Jesus, the Burglar
- davidwperk
- Oct 28, 2024
- 6 min read
Devotional Reflection, Monday, October 28, 2024
Proper 25, the week of the twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost
The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.
Key phrases for reflection from today’s Gospel reading:
9Now if I cast out the demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your exorcists cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 20But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you. 21When a strong man, fully armed, guards his castle, his property is safe. 22But when one stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his plunder.
You will find the full text of today’s Gospel reading at the end of this reflection.
Daily Office Lectionary Readings (BCP, 991)
AM Psalm 41, 52; PM Psalm 44
Ecclus. 19:4-17; Rev. 11:1-14; Luke 11:14-26
Today we celebrate the Feast of (See below.)
David’s Reflections
Jesus portrays himself as a burglar in today’s reading. He portrays Satan as the strong one, the castle guard, and those under his guard as the people he is oppressing. Jesus describes himself as one stronger than the castle guard who attacks him, binds him, and then “spoils his plunder,” or sets free those in Satan’s grip. Criticism by the religious leadership provoked this teaching. They accused him of black magic, of casting out evil spirits by the power of evil itself, of a form of bewitching, trickster behavior.
What lurks behind this conversation saddens me. The people opposing Jesus were quite obdurate about him and his nature and mission. That blindness spoke of their own caughtness, their unknowing complicity with evil. It was that very blindness and stubborn clinging to old visions of reality from which Jesus came to free them.
What are God’s intentions for us? Freedom from our own caught places. We may be caught by some aspect of our own inner evil, what Walter Wink calls the inner demonic. Addiction can be one of those capturing powers. Or, we may find ourselves in the grip of powers external to us, powers beyond our ability to fend off; addiction would be one example. Jesus came, lived, and died to break the grip of those forces and to set us free to become the people God created us to be.
Today, I am reminded of something Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” As I reflect on my life and the lives of those I know, especially the places where we cannot yet breathe deeply, we can take courage in today’s reading. Jesus is about freedom, and he has the power and wisdom to effect that freedom in my life. That freedom will be a growing and gradually experienced reality, but God will be relentless about bringing me into that larger space. That relentlessness will call us back when we stray, pick us up when we fall, and infuse us afresh with that unique loving power that breaks the grip of evil and ushers us into that larger place.
Jesus, the burglar, can break into our imprisoned places and set us free from those “strongman” forces that bind and catch us. How might that look for you—to invite the burglar into your prison cell? What would your freedom look like?
Collect of the Day: Proper 25, the twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost
Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP, 235)
Today we celebrate the Feast of Simon and Jude, Apostles.
Collect of the Feast of Simon and Jude, Apostles.
O God, we thank you for the glorious company of the apostles, and especially on this day for Simon and Jude; and we pray that, as they were faithful and zealous in their mission, so we may with ardent devotion make known the love and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
A Collect for the Renewal of Life
O God, the King eternal, whose light divides the day from the night and turns the shadow of death into the morning: Drive far from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to keep your law, and guide our feet into the way of peace; that, having done your will with cheerfulness while it was day, we may, when night comes, rejoice to give you thanks; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 99)
A Collect of Thankfulness
God our Creator, our centre, our friend, we thank you for our good life, for
those who are dear to us, for our dead, and for all who have helped and influenced
us. We thank you for the measure of freedom we have, and the extent to which we control our lives; and most of all we thank you for the faith that is in us, for our awareness of you and our hope in you. Keep us, we pray you, thankful and hopeful and useful until our lives shall end. Amen. (A New Zealand Prayer Book (New York: HarperCollins, 1989), p. 604)
Of the Incarnation
O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP, 252)
A Collect for the Presence of Christ
Lord Jesus, stay with us, for evening is at hand and the day is past; be our companion in the way, kindle our hearts, and awaken hope, that we may know you as you are revealed in Scripture and the breaking of bread. Grant this for the sake of your love. Amen. (BCP, 124)
A Collect for Mission
O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh; and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 100, 257)
Daily Office Gospel, Luke 11:14-26
14 Now he was casting out a demon that was mute; when the demon had gone out, the one who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed. 15But some of them said, ‘He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.’ 16Others, to test him, kept demanding from him a sign from heaven. 17But he knew what they were thinking and said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desert, and house falls on house. 18If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? —for you say that I cast out the demons by Beelzebul. 19Now if I cast out the demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your exorcists cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 20But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you. 21When a strong man, fully armed, guards his castle, his property is safe. 22But when one stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his plunder. 23Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 24‘When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place, but not finding any, it says, “I will return to my house from which I came.” 25When it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. 26Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first.’
Daily Offices in the Book of Common Prayer
Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, The Book of Common Prayer
Noonday Prayer, page 103, Book of Common Prayer
Order of Worship for Evening (Vespers), p 109, Book of Common Prayer
Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer
Compline (Night Prayer), page 127, Book of Common Prayer
Daily Devotionals, page 136, Book of Common Prayer
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