Sermon - Oculi 2021 - Luke 11:14-28

 The readings for Oculi Sunday, today, were presumably chosen by the early church fathers because this would have been the Sunday when the catechumens renounced the devil and the world. In the early church nearly everyone was a convert to Christianity, and over the course of a year the learners, called catechumens, prepared for baptism (which took place at the Easter vigil) by learning the faith. 

This would have been the Sunday when the catechumens were given the chance, before baptism and becoming Christian, to go back to their old ways of life. Once they became Christian, they were often rejected by the world, including their own families. So if they were going to be baptized, they had to be willing to renounce the devil, just as we do in our baptisms: “Do you renounce the devil? Do you renounce all his works? Do you renounce all his ways?”

Because as Jesus teaches us today, there’s only two camps. We’re either in the kingdom of Satan, or the kingdom of God. As Jesus says, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” There’s no room for neutrality or being lukewarm. You can’t straddle this fence. It’s not possible to both bear the name of Christian and still be of this world. “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve,” either the prince of darkness or the King of glory.

This world is the kingdom of Satan. “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe.” That strong man is the devil. The prince of this world is Satan. In his kingdom, darkness and evil abound. 

We see what Satan does to his subjects based upon the man whom Jesus healed and cast out the demon. He was blind, deaf, and mute on account of the devil who had possessed him! Jesus says you will know them by their fruits, and the fruits of the devil are great suffering, woe, and calamity! Satan only desires that those in his kingdom would be miserable.

Now, you would think that would be incredibly easy to avoid, since people generally avoid painful things. Why would anyone want to be in the devil’s kingdom if it’s so miserable? Satan’s also a deceiver, so he manages to deceive people into believing that their misery is actually a good thing and that being freed from their misery would be evil.

We see that exact thing happen when Jesus cast out the mute demon. “When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven.” Jesus had just accomplished this profound miracle, healing a man completely who had been so utterly disabled by the devil, and how do people respond? Sure, some were amazed, but others said that Jesus’ healing was demonic and others thought that it wasn’t enough.

Satan often desires to make that which is good and beautiful out to be evil, while making that which is evil out to be the supreme good. For example, Satan attacks a simple family composed of a father, a mother, and children with adultery and unchastity, so that now the US leads the world in the number of fatherless children. Or another example, God created them male and female, man and woman, He declared that it was good. But Satan sows misery and convinces people that they’re not as God created them, and convinces them to mutilate their own flesh and take drugs with irreversible effects. These, among other things, are the works of Satan, and he makes them out to be the good, loving, Christian option when in reality they’re opposite nature and only produce great misery.

In this world, Satan is the strong man. Because of sin, he has dominion over this world, and the power of sin is death. “But when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil.” This stronger man is Jesus! It’s a bit bizarre to think of Jesus as the plunderer, but here He is, like a pirate coming along and plundering the devil, dividing the spoil and keeping the loot! What’s the loot? You are, dear people of God!

Jesus comes along and attacks Satan in the devil’s kingdom of this world. Jesus overcomes the devil by taking away the devil’s armor in which he trusted. The devil’s armor, his power, is death through sin, and Jesus came to conquer death by forgiving sin! By forgiving sin, Jesus took away the devil’s power so that the devil is left powerless!

Thus, Jesus by dying and looking incredibly weak, was actually stronger than the devil because by His death He outfoxed the fox, and He stole you back! This is really just the story of your baptism. Previously you belonged to Satan, living in his domain, but along came the Stronger Man, Jesus, and He rescued you from the domain of darkness to His kingdom of light! 

That’s why we sang so powerfully this morning! “Satan, hear this proclamation: I am baptized into Christ! Drop your ugly accusation, I am not so soon enticed. Now that to the font I’ve travelled, all your might has come unraveled, and, against your tyranny, God, my Lord, unites with me!” 

What a powerful picture we see here! Two warring kingdoms, one large and frightful and the other small and bright. But before us fights two champions, Goliath for the larger kingdom of darkness, and David for the small kingdom of light. Satan walks about taunting the little kingdom, always barking orders back at his camp to keep them frightened and in-line, always breathing threats of death. But then steps forth the Lord of all, Jesus as just a simple man. The two go head to head, and Satan appears to have Jesus when He’s nailed to a tree and buried in the grave. But lo! Jesus rises from the dead and every threat of Satan now falls flat!

The little Christian, weak and scared, realizes that the devil is all bark and no bite. From the devil’s camp a few begin to leave; Satan barks at them and threatens them with death, but the little Christians do not waver. For Christ their Lord, the Plunderer, has carried them over and brought them into His kingdom.

You are those who have been plundered by Jesus from the prince of darkness. You are those who have been baptized into Christ and dwell in this glorious eternal kingdom. Here you will not perish, your Lord is gentle and kind, He feeds you and clothes you, and heals you of all infirmities.

But here’s where we need to be on guard. Though we are newly transferred to God’s eternal kingdom, that doesn’t mean that Satan couldn’t entice us back. He calls out to you: “You’re a sinner! You’re going to die! You don’t belong among the Christians! You’re not loving! Jesus is a devil! I am loving, I am kind, I will make you happy! Come back.” 

And there’s a danger for us Christians. Let’s say we’ve left the devil, but we’ve also not bothered really getting on board with Christ. Let’s say we’ve been neutral, trying to stand in both kingdoms, so that we are neither filled with Satan or the Holy Spirit. Jesus tells us what will happen: “And when [the unclean spirit] comes, it finds the house swept and put in order.  Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

Remember what Jesus said, “whoever is not with me is against me.” If you’re not with Christ, but you’re trying to be a neutral party, lukewarm and apathetic, then the demons will return and make your soul their home. So be on guard against the devil’s assaults and resist him strong in the Holy Spirit!

“Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it!” If we’re to endure in Christ’s camp, and persist against the temptations of the devil and the world, then we must fill our hearts with the Word of God and keep it! As we approach Easter, remember your baptism and recall that Christ has made you His own. Fear not the devil, but at the same time, don’t be neutral in this war. Come and stand behind your Champion. Be imitators of God as beloved children. Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us. Walk as children of light.