Leave-taking of the Feast of the Holy Dormition; Holy Martyr Luppus; Holy Priest-Martyr Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons (193-211)
2 Corinthians 9:12-10:7; Mark 3:20-27.
Read Mark 3:20-27
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
In their pride and envy, the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said that Jesus casted out demons by the means of Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. However, Jesus “called [the scribes] to Himself” and taught them in short parables how it cannot be the case that He casts out demons by the means of demons (Mk. 3:23). For example, He explained, “if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand” (Mk. 3:24). Jesus was able to cast out demons because He was performing His Father’s will. He casted them out by the power of God.
To attribute to demons the very works of God is a serious offense. St. Basil the Great preached the divinity of the Holy Spirit to combat the heresies of his day which suggested the Holy Spirit was one of God’s creatures and not God Himself. He taught that to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit “is to attribute His operations to the opposite spirit” (The Discourses XXXII of St. Symeon the New Theologian). In his Letters 159.2, he wrote, “We pity those who speak of the Holy Spirit as a creature, because by such a statement they fall into the unpardonable calamity of blasphemy against the Spirit,” referring to Christ’s teaching that, “every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men” (Mt. 12:31). Accordingly, St. Basil took correct belief regarding the personhood of the Holy Spirit very seriously, and he understood how it would be blasphemous to attribute the works of God to demons.
The scribes sought to portray Jesus as collaborating with demons, and the heretics of St. Basil’s day sought to portray the Holy Spirit as a mere creature. In both cases, God’s dignity was not recognized and respected. Just as Jesus “called to Himself” the scribes who were spreading falsehoods about Him, Jesus also calls all sinners to Himself. Jesus wants all of us to know Him so that we can know His Father Who sent Him. Jesus explained to His apostles, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him. . . . Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves” (Jn. 14:7,11). Through healing and casting out demons, we see God’s love for mankind and His authority over all of His creation.