Tuesday in the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time, July 6, 2021

Matthew 9:32-38

A demoniac who could not speak was brought to Jesus, and when the demon was driven out the mute man spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “He drives out demons by the prince of demons.”  Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”

In the Gospel reading for today’s Mass, we hear of the Lord Jesus exorcising a man possessed by a demon who would not let him speak.  From the many accounts of exorcisms performed by Jesus it seems that demonic possession was running along epidemic levels.  And yet the devil does not suddenly swoop down on unsuspecting humans and seize them.  Some human free will is usually supposed as necessary for this to occur.  One needs to open the door before the devil can step in.  In ancient times this could be done through the worship of idols, dedicating oneself or another person to the devil, and sexual abandon.  Most often these days, this takes the form of involvement in the occult, pornography, and despair.  

We see two distinct reactions to this particular exorcism, which the Lord accomplished immediately, with a word of command (as opposed to the lengthy rituals used by the rabbis).  The people recognize this action as astounding and say, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”  This is a way of saying, No one like this has ever been seen in Israel, leading many to wonder who Jesus is — who he must be, in order for him to do what he was doing.  The Pharisees reacted differently: “He drives out demons by the prince of demons.”  This conclusion smacks of childish desperation to avoid the truth.  At the same time, it is confirmation of the fact of the successful exorcisms.  The Pharisees do not dispute that the possessing demon in this case was driven out.  But they attribute the Lord’s power as belonging to “the prince of demons”.  By this attack they seem to say that the devil had sent demons to possess humans in order that Jesus might appear to cast them out by divine power, though it was by the order of the devil that the demons departed.  If we continue to follow their reasoning, if it be such, we should wonder what the devil’s motivation would be in doing this.  Why would he bother to do this?  If his purpose is to harm mankind, then driving out his own demons does not make much sense.  It also does not make much sense to use a human agent for this.  Nor did the Law or the Prophets anticipate a man of evil, a servant of the devil, a sort of Jewish Antichrist.  The only possible scheme where this would be of any purpose is using a false messiah to stir up the people and get them to revolt against Rome, thereby insuring the destruction of the Temple and of the nation.  Perhaps this is what the Pharisees, or some of them, thought.  Certainly, this idea is behind the discussion among the high priests and the Pharisees after the Lord raised Lazarus: “What do we, for this man does many miracles? If we let him alone so, all will believe in him; and the Romans will come, and take away our place and nation” (John 11, 47-48).

The people saw a good deed done for a possessed man and marveled.  The Pharisees saw the same good deed and feared.  The people had heard from Jesus words that opened the Law and the Prophets to them, and which told them how to live righteously, and of the power and love of God.  The Pharisees, with all their learning, heard the same teaching and considered that it threatened to dislodge them from their authority.  In the end, all they could think of was themselves.  They had come not to serve but to be served.  Anyone who does not serve them, they view only as a threat.