| Most Orthodox believers are usually quite surprised when they learn that the Rite of Baptism in the Orthodox Church begins with words addressed to the Devil. In the Sanctuary, just steps away from the Holy Altar, the priest sternly addresses the one whom Jesus called “the father of lies.” The priest prays: “…most crafty, impure, vile, loathsome and alien spirit, by the might of Jesus Christ who has all power both in heaven and on earth…Depart. Acknowledge the vainness of your might, which has not power even over swine…” and “Breath and spit upon him”.
No power even over swine – the Rite echoes today’s Holy Gospel passage. (Matthew 8:28-34; 9:1) In the ritual words, the priest adjures the evil one to leave the individual about to be baptized, to depart for good, and to return to the abyss of misery from which he comes. Today’s Gospel passage, like others in the New Testament, raises the problem of the Evil One, alternately known as Satan, Devil, Lucifer, and Mephistopheles. Jesus encounters two men who have been living in a cemetery among the dead. They are possessed by the Evil One who cries out “What do you want with us, O Son of God?” They begged Jesus that if He casts them out, that they enter a herd of swine nearby. This is what happened – Jesus cast them out, they entered the swine and the entire herd plunged off a cliff to their death in the sea. St. Matthew’s passage tells us three things: the Evil One is real, the Evil One is personal, and the Evil One has no power over us – unluss we give it to him. The eminent theologian, Archpriest Alexander Schmemann of blessed memory, wrote: “While the Orthodox Church has never formulated a systematic teaching concerning the Devil, in the form of a clear and concise “doctrine,” it is of paramount importance that the Church has always had the experience of the demonic, has always, in plain words, known the Devil.” In an era that dismisses the Evil One and labels him a The Evil One and its power over us is most emphatically not a mere absence of good. It is precisely a presence: the presence of something dark, irrational and very real, although the origin of that presence may not be clear and immediately understandable. Thus hatred is not a simply the absence of love; it is the presence of a dark power which can indeed be extremely active, clever, destructive, and even appear creative. St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Ephesians, attests to the reality of the Evil One and the works of evil: “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Eph 6:12) You and I see it, feel it, and, at times, participate in the darkness. Evil is real. It is experienced in the “unseen warfare” within us. In Romans 7:19 the Apostle writes: “The good I know I ought to do, I don’t do and the evil I know I shouldn’t do – that is what I do.” Whatever face it wears, the Evil One is real. Today’s Gospel also reveals that the Evil One is personal. It is human beings who are victimized (the two demoniacs). It is destructive of human life and our quest for spiritual wholeness. Though the Evil One is not a person, as indeed we are persons, it nonetheless takes its energy and abode within the human self. It has, at its center, our unbridled ego and manipulates us with ego-based impulses and thoughts. The historic depictions of the Evil One, derived largely from Italian Renaissance art and designed to frighten and threaten, represent evil variably as a red beast with horns, a tail, and a pitch fork. In reality, evil is a force, an insidious influence on human persons, the great deception and the lie. St. Makarios the Great said, “The most important work in the spiritual struggle is to enter the human heart and there to wage war with Satan; to hate Satan, and to fight him by opposing thoughts, for it is through human thoughts that sin begins to take shape.” Not a phantom, not a mythological creature — the Evil One is a personal, powerful force that has, as its ultimate purpose, the separation of us from God and, sadly, from each other. Lastly, St. Matthew’s passage today suggests a third aspect of the Evil One and his work: it has no power over us unless we give it to him. St. Peter in his First Epistle, writes: “ Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8) Evil is predatory. It seeks its victims. It tempts its victims to walk pathways that they otherwise would not dream of walking. Evil is the great deceiver – luring, tricking, influencing us to the dark ways. Are we simply overpowered? Are we outnumbered and helpless? St. Symeon the New Theologian lays out the situation for us: “This war [Evil vs mankind] is endless, and Christ’s warriors should always bear arms. There is no rest from this war, neither in day or in night…We have bodiless enemies that stand before our faces interminably, though we do not see them; they vainly leave their footprints behind, whether or not one of our embers is laid bare so that they can plunge their arrows into us and kill us. And no one can hide behind physical walls or fortresses…One can not save oneself by fleeing, nor can one man take up the fight for another, but every man must carry himself into the fray and either gain victory and remain alive, or be defeated and finally die. Sadly, I rarely live as though I’m at war.” The Evil One will triumph ONLY if we give him the power to do so. St. John Chrysostom cautions us: “A demon certainly will not deprive us of heaven… but sin will assuredly cast us out. For this is a demon we willingly receive, a self-chosen madness.” If we live mindless of our passions, our spiritual vulnerabilities, the incessant attraction of our ego and self-centeredness, are tilling the soil for evil. If you and I do not take our Orthodox faith seriously or ignore the spiritual tools the Church provides such as daily prayer, daily reading of Sacred Scripture, consistent attendance at Divine Liturgy, frequent Confession, fasting, and doing the works of charity, mercy and compassion for others – we disarm ourselves in this battle. These spiritual tools are not only means to tampering down our ego, they are weapons in the fight against evil. Not to use them and live them, is to open our heart to a growing darkness that, left alone or ignored, can inevitably lead to sin and a profound sense of sadness. St. Paisios of Mt. Athos counsels us: “A life of sin and self-neglect of the soul can very well lead a person towards a spiritual position in which one is left open to evil’s attack, and thus may lead to the imprisonment of our heart, our soul, our life.” This is why Jesus urges us to “watch and pray” that we may not enter into temptations (Mt.26:41). Evil thoughts do not become sinful thoughts until we welcome them into our hearts and begin to entertain them, mulling them over and over, until such time as the thought (temptation) becomes a reality, the intention becomes our action. Remember, Jesus Himself knew the wiles of the Evil One when he brought Jesus to the mountaintop, with the world laid out before Him, and tempted Jesus to power and control as if he, the Evil One, was the world’s master! (Matthew 4:1-11) The story of the two men possessed in today’s Gospel serves as a reminder to us that evil can never be forgotten, it can’t slip our minds, we can’t ignore it however ugly it may be, we can’t dismiss dealing with it in our hearts because it is inconvenient to do so. We can’t run from that unseen warfare within us or outside of us. You and I must engage in the battle, however much a struggle it is, remembering one important truth: No one ever became holy by simply fighting evil. We only become holy by falling in love with Jesus Christ. May the God of mercy give each of you the strength and determination to do what Jesus did on that mountaintop – dismiss the darkness of evil from your life and embrace the light of the love of God! Faithfully in the Lord, |
