Dear Theophilus,
Thanks for your words on
prayer. It is a foreign land in which I
feel that I have no residence, and while that can be said for much of this
experience, it is particularly true for this subject. You have the comfort of looking back over the
years and seeing when and how God has intervened according to your prayers,
while I only have hopeful slings that I hurl toward the heavens in the hopes
that God might find them worthy of attention.
If God were to intervene in a dramatic way in my life it would change my
attitude toward prayer, but until then I continue to cast a wary eye toward the
practice.
Jesus went from this teaching on
prayer to a fairly common practice for him, casting out a demon. The one who had been mute then spoke, to the
amazement of all, but some in the crowd wondered aloud if he had power over
such demons because he was of demonic origin himself. Perhaps the rumor spread quickly through a
crowd, or maybe an isolated few only dare to give it attention, but some began
to demand from Jesus a sign from heaven to mollify their suspicions. I don’t think I object to asking Jesus for a
sign, but clearly Jesus knew their hearts and saw malice rather than innocent
and inquiring minds.
To counter their argument and
convince the crowd that he was not of Satan, Jesus told them that any kingdom
divided against itself will falter and perish.
This has been true of every kingdom the world has seen—as soon as they
divide, they begin to wobble, and soon that turns into a tumble, and soon the
pages of history are the only ones left examining that kingdom. Jesus asked the crowd how it could be that he
would be casting out demons by Satan’s power, for that would mean that Satan’s
kingdom is divided. Jesus then moved
from here to one of his favorite subjects, the kingdom of God. Having reached the conclusion that he was not
of Satan, he then offered them the thought that he was casting out these demons
by the finger of God, meaning that the kingdom of God was near, putting the
crowd in a position to decide what to do about Jesus—for if the kingdom of God
was near, he was no longer an idle show but a moment for decision, a commitment
worth making. This is the discussion
we’ve been having, Theophilus—is this all a show, or is there meat on these
bones, a heartiness that demands a decision, a commitment? Jesus is trying to draw the crowd to that
point, to move beyond entertainment and offer their lives. He’s speaking through the mouths of those who
retell this story, too, reaching out to the hearers today in the hopes that
they, that I, might get off the bench and move into the story with our
lives.
Jesus illustrates his point with
the picture of a strong man guarding his castle against intruders. You know the type, the one who is fully armed
behind locked doors, unwilling to let any intrude upon his sanctity. When this man is defeated by a stronger foe,
his armor and his weapons will be taken as booty by his conqueror. In the same way, Jesus is telling the crowd,
those who choose not to follow Jesus will be seen as enemies and scattered.
These words fall heavy upon me,
Theophilus. I don’t want to be
scattered. I don’t want to be seen as an
enemy of Jesus, a man opposed to his wisdom and his guidance. I don’t know if I want him to rule my heart
and I am not ready to offer him everything, but I detest the thought of him
seeing me as an enemy.
Is there no middle way?
Sincerely,
Luke
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