relevant today. Today’s Gospel tells the story of Jesus curing a man possessed by the devil who could not speak. Jesus casts out a demon from the afflicted man, who immediately begins to speak. The crowd was amazed. However, not all who witnessed the miracle believed that it was through the power of God. Some in the group proclaimed that it was “by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” They believed that Jesus’ power came from Satan.

In this story, we see the hearts of men confused by Satan's influence contradicting and downplaying the miracle Jesus performed. Jesus’ authority to heal is questioned. Is the source of his healing power Divine or Satanic? This was not the first nor last time that Jesus’ identity and purpose were challenged, questioned, or doubted.

The amazing thing about Jesus is that He embodies the loving character of God the Father while maintaining His righteous judgment of unbelief. He could have chosen to ignore His naysayers. However, Jesus took time to not only set straight their twisted logic, but sternly warned of the dangers that unbelief has on men and women. These people had the luxury of witnessing Jesus' miracles firsthand, yet still struggled to believe that He was the Messiah. According to their logic, they simply wanted more proof, but inevitably their skepticism revealed the hardness of their hearts which resisted the testimony right before their eyes.

Even Jesus labored to understand why hardhearted people questioned His divinity despite the countless miracles He performed. Reflecting to how this is relevant to today, I see many people with an attitude of “you are either with us or against us.” There is such a strong divide among people that we forget to listen when God is talking to us.

The Gospel reading today urges us to listen carefully to God. Let us not be blinded by prejudice of any kind which might prevent us from recognizing the signs, the voice, or the hand of God in people and experiences we have during any ordinary day. There must be many times when we write off people and events and fail to realize that God is saying something important to us through them. When a stranger approaches us, God might be using us to answer their prayer. Don’t turn your back, but instead listen to God through those that are seeking you. They may be saints or sinners; it does not matter. God can and does use any channel to reach us.

Author: Jose Aquino, Theology Department