How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.
‘Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin’— for they had said, ‘He has an unclean spirit.’
(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)
One Sunday morning recently I woke with a start at 6am to a dreadful noise. The fire alarm was blaring nonstop. I put on a thick dressing gown and slippers opened the door and ran down the three flights of stairs. There were no flames or smell of smoke, but to be safe we all ended up outside waiting for the fire brigade. The alarm had been hard-wired into the house and wouldn't turn off, and the it continued to shriek. When there is the possibility of fire you immediately ring for the fire brigade and get out of the house quickly, you don't hunt for a diagram that shows the wiring plan for the house, or sit in a chair and discuss the merits of fire alarms!
Jesus saw life as a struggle between the power of evil and the power of God. He didn't discuss where evil came from or why, instead he sought to deal with the effects of evil. Look at his miracles that solved the problem of evil - curing those with leprosy, the blind, the lame and the handicapped, all of these shut people off from society and left them in poverty. Jesus didn't sit down and discuss evil, he dealt with it in a practical way to show people how to act towards each other. As for the unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit? The Scribes and the Pharisees had seen the loving power of God at work when Jesus healed the people, and yet denounced these as the work of Satan!
Oh, and the fire alarm, neither the firemen nor our electrician seemed to know the problem of the two year old alarm system, but new alarms have now been fitted!
Holy Spirit,
power of the living God,
may we look for evidence of Your work
in our world,
and notice where good overcomes evil,
then having seen You at work,
may we seek to join in.
Help us to take Your love to others,
and to asses what is good by its outcomes
and not by the noise it makes
on social media or in the world.
Amen.
You might like to look at how the Holy Spirit work's today in this quite long article, or just look at the headings: