Sunday, July 14, 2024

 FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, July 14, 2024

(Amos 7:12-15; Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:7-13)

Dear friends, today's Gospel presents a curious turn of events. It is expected that Jesus will send the apostles to preach the Kingdom of God, just as he has been doing. However, the passage does not mention the Kingdom. It says that the Twelve preached only repentance from sins. Furthermore, it specifies that they expelled demons and cured the sick. These three actions – repentance, the expulsion of demons, and healing the sick – serve the same purpose. They prepare the people to accept the message of the Kingdom that Jesus will deliver later.

We often think of expelling demons and healing the sick as extraordinary activities. But that is not the intention here. Instead, expelling demons and healing the sick are to be understood as references to our spiritual life. Together, they are requirements for living in peace with God and with others. Demons are the errors in our thinking that distort our judgment. Healings can be physical or spiritual, but they always lead us to thank God. Let me try to describe some of these demons and explain how to seek a cure.

In the early centuries of Christianity, monks spoke of the "noonday devil." This demon tried to convince the monk that he cannot win the struggle to live without sin, suggesting it would be better to give up trying. It was associated with noon because at that hour, the monk felt both hot and hungry.  He was inclined to despair of his vocation and to interfere in other people’s business. This noonday demon affects us when we become bored with our responsibilities, whether at work, with our family, or to God. It is expelled by recalling the benefits we have received and giving thanks to God. Also, a look at the crucifix reminds us that Christ suffered much more for us than we suffer for him.

Another demon that affects many could be called the "I don't matter" demon. This demon tries to convince us that neither we nor our actions matter much in the end. Therefore, according to the demon, we are free to do as we please. Influenced by this demon, young men, and even women now, look at pornography, telling themselves, "Pornography doesn't hurt anyone; therefore, it's not bad for me." Another example of this demon is a person who defends his or her speaking ill of another by saying everyone does it. However, these sins, like all sins, corrupt the souls of those who commit them. They make us more eager to dominate others and less inclined to care about their welfare. And who says these actions don't cause harm? There is even slavery in the sex trade, and many reputations are damaged by gossip.

The last kind of demon we will address is, in a sense, the opposite of the "I don't matter" demon. This demon tries to lift those who have it to new heights by telling them how wonderful they are. We can call this the "pretension demon." It urges us to think of ourselves as better than those around us. It inclines us to boast about our own accomplishments while ignoring the goodness of others. One of the best scientists working for NASA, the federal government agency for space exploration, in its early days was a black woman. When she left home to work in Houston, her father told her, "Remember, child, that you are no worse than anyone else, and no better either." This is the best way to defeat this demon: to recognize that everyone has their own talents so they can do things that we cannot.

In addition to having our demons expelled, we want our illnesses to be cured. These cures happen, although they are seldom miraculous. The cures are like those treated in a film called "The Miracle Club" that premiered two years ago. It showed a group of pilgrims from Ireland destined for Lourdes. They all had a desire to be cured of a physical condition, although their parish priest warned them of this illusion. He said, "You don't go to Lourdes for a miracle but for the strength to carry on when there is no miracle." When they returned to Ireland, they were all in that way cured. They all felt more than ever the love of their families. They were all more convinced than ever that God's love will heal the wounds they carried from their and others’ sins.

It is fantasy to think that God will heal all our illnesses. We all have to die one day despite our prayers to continue living. However, the Lord offers us the courage to suffer pain and death for the good of others. In this way, we are prepared to participate in the Kingdom when Jesus comes. May we not have to wait for that much longer.