Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“In the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Let us alone! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.’”
NL Daily Devotion for Monday, January 20, 2025
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Evil recognizes God. The minute Jesus walks into the synagogue, the demon living inside a man cries out “Go away!” I think this is true of our sin. Or maybe I can only speak for myself. In recovery one way we refer to the expression of sin is as our “character defects,” those things we do or think that make us cause harm to our fellow human beings in some way. When I come face to face with some behavior of mine that is out of whack, I have to look at it honestly and if I owe an amends, I have to make it. The alternative is that I fall back into my disease and relapse. And let me tell you, my character defects are not happy when I shine a light on them. They will pull out all the stops of self-justification, deflection, spin, denial, you-name it, in order for me to gloss over them.
The demons recognize Jesus. Is he there to destroy them? You bet. Does that mean they’re not going to rear their ugly heads now and again? Nope. No matter how many times I confront old patterns of bad behavior, they still crop up again on occasion. I’m grateful God helps me to accept myself, imperfect as I am, and then to act against my lower nature in helping God to “destroy” them.
What “demons” in my heart do I need to confront with God’s love today?
