Monday, January 23, 2012

Jesus and Beelzebul

Today's Reflections
 

Jesus and Beelzebul

 
Mk 3:22-30
 
22The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said [of Jesus], “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “By the prince of demons he drives out demons.”
23Summoning them, [Jesus] began to speak to them in parables, “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him. 27But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house. 28Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. 29But whoever blasphemes against the holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin.” 30For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

Reflection:

If a kingdom is divided against itself. To discredit Jesus, the Pharisees accuse Jesus of conniving with the prince of demons. They attribute his healing power to Beelzebul. In reply, Jesus points to the absurdity of Satan fighting against Satan and explains that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.
As we follow Jesus, we may also be wrongly accused and ridiculed, questioned and misunderstood. Our initiatives and plans may be rejected. But because we work for God, it is God whom we have to please with our actions. And we have to stay close to Jesus.
With Jesus on our side, we can overcome sin and Satan. With Jesus, we will be united; we will not fall and fail.
Do we take Jesus as the source of our strength and the solid foundation of our life?
Do we hold on to Jesus when storms and setbacks beset us?

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