Comedian, Flip Wilson, played a character by the name of Geraldine as part of his routine. One of his/her tag lines was, "The Devil made me do it!" While Flip Wilson was a funny comedian, and Geraldine's tag line got plenty of laughs, the Devil actually wants us not to take him seriously.
In the Gospel from the first chapter of Mark this weekend, we hear that the demons, in the possessed man in the synagogue in Caperaum, were the ones in the crowd who identified Jesus as God's Son and the Christ. This is a big theme in Mark's Gospel. Throughout the Gospel only the demons and people who are thinking wrongly identify Jesus for who He is. Even St. Peter is called "Satan" by Jesus, after Jesus tells His Apostles that He has to suffer, die, and rise for Him to be the Messiah. Only when Jesus is dead on the Cross does a Roman Centurion get away with saying, "Surely, this man was the the Son of God!" and not being rebuked by Jesus. Jesus did not refuse the title because He was not God's Son. He merely resisted the common notion that the Messiah was going to be identified as a wonder worker and worldly ruler. In the Gospel of Mark we are introduced to the Messiah of God who would save us by His self sacrifice. Completely emptying Himself is the trademark of God's Son and our Lord and Savior. (Total abandonment is also the call for us, Jesus' disciples.)
Pope Francis is being quoted and sound bit a lot in all of the media. Most of what he is doing, that shows a new openness and a gentle mercy from our Church, is what is being broadcast. And that is very good. It is hugely encouraging, and a great example to us, to see the Vicar of Christ being compassionate and merciful like Christ. However, if you get the chance to read the entire transcripts of his sermons, talks or letters, please do. Pope Francis definitely talks a lot about the Devil in his speaking and writing. And he takes Satan seriously. Part of this might be from his Jesuit upbringing. Some of the focus of Ignatian spirituality is to see how the power of evil is trying to keep one from being the person that God needs one to be. Those who follow the daily Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius examine how Satan is trying to overpower and infiltrate one's life. With God's help, in prayer, we are called to continually re-examine ourselves so that God may increase and the Devil (and we) may decrease. In this sort of prayer we are to ask for God's help to see find out how we are being lied to by the Devil.
The Prince of Lies is one of Satan's titles. He wants us to believe that little lies and improprieties are no problem; that taking care of ourselves is always the first priority; that it is all okay if it makes us happy; that power, wealth, and stuff can satisfy us; that human life is dispensable if it gets in our way, and much much more. The Devil is real and wants us to listen to his lies more than we listen to the Way, the Truth and the Life. Satan wants our lives and our souls for eternity. So he lies to us in order to convince us that God's Way is the lie and his way is the truth. He is insidious and persistent.
Only by intimate relationship with God by and continually seeking God's help and mercy, do we identify the liar and give God power over him. Jesus constantly resisted the Satan's temptations to perform selfishly and devilishly. He did so because of His intimate union with His God and Father. Jesus was able to recognize the lies of the demons around Him and point them out. With a deepening relationship with our God and Father, and regular honest inspection of how the the Devil is trying to convince us of his lies, will we be able to laugh at Satan, because our God is bigger and more powerful than his nonsense.
Peace and Prayers,
me
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