The Gospel for Lent III from St. Luke 11:14-28 is a rich passage, and it refers to several different themes related to spiritual struggle and following Christ. Today let us look at St. Luke 11:24-26: "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first."
In these words, our Lord issues a warning about half-hearted spiritual renewal. Any person who has a certain evil removed from his life is like a clean house. Such a person has great potential for moral and spiritual growth. There is an opportunity for a new start, an opportunity for filling one's life with all sorts of virtue and goodness. This renewal is a time for inviting the Holy Spirit to dwell within and transform life. However, if a person does not use such a time of renewal in a positive way, there is also the possibility that evil may return with greater force than before. A half-hearted renewal may leave a person in a worse spiritual state than he/she was previously.
Certainly, these insights apply in great instances of spiritual healing- such as when Christ cast out demons. These insights may be applied in our modern age when a person is trying to recover from some serious moral or spiritual problem. Yet, the same dynamic can also apply to many of the little daily struggles to be better Christians that we all have. Renouncing some evil, even a minor fault, is a good beginning. It is a kind of spiritual house cleaning. But a good beginning is not enough; it also needs positive spiritual follow-up. Our souls must be filled with good things lest the bad return in a worse way.
This teaching is especially applicable during times like Lent. Lent is a season of spiritual house cleaning; it is a time when Christians seek spiritual renewal. During Lent, we emphasize repentance from sins and discipline against bad habits. During this season, many people give up some minor human indulgences, and that can be good.
However, we should not be content to renounce a few things for Lent; we must also take positive steps. During this season, we also need to fill our spiritual houses with positive practices such as Scripture and devotional reading, prayer, and acts of kindness and service. By taking such positive steps, we decrease the likelihood of evil moving back in. So, during this Lent, may God grant us the grace to focus on the well-being of our souls. Let us move beyond basic spiritual house cleaning and seek to keep our hearts, minds, and souls filled with everything good.
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