Demons, devils & our defences

A homily on Joel 1.13-15, 2.1-2 & Luke 11.15-26

When I was a child, my father used to take us on tours of Castles. Indeed, somewhere I still have souvenir badges from Caerphilly, Corfe Castle and other ‘educational’ ruins. As we plodded round, often in rain, dad would read from the guidebook in an embarrassingly loud voice. I meanwhile spent my time on the battlements, imagining myself keeping watch for advancing armies, straining my eyes to work out how far I could see. This role of watchman on the city walls is one of a number of images of battle and warfare in our somewhat unsettling readings this morning.

In our Old Testament reading, the prophet Joel tells us of a watchman who sees dust rising from a great and powerful army advancing on the city. He blows the rams horn to alert the people that disaster is near and tells them to defend themselves with prayer, fasting and lamentation.

Meanwhile in our Gospel reading, it is not a city which is besieged but a human soul. Jesus has just cast out a demon only to be accused of being in league with lord of all demons, the Devil himself. Jesus replies by poking holes in his accuser’s argument and explains that these healing, rather than being the work of the devil, are in fact a sign that the Kingdom of God has come close. He concludes that those freed from sin must defend themselves against falling prey once again to the devil.

Such talk of demons, devils and spiritual possession might well feel odd to us today. But whilst we may not fear disembodied spirits, we certainly all wrestle with our own inner fears and obsessions. Those thoughts which wake us in the small hours of the morning or the lies we end up believing, when feeling low. These are our own latter day demons. And we too need to guard against them.

Let me return, for a moment to our Gospel reading because in the middle of this Jesus offers us some context to understand this bizarre world of spiritual warfare. And he does so by telling the story of the strong man whose castle is plundered. But the cast of this story may surprise us. For the strong man in question is in fact the devil and the one who takes his armour and plunders his goods is none other than God.

But Jesus does not want to tell us of some distant heavenly battle but rather he wants to reveal to us something about himself. For this spiritual burglary is the work of Christ who brings God’s Kingdom close in his incarnation and who conquers death and hell through his resurrection. And the punch line to this parable is the most surprising bit of all. And it is this- we are the plunder who have been freed from the devil’s clutches.

So, having been freed, at so great a price, how do we stop ourselves being spiritually repossessed, how should we keep watch over the battlements of our own spiritual city? Well Joel called for prayer, fasting and a gathering in the Temple. For us gathered here today, modern equivalents might be a pattern of regular prayer, a commitment to simple living and taking on an active role in the life of the church.

But such activities are only a means to an end. And that end is to know that in Christ the Kingdom of God has come close and that this is the Kingdom, the city, in which we now dwell. A city whose walls are the faith which we share, a city whose currency is hope and whose export is love. And the more we know ourselves in our heart of hearts to be citizens of this city, the stronger our defences will be. Defences against our inner demons and all that would deny the love of God, revealed in Christ. Amen.