Read the Gospel according to Mark: (ch.1, vs 21-28):

As soon as the sabbath came [Jesus] went to the synagogue and began to teach. And his teaching made a deep impression on them because, unlike the scribes, he taught them with authority.

In their synagogue just then there was a man possessed by an unclean spirit, and it shouted, ‘What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus said sharply, ‘Be quiet! Come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions and with a loud cry went out of him. The people were so astonished that they started asking each other what it all meant. ‘Here is a teaching that is new’ they said ‘and with authority behind it: he gives orders even to unclean spirits and they obey him.’

Only Christ is so sovereign and has lived so deeply from his Father—and has the power of the Father in every gesture and word—that with a word he can dismiss the Evil One and get rid of him. Upon reading this passage from the gospel on the deliverance, or exorcism, at the synagogue on the Sabbath one is reminded that only Christ has authority like this. Notice that there’s no dialogue with the Evil One; he’s just told to “Be quiet; come out”, and that’s it. It’s over.

The people are left with astonishment and admiration at this teaching that has such power in it, such authority. The word of God is so much a part of Christ’s being, in his actions and in his speech, that, as he speaks, it’s effective.

Remember where St. Paul says, in the Letter to the Romans, that ‘Abraham put his faith in God, who gives life to the dead, and calls into being what does not exist’? What a beautiful description of the ‘word’ that God speaks. That ‘word’ gives life to the dead. That word brings into being what does not exist. That word is an effective word; it’s not just information. The word in Scripture is always for life—to conquer death, to give direction, to give a teaching, to show the way, to raise up, to change hearts. The word is alive. And it lands upon us with a purpose. Not just passing through! It wants to land within us, and stay there, and take root. It wants to affect our lives, and be effective in our lives.

Apart from this word, as the Scriptures teach us, apart from surrender to the word of God, there is only darkness and shadows. I was looking at the book of Deuteronomy, about the place and the role of the prophet in Israel (ch 18, vs15-20); what precedes that is a whole description of life in shadows: sorcery, witchcraft, killing of infants, diviners, calling up dead spirits. In other words, the life of sorcery, the life of the occult—in contrast to Israel, where the word is proclaimed by the prophet.

And so these are the contrasting ways of living. Really, there are only two: life and death. Life lived by the word, or life lived another way, which is shadows, and the occult, and darkness. That’s why it’s always a drama when the word is spoken. When Christ speaks, when the prophet speaks, it’s a drama, because life and death is being proposed; the choices are being made clearer.

I was also thinking about life in the Church, life in the Body of Christ, how we—Catholics, anyway—have almost taken for granted, it’s so much a part of our life, that when Christ speaks, it happens. When Christ says, through the priest, “I absolve you”, we are absolved of our sins. When Christ says, through the priest, “This is my body; this is my blood”, it is his body and it is his blood. We have this all the time; it’s so much a part of our life, we almost don’t think of it. And we almost—or maybe more than almost—take it for granted, at times, anyway. Christ spoke; yes, it happened.

So we have to be alert; the reality is that, at times, we may not listen to that word, we may not be receptive to that word. We have to be more than amazed at the deeds of God. What the Lord is seeking is change: renewal, re-creation, repentance. Have I let the word of God penetrate me? Is that how I live? Is that the center of my life? It’s always a good point for us to ask ourselves: Am I really living from God’s word?

This is just a little example from everyday living. Do you ever notice how, you know, you’ve got your ten minutes for the Bible every day? Quite a few people have that, ‘the ten minute special’ for the Bible, the word of God! And how hard it is to actually get in those ten minutes? How easy it is to find something else to look at? If it’s only the sky! How easy it is to think about something else—especially during that time? And how, as one starts to read the word, one thinks of something else that one would rather read? And in fact, might just read now, instead of that? Maybe even a holy book. But not this book. We have a resistance.

This gospel reading is also about the confrontation with evil, and the devil; the passage is an exorcism. This is a life and death struggle; this is about evil and its attempt to take over. We need to examine what the word is teaching us about confrontation with evil, in Christ. Going back to that first point: only Christ has this power. Only Christ can conquer evil, and evil spirits; only Christ.

The question we might ask ourselves is: Where am I responsible for letting in the Evil One? Where have I opened the door, to let him in? I asked the Lord where we open the door, at times; where our points of weakness are. He replied, ‘Here they are’.

First, we open the door and we have to be watchful when we do not forgive one another. When we choose not to forgive. When we choose to hold a grudge, or a resentment, or a judgement. The door opens—creeeak! It squeaks. It needs oiling. Creeeiiak!—the door opens. And the Evil One says, ‘A nest! A place to rest—for my restless being!’ An unforgiving soul, who let the sun set on his or her anger.

Now I’m not talking about the struggle to forgive; that’s all part of the normal everyday. I’m talking about choosing to hold a grudge. Plotting revenge, thinking of the comeback that I will make next. That’s the nest; that’s the invitation to the Evil One: ‘Here I am. Come on in.’

So we have to watch that one, because that opens the door, and I’m responsible for that part. I have to repent of that. Because what does that mean? That means I have not surrendered to the word: “Forgive, as you have been forgiven.” I’m not surrendered to that word. And therefore, as the Scriptures teach, if I’m not surrendered to that word, then I’m open to the darkness, which is the counter to that word.

The other point is this: Trust the Father. It seemed to me the Lord said to me that this one is even bigger than the other one. Maybe it’s more primary. Trust the Father. We don’t trust the Father. We choose another way.

I’m not talking about the struggle to believe in the Father’s love, the struggle in praying: ‘Please help me to trust you; I don’t know where you are.’ I’m not talking about that; that’s normal everyday struggle.

It’s the choice for something else. The pleasurable thought. The ‘escape’ reading. The fantasies. The pampering of one’s self; the taking care of myself, making sure everything’s okay for me—because my Father doesn’t take care of me. So, I take care of me! And that comes out in all kinds of ways, creative and un-creative.

And that opens the door to Satan: ‘Aahhh! You don’t trust the Father? I’ve got some thoughts to share with you about that, about how untrustworthy God really is. Did he really say you can’t eat of any of the fruits in the garden? That’s just like him, isn’t it? You’re deprived, if you trust the Father’.

We have to be vigilant about that door, and almost everybody struggles against it, in some form—right back to Adam and Eve. The choice is to trust, or not. To put our faith in God, or not. And especially this: to wait on God—or not. If I wait on him, and trust, the door to the Evil One is shut. Not that it’s easy to wait! That’s a struggle.

So these are the two points that came to me, where we need to be vigilant to the word of God that calls us to forgive one another, and to trust