on our own we can never be good enough - 3rd week lent thursday 2019

Our gospel today is a reminder which will be repeated time and again by St. Paul in his letters.  That on our own we can never be good enough.  Paul would often say that we should pray for the strength that comes from God and that we should not rely solely on our own strength.  Why?  Because on our own we can never be good enough.  

This is why Jesus is depicted many times as driving away the evil spirits not by human power, not by the power of another evil spirit, but by the all-powerful finger of God.

In this short passage alone, Jesus describes the devil, assigning him names and a description.  He is called Satan which means adversary, representing anything opposed to God, anything contrary to the goodness of God.  Then he is also called Beelzebul translated as the Lord of the High Places, the prince of demons.  And lastly Jesus calls him the stronger man, strong, not because he is truly strong, but he is stronger in reference to our weakness.  These various imageries convey only one thing - the enemy is stronger, becoming good will always be a struggle in this world, we cannot rely on our own human strength and we need the strength that comes from God.

People who go to church, who receive the sacraments are not strong people. We are weak like all the rest, struggling like all the rest.  But the difference is we acknowledge that we are weak, we know that we are weak and every day of our lives we need the help that comes from God alone.  Our communion is not a reward for the good we do.  Our communion is the food that makes us courageous and strong, because on our own we can never be good enough.