Demonic Possession

Gospel: Luke 14: 25=33

A wealthy church with vast holdings of property and possessions will find creative interpretations of the teaching of Jesus in today's Gospel.  The wealthy Christian men who use those riches to acquire political influence and power will look askance at this message.  Even the average Christian with a household full of stuff - clothes, trinkets, vast arrays of recreational items - will find this Gospel passage difficult to hear and accept.  

We hear so much about demonic possession in the age of the celebrity exorcist.  But perhaps the greater demonic possession is the fact that we are all possessed by our possessions.  We have amassed so much stuff and we are so unwilling to part with it and share it with others that it leads to madness within us.  We would rather spend money on storage units and security systems and firearms to protect our mostly superfluous stuff than share it with those in need.  

Jesus addressed this teaching to the crowd, to us.  It is a direct challenge to our lifestyle and to our false Christianity of comfort and consumerism.  Before we speak of casting out demons from others, let us rid ourselves of our own demonic possessions of the stuff we have that is robbery against the poor, of the stuff we can use to help the poor in their need for food, clothing, and shelter.  Let us be rid of the demon of our possessions and be truly free in body and spirit.