Today's Gospel

The Theology of the Devil

Welcome back to Radical and Relevant, where each day we explore the gospel together, the genius of the life and teachings of Jesus, looking for ways to adopt it more fully in our hearts, our minds, our lives. Today's reading is from the Gospel of Matthew 8:28-34.

"When Jesus came to the other side, to the country of the Gedarines, two demoniacs met him coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. And behold, they cried out, 'What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?' Now a herd of many swine was feeding at some distance from them. And the demons begged Jesus, 'If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of swine.' And he said to them, 'Go.' So they came out and went into the swine. And behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the waters. The herdsmen fled, and going into the city, they told everything and what had happened to the demoniacs. And behold, all the city came to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they begged him to leave their neighborhood."

This is a fascinating reading. There's just so much here. I know we talk each day about picking a word or phrase or an idea, but I'm going to go off script here. We're going to have a look at a few words and phrases and ideas. The first thing is, is that the theology of the Devil, he knows his theology, okay? These demons, they knew who Jesus was. They were clear about who Jesus was. They were clearer about who Jesus was than anybody else who was hanging out with him. And it's very important to understand that. One of the things I talk about in Rediscover Catholicism is the idea of temptation. And do not dialogue with the Devil. Do not enter conversation with the Devil. All he wants you to do is start the conversation because once you start the conversation, you are done, okay? Because he will do a number of things. He will wear you down. He will wear you out. He will just get your mind just tripping over itself. He'll get you confused. He knows his stuff.

And I think that is very important for us to understand. And we see that with the demons here. And the demons are like, "All right, Jesus, if you're going to cast us out," and he hasn't mentioned anything yet. And no one's asked him to and the whole thing, "You're going to cast us out, send us into the swine." And what does Jesus say? Just one word, "Go." Okay, so that's the power. That is the power of God. That is the power of Jesus. And that is a power that we are either inviting into our lives or rejecting from our lives. That is a power that we are either collaborating with or collaborating against. And it is an awesome power. So what happens? He he says, "Go," they go into the herd and rush down the steep bank. And I've always thought about this here, right? Well, they were somebody's swine, right? And I always felt bad for that person or those people because their swine just got demoniac into the sea. And for today, I'm reading it, and I'm thinking, "Okay, yeah, you got the two demoniacs, and Jesus sends the demons into the swine. Why?" People matter more than swine. People matter more than commercial enterprise. Now that was an archaic commercial enterprise, but it was a commercial enterprise, right? No one family needs a whole herd of swine for themselves. So to some extent, it was a commercial enterprise. And what Jesus is saying, people matter more than swine. People matter more than commercial enterprise. People matter.

And that's a hard one sometimes for us to get our heads around because our priorities get out of place, right? And Jesus is just constantly resetting our priorities. I love reading the gospels in different ways, right? So because we get familiar with them, I love like dreaming up new ways to read the gospel. So I maybe read the Gospel of Matthew and just use the lens of like one virtue. So maybe generosity. Read the whole Gospel of Matthew and in every chapter, in every story, just look for the generosity. Look for God's generosity. Look for man's generosity. Look for humanity's lack of generosity. One theme or one lens to read the gospels through is the lens of priorities.

In every single chapter, what do you discover? Jesus trying to adjust our priorities. Jesus trying to rearrange our priorities. Jesus trying to say, "No, that's not up there, that's down there. And that thing that you got down there, that needs to be up there." We have our priorities; God has His priorities, and Jesus is constantly challenging our priorities, constantly trying to rearrange our priorities. Why? He loves us. And that's what love does. Love fundamentally rearranges our priorities. We see that with young people. They fall in love, their priorities change. Priorities change, and their friends complain, "She doesn't hang out with us anymore. He doesn't hang out with us anymore." Why? Priorities changed and changed radically. Why? Love rearranges our priorities. The gospels are love. They're a form of love, and they seek to rearrange our priorities. Have a great day. Remember, Be Bold, Be Catholic.

The Seven Pillars of Catholic Spirituality has just been released. I want to read you just the first line. What if everything the Catholic Church teaches is true? This is the one question most people never consider when it comes to Catholic faith. The Seven Pillars transformed my life when I was a teenager. I was 15 years old. A spiritual mentor entered my life and taught me about the seven pillars, challenged me to ingrain them into my life as habits, and I would not be sitting here today if it were not The Seven Pillars of Catholic Spirituality. They are ancient habits that are ever new, that are ever relevant, that are ever willing to transform our lives if we're willing to embrace them. Question is, are we willing to embrace them? And that's my challenge for you today. Wherever you are in your journey, maybe you've practiced the Seven Pillars for a long time. Discover them anew. Enter into them at a new level, at a new depth with new commitment. Have a great day. Enjoy The Seven Pillars of Catholic Spirituality. And remember, Be Bold, Be Catholic.