It is the end of Satan

10th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

Collect

O God, from whom all good things come, grant that we, who call on you in our need, may at your prompting discern what is right, and by your guidance do it. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Gen 3:9-15

I will put enmity between your offspring and her offspring.

A reading from the Book of Genesis

After the man, Adam, had eaten of the tree,
   the LORD God called to the man and asked him, “Where are you?”
He answered, “I heard you in the garden;
   but I was afraid, because I was naked,
   so I hid myself.”
Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked?
You have eaten, then,
   from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!”
The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me—
   she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.”
The LORD God then asked the woman,
   “Why did you do such a thing?”
The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.”

Then the LORD God said to the serpent:
   “Because you have done this, you shall be banned
   from all the animals
   and from all the wild creatures;
on your belly shall you crawl,
   and dirt shall you eat
   all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
   and between your offspring and hers;
he will strike at your head,
   while you strike at his heel.”

The word of the Lord.

Ps 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

R. :

℟. (7bc) With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.

Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;
   LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
   to my voice in supplication.

℟. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.

If you, O LORD, mark iniquities,
   LORD, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
   that you may be revered.

℟. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.

I trust in the LORD;
   my soul trusts in his word.
More than sentinels wait for the dawn,
   let Israel wait for the LORD.

℟. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.

For with the LORD is kindness
   and with him is plenteous redemption;
and he will redeem Israel
   from all their iniquities.

℟. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.

2 Cor 4:13-5:1

We too believe and therefore we speak.

A reading from the second Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians

Brothers and sisters:
Since we have the same spirit of faith,
   according to what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke,
   we too believe and therefore speak,
   knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus
   will raise us also with Jesus
   and place us with you in his presence.
Everything indeed is for you,
   so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people
   may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God.
Therefore, we are not discouraged;
   rather, although our outer self is wasting away,
   our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For this momentary light affliction
   is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,
   as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen;
   for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal
For we know that if our earthly dwelling, a tent,
   should be destroyed,
   we have a building from God,
   a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven.

The word of the Lord.

Acclamation before the Gospel
Jn 12:31b-32

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Now the ruler of the world will be driven out, says the Lord;
and when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself..

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Mk 3:20-35

It is the end of Satan.

✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

Jesus came home with his disciples
Again the crowd gathered,
   making it impossible for them even to eat.
When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him,
   for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said,
   “He is possessed by Beelzebul,”
   and “By the prince of demons he drives out demons.”

Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables,
   “How can Satan drive 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;
   that is the end of him.
But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property
   unless he first ties up the strong man.
Then he can plunder his house.

Amen, I say to you,
   all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them.
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
   will never have forgiveness,
   but is guilty of an everlasting sin.”
For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

His mother and his brothers arrived.
Standing outside they sent word to him and called him.
A crowd seated around him told him,
   “Your mother and your brothers and your sisters
   are outside asking for you.”
But he said to them in reply,
   “Who are my mother and my brothers?”
And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,
   “Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
   is my brother and sister and mother.”

At the end of the Gospel, the Deacon, or the Priest, acclaims:

The Gospel of the Lord.

All reply:

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Reflection

The religious leaders’ crises

On the other hand, the leaders came directly from Jerusalem and began to grumble saying that Jesus was casting out demons by the power of the devil! Here Jesus tells them a parable. For many today this teaching of Jesus on the reality of the devil and how he works seems strange and might be considered as symbolic. But the truth that comes forth from the four Gospels shows Jesus confronting these spirits who had lost their place in Heaven and who are now doing their utmost to ensure that humanity lose the opportunity to enjoy the Eternal Life which God the Father wants us to enjoy from this moment. Are we going to be like the religious leaders who, because they did not understand, tried to deter others?

Jesus overcomes the devil because he is greater than him. Jesus is speaking of himself, he alone can defeat the devil. “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3, 8). We must ask ourselves: What type of Saviour do we believe Jesus is? Do we see Jesus as saving us from our sins and from the clutches of the Devil? If I feel bound by a particular sin that no matter what I do I can’t overcome it, do I invite Jesus to free me from it?

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit

This issue confuses many people when it shouldn’t. For Jesus, the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (according to this account) is when we ascribe the work of the Holy Spirit to the devil. Even today, we find those who ascribe the work of the Holy Spirit to our enemy. Like for example when we hear of someone who does something extraordinary which we don’t understand, we judge them as evil. The Spirit of Jesus still surprises us with the gifts and charisms that he gives to those he wills for the edification of the Church.

The Mother and brothers of Jesus

Then Jesus amazes the people by giving honour to his disciples when he called them his family. Without any lack of respect towards his Mother Mary, he takes Mary’s greatest attribute and applies it to his disciples. Mary’s greatest quality is that she hears and obeys the Word of the Father. This is why Jesus presents the greatness of this attribute while also applying the praise he gives to Mary to his disciples. Do we give importance to listening to what our Father in Heaven is telling us and obeying him?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, give us faith to believe in your power. Give us humility not to resist the working of the Holy Spirit within us. Give us the capacity to hear and obey the Word of the Father, which is You. Amen.

 

Ara l-Qari tal-Ħdud li għaddew