Reflection on the Gospel story of the boy possessed by a mute and deaf spirit:
It might repay the time, however, to take a closer look at this mute spirit. Here are two lines of thought:
First, courtesy of Fr. John Dear, SJ, in his book Transfiguration, note that the spirit "has often thrown him into fire and into water to kill him." In the New Testament, fire and water symbolize the Holy Spirit and baptism, sources of life. The spirit, though, tries to use them as the means of death. Jesus’ word overcomes these "anti-sacraments" (as I say, this is a line of thought; you’ll have to do the shading yourself), since He has come to bring life to the dead.
Second, the father says that, when the spirit seizes his son, "he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid." Do you know anyone in your own life who has a tendency — perhaps when the subject turns to religion or politics or morality — to foam at the mouth, grind his teeth, and become rigid? Perhaps, and this is offered without the implication that there is a demonic spirit at work, perhaps the way forward in truth with this person is only through prayer (and, as a variant, through fasting).
Lots of meat there… and today’s a good day to sink your teeth into it!
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