And if a house is divided against itself, the house will not be able to stand.
– Mark 3:25
This verse in today’s gospel is after the scribes claimed Jesus was a demon, that Satan was giving Him the power to drive out demons.
Jesus responds, “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.” He then goes on, “And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him.” Evil cannot succeed if it turns on itself and is divided. Nothing can.
The same is true for humanity. Satan is driven to divide us, to separate us from God. He may not be able to beat God, but his sole purpose is to divide humanity from God and take as many of us down with him as he can.
And Satan does a good job of that. Jesus teaches a great parable in the reading today, where He says, But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.
With a faith in God, we are strong. But when we are tied up in sin, and we don’t seek forgiveness, Satan and his minions can swoop in and attack. This has happened from the very beginning, when Adam and Eve were tempted and ate the forbidden fruit. Satan tricked them, and divided them from God, and they fell.
And he continues to do this today. Look at the state of society. Look at the state of our families. Is it any wonder why the things that happen in this world happen? Our families are broken and divided. Society is broken and divided. God is non-existent in many people’s lives today.
Now I’m not going to pretend that this is a new problem, as this has been going on for thousands of years. But you cannot argue that Satan has upped his game in the last century. Just do some research on the conversation between God and Satan that Pope Leo XIII witnessed in a vision, which inspired the St. Michael the Archangel prayer.
Satan has done his best to divide us from God and destroy His church, and for many, he has succeeded. He has ripped God from our marriages, from our families, from our daily routines. He has distracted us with his temptations, with his twisted lies that we then use to justify our actions. He claims that he can fill the void in us that we vacated when we remove God from our lives, but he just drags us deeper and deeper to him, tying us up and enslaving us more and more.
Our houses become divided, our families implode, and we self-destruct because we no longer have a relationship with God that we can turn to, that guides us and helps us through the tough times.
Sometimes I look at the world around us, and I wonder, has Satan won? How can we come out of this? How can I succeed in raising my son as a good Christian man in today’s world? How can I succeed at being a good Christian man in today’s world?
But then I see the beauty of God’s greatness emerge all around. I see the good that He brings out, even from the bad. I see the good in people, I see Him in people. I see that His Church is alive and well in the world today, and while we have many challenges ahead of us, people are yearning for Him, whether they know it or not. I yearn for Him. I am relying on Christ to get me through, even in the times that seem the bleakest. Especially in those times.
If we lose God in our families, if we allow Satan to separate and divide us from God – we will fall. Our families will be destroyed, and well, we see the fruits.
But if we have a faith, a faith in God that drives us forward, that is the cornerstone of our homes even in the midst of trial, that we base our routine on – we can survive anything, and using the Sacraments Christ gives us, we can thrive in His grace.
Through an evil act where Satan sought to destroy God through the death of His Son, Christ was united with His Father, and through His death, His Church arose and He is with us every day in the Eucharist and the Sacraments. We are stronger. We are saved.
A house divided cannot stand. But no one can enter a strong man’s house, a house united with God. Be strong through a strong faith in Christ.
