October 11, 2013

Friday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 465
Reading 1 JL 1:13-15; 2:1-2

Gird yourselves and weep, O priests!
wail, O ministers of the altar!
Come, spend the night in sackcloth,
O ministers of my God!
The house of your God is deprived
of offering and libation.
Proclaim a fast,
call an assembly;
Gather the elders,
all who dwell in the land,
Into the house of the LORD, your God,
and cry to the LORD!

The Lord complained to the Prophet Joel, that the house of Israel had forgotten about God and no longer offered sacrifice in his name.

Alas, the day!
for near is the day of the LORD,
and it comes as ruin from the Almighty.

So, God lamented that on the day of Judgment, Israel would be condemned.

Blow the trumpet in Zion,
sound the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all who dwell in the land tremble,
for the day of the LORD is coming;
Yes, it is near, a day of darkness and of gloom,
a day of clouds and somberness!
Like dawn spreading over the mountains,
a people numerous and mighty!
Their like has not been from of old,
nor will it be after them,
even to the years of distant generations.

And on this day, Joel was called to sound the alarm for Israel, the way that Jonah had been called to sound the alarm for Nineveh.  The difference is that Nineveh heeded the warning.  

Responsorial Psalm PS 9:2-3, 6 AND 16, 8-9

R. (9) The Lord will judge the world with justice.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will declare all your wondrous deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, Most High.

R. The Lord will judge the world with justice.
You rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
their name you blotted out forever and ever.
The nations are sunk in the pit they have made;
in the snare they set, their foot is caught.

R. The Lord will judge the world with justice.
But the LORD sits enthroned forever;
he has set up his throne for judgment.
He judges the world with justice;
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. The Lord will judge the world with justice.

We will all stand before the Judgement seat of God and be judged for all the things we have done in the body, whether they are good or bad (2 Cor 5:10).  Therefore, let us persevere in well doing and be saved (Rom 2:7).

Gospel LK 11:15-26

When Jesus had driven out a demon, some of the crowd said:
“By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,
he drives out demons.”

Jesus frequently exorcised demons who had possessed certain individuals.  The people who did not believe in Him, accused him of doing so because He was in league with Satan.

Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.

Others wanted more signs than just exorcism in order to be convinced of His authenticity.

But he knew their thoughts and said to them,
“Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste
and house will fall against house.

Jesus pointed out how illogical it was to accuse Him of being in league with Satan when in fact, He was laying waste to Satan's dominion.

And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?
For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.

It doesn't make sense that Satan would be destroying his own dominion.

If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul,
by whom do your own people drive them out?

However, He also pointed out that their religious leaders also drove out demons.  And if they accused Him of doing it by the power of Satan, then by whose power do their religious leaders do it?

Therefore they will be your judges.

Those holy people who can drive out demons by the power of God can judge whether anyone can drive out demons by the power of Satan.

But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.

But Jesus was driving out demons so easily, it could be said that it was by the most minimal power of God.  And if by this little power of God, His little finger, so to speak, He was driving out demons, then be assured that this is  an indicator that the Kingdom of God is upon the earth.

When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,
his possessions are safe.

That strong man, in this case, is Satan.  Before the advent of Jesus, Satan's dominion was safe.

But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,
he takes away the armor on which he relied
and distributes the spoils.

But Christ has come and besieged Satan and overcome His power, which is death.  And He has given eternal life to all who follow Him.

Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Those who accuse Jesus of being in league with Satan are also vanquished and will be cast into the utter darkness.

“When an unclean spirit goes out of someone,
it roams through arid regions searching for rest
but, finding none, it says,
‘I shall return to my home from which I came.’
But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order.
Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits
more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there,
and the last condition of that man is worse than the first.”

This is an analogy, in my opinion, which can be applied also to the nation of Israel.  Jesus vanquished Satan and many believed in Jesus.  But then, Satan came back and took possession of Israel to the extent that they killed their Saviour outside the gates of Jerusalem.  And God punished earthly Jerusalem (Rev 18:2).