Reading
Mark 3:22-30
22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”
23 So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house. 28 Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”
30 He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”
Meditation
The specification that the scribes who accuse Jesus come from Jerusalem indicates their authority in the eyes of the people, but also the long journey made to hinder his activity. The malice of the scribes is greater than their knowledge and in front of the compassion of Jesus they accuse him of acting through the prince of demons.
The miracles of the Lord, whose purpose is to strengthen faith in people, are a cause of scandal for those who reject him. The opposition to the liberating action of the gospel often comes from the representatives of the "official doctrine".
Beelzebul was an ancient pagan deity, worshiped in the temple of Ekron, in Philistia. The Second Book of Kings report the episode in which the wicked king of Israel Ahaziah sent messengers to consult his oracle (2 Kings 1,2). The deity is called by the author with the insulted deformation "Baal-Zebub", which means "Lord of the flies", instead of Baal-Zebul, which means "Baal the sublime". Jesus identifies this divinity with Satan.
Jesus responds to the accusation made by the scribes with an analogy: it is necessary to be stronger than Satan to enter his domain - "the house of the strong man" -; to contain his action ("tying him"); and to free the man who is under his control ("plunder the strong man's house"). The words of Jesus testify that the devil is not a myth, the symbolic representation of the idea of evil, but a personal subject who thinks and acts in opposition to God and to man created in the image of God.
To those who accuse him, aware of the falsity of the denunciation, Jesus reserves a very harsh condemnation: the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the conscious rejection of the truth and of conversion and for this reason it cannot be forgiven. God always forgives, but the one who does not find forgiveness is the one who chooses voluntary blindness: while recognizing the work of liberation accomplished by Jesus and his disciples, voluntarily gives a distorted interpretation of it, trying to defuse the force.
Jesus expresses his condemnation with authority, as attested by the words "Truly I tell you" (Gr. Amèn légo umin). We are called to exercise careful discernment before judging others according to our mental schemes. In particular we must beware of the envy - from which the scribes who accused Jesus were moved - which generates divisions; because the divisions are the work of the Evil one. While accusing Jesus of working through Satan, the scribes behave just like Satan, the accuser, who opposes the communion of man with God and man with man.
Only the welcoming of Jesus with a pure heart enables us to call evil evil and good good. Disobedience and lack of trust in God blinded the man and woman in the garden of Eden, preventing them from getting just what they sought by eating the fruit of the tree - the knowledge of good and evil. This knowledge is given thanks the work of redemption carried out by Christ, a living, effective word and source of liberation for those who welcome it.
Prayer
Purify our hearts, Lord, so that we can recognize your wonderful works, glorifying your name with the voice of the Spirit you sent us. Amen.
- Rev. Dr. Luca Vona
