Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,
he drives out demons.”
When we don't want to come to terms with the implications of something we make excuses for ourselves. We are very capable of impugning someone's character even when they do something good. The more the good they do would require us to see them in a new and perhaps more complex way the more we are likely to make reasons why we can safely ignore it, why it only appeared good, but was finally the symptom of some underlying evil.
Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute,
and when the demon had gone out,
the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed.
If we look at the event itself, without bringing any prejudice to it, what else are we to see in Jesus but the finger of God at work? Every aspect of the good work reveals an action taken against Satan and his Kingdom, an action by which the strong man is bound by one stronger, and his former possession, the mute's ability to speak, is taken and returned, allowing the man to speak.
If we refuse to recognize goodness wherever we find it, to hear truth wherever it is told, we will have a hard time when Jesus does something new and powerful and amazing. The Kingdom coming among us is a very good thing, but it is also intimidating, because our God is a consuming fire (see Hebrews 12:29). We are all too ready to make excuses at each new level to which we are called. Yet it is an ever upward call (see Philippians 3:14), and only if we respond to it will we receive the holiness without which no one can see God (see Hebrews 12:14). We are meant to be set on fire by God with holiness and power, trusting that we will not be consumed.
If we refuse to recognize goodness when Jesus calls us higher we will also tend to narrow our view of the goodness we find around us. We will become closed in our ourselves and our tribal affiliations. We will lose the ability to dialog or even act decently toward those not in our own in groups.
Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
It is true that there are only two ways. Jesus is himself the way that leads to the Kingdom (see John 14:6). Any other way leads only to darkness and ultimate failure. Yet we should not be narrow in our view of them. There are many who are implicitly choosing the light to the best of their ability. There is much goodness being drawn even from the hearts of those we might consider irredeemable sinners. We must judge by what we see and not by our prejudices about it, by the actions themselves. Do they scatter or do they gather? Do they bare fruit or thorns? We must nourish and encourage those who implicitly and tenuously begin to gather. And we must be careful that we ourselves, smug in our position in the Church, do not actually begin to scatter. We who have made a definitive choice for Christ have been given much, and so from us much will be expected (se Luke 12:48).
I have sent you untiringly all my servants the prophets.
Yet they have not obeyed me nor paid heed;
they have stiffened their necks and done worse than their fathers.
Let us learn to find Jesus at work even in unexpected places so that we can be sure support and encourage his presence there. Let us be ever on guard that the strong man not bind us by taking away our ability to recognize where Jesus is at work, and therefore our ability to speak in support of this work. If we have been mute, though, we needn't worry. He can set us free once more.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
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