Another Day, Another Exorcism--October 31, 2024

Another Day, Another Exorcism--October 31, 2024

"God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love." [1 John 4:16b-18]

To live by the love of Jesus is to make the conscious choice to let Jesus kick fear out of the driver's seat of our lives. If Jesus, who embodies the love of God, is going to "take the wheel," as the old line goes, then fear cannot be the one calling the shots any longer in our lives.  As First John tells us, the followers of Jesus do not live our lives driven and dominated by fear--not fear of "those people" out there deemed threats, not fear of some ominous "THEM" that might get labeled "enemies" or "invaders," not fear of not measuring up to someone else's expectations, and not even fear that God might zap us for not being "good enough."  Love kicks fear out of the front seat and throws it out of the car altogether.

Or, to use the imagery of First John, love "casts out fear."  That's not just the language of being in the driver's seat--it's the language of exorcism.  Literally.  The same way the New Testament talks about Jesus "casting out demons" and exorcising unclean spirits from people who are plagued by the legion of diabolical powers out there in the world is the very same language that this passage from First John talks about fear being "cast out" by love.  And, of course, First John has also reminded us at the start of this passage that none other than "God" is love. The same divine power that expelled demons from the sick and troubled people who encountered Jesus is the same power that casts fear out from us--not just telling it to pipe down, but kicking it out altogether.  First John is clear: the people of God are not to be people who see the world primarily through the lens of fear, precisely because we are meant to see the world through the light of love.

And yet... here we are, living in a culture that is steeped in fear and which only seems interested in amping up its volume until it drowns out every other sound.  The messages in countless ads on countless screens all prime us to be afraid of whomever they have decided to target as "the opposition."  We are ingrained with messages that train us to see other people, particularly the ones we see as different or "other," as threats.  The voice over narration reminds us to be afraid of what will happen if "those people" get their way, and that we need to be willing to resort to increasingly extreme measures to stop them.  It's easy to believe that we're under constant threat of invasion, occupation, and domination from some ominous "them" out there.  And it's easy to believe that "those people" will take away our livelihoods, our comfort, our way of life, or our happiness."  Once we give fear an inch, it grows by leaps and bounds.  It swells like a rolling snowball. It metastasizes like a cancer.  

And by contrast, First John says, "But for who us who are claimed by the God who is love, fear does not get to direct us or control us.  God's love exorcises that fear like the diabolical spirit it is.  It does not have power over us any more."  The trouble is that we have a way of letting fear back in the door the moment God's love has banished it.  We keep inviting fear to take the wheel and color our vision, and we keep needing God's love to cast it out all over again.  Every time we sell ourselves out back into the grip of fear, the presence of Jesus in our lives puts up a protest and calls us to say "No" to fear's power.  Every time we slide back into letting fear make us hate a neighbor... every time we are lulled back into the familiar well-worn ruts of our "what-ifs" that keep us up at night... every time we choose to see other people around us as threats to be fought off rather than siblings made in the image of God... we need Jesus to show up and cast out the demonic presence of fear again.  It can feel like we keep taking a step back for every step forward, like every morning we wake up to meet another day and another exorcism, because we keep giving control of our hearts and minds to the grip of fear.

The good news, of course, that in every story of a contest of wills between Jesus and those demonic spirits, Jesus outlasts and outperforms the unclean spirits.  There's never a time when they can hold on with greater strength than the power of his own authoritative word that casts them out.  Even when we keep giving control back over to fear again and again, Jesus proves stronger and more persistent.  Even if it means every day begins (and ends!) with the prayer that Jesus come and pry the grip of fear from the steering wheel of our lives once again, he does it. And in its place, he directs us himself in the way of his kind of love.

Today, when you hear those voices peddling fear out there--coming from tv screens, tablets, smart phones, and big fancy podiums--the Scriptures remind us that we do not have to invite them in, and we do not have to give them control.  The people of God will keep relying on Jesus to cast out fear like the diabolical thing it is and instead to be indwelt by the One who is love.  It is not a choice we make just once, but a daily decision not to be driven by fear, but to be animated by Love himself.

In this day, let that be the voice that guides you, even over all the fearful noise around.

Lord Jesus, come to us again and cast out the power of fear from its perch trying to dominate us, and fill us with your kind of love, now and always.