The Two Demoniacs
07/09/2017
The Two Demoniacs
Fr. Al Demos, July 9, 2017
St. Matthew 8:28-9:1 tells us that Jesus healed two demoniacs. These were men who were possessed by a ‘legion’ of demons. We don’t know how or why they were possessed by such a huge number of demons. What is curious, however, is how the demons, being evil, can always recognize that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; while many in our society today are intellectually unable to accept and acknowledge God’s sacred Revelation of His Only Begotten Son’s sacrifice in bringing salvation to humanity!
Christ heals the demoniacs by expelling the demons out of the men and in response to their request, Jesus sends the demons into a herd of swine that runs over a steep bank and into the sea where they were drowned.
In my studies, there are several doorways that humans open to allow themselves to be possessed by evil. First and foremost is self-centeredness where our pride and greed control our ego, leading us to thoughts of anger, envy, jealousy, avarice and depression.
St. John of Damascus wrote in the early eighth century: “According to the Church Fathers there are eight kinds of thoughts that attack us. They are gluttony, lust, avarice, depression, anger, despair, vainglory and pride.”
The last is the greatest pitfall for humanity to trip over and sin.
The middle letter of pride is “I”!
The middle letter of lucifer is “I”!
The middle letter of egotistic is “I”!
The middle letter of sin is “I”!
Our pride is our pitfall!
That is why it is so important to seek to be truly humble before God…to think of others, to be kind, courteous, considerate and selfless in all your relationships. And while it is important to be more and more self-aware of yourself as a person, it is even more important to be Christ-centered…to be self-aware and Christ-centered!
The thoughts will always come, bombarding us at times in given circumstances, but by knowing who we are, and that Christ is at the center of our lives, we will have the strength to overcome all powerful thought temptations. When the thoughts do come, do not dwell on them, but say a small prayer or even just say the name of our Lord Jesus!
Last week we spoke of the power of the Cross of Christ. Today we focus on our ability to be truly humble and trust in God at all times.
Temptation is all around us, but the light of our faith can and will overcome all gloom!