In the Gospel, Jesus was confronted by unfriendly crowds who charged that He was under the influence of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, when He cast out devils. The Lord pointed out that this accusation made no sense because it would mean that Satan was going against himself if Jesus truly was working through Beelzebul. This is a classic consequence of envy and jealousy. People who are jealous of another, go all out to discredit the person, failing to realise that what they say is more likely a reflection of themselves rather than the person accused. In this instance, Jesus’ accusers showed that they were the ones who were under the influence of Beelzebul when they failed to see the hand of God at work, blinded as they were by scepticism and envy.

The parable of the strong and stronger man shows that while the Devil is powerful, God is even more powerful. Humanity must guard against the Devil, who is always looking for opportunities to enter the person from whom he has been exorcised. Indeed, he comes back stronger, with minions to make the person worse than before. Only a Godly person who does not give in to envy and jealousy, but embraces compassion and generosity, will be the stronger person since he/she looks to Christ and not the self for affirmation. Let this caution from the Lord stay with us today: “Whoever is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me, scatters.”