Demons, Serpents, and Poison, Oh My!
The Feast of the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven has always been a bit of a mystery to me. It always seems more like the Feast of Missioning to me. I know that theologically it is about Jesus Ascending to the Father and the Oneness of Father and Son.
If we spend too much time “looking up at the clouds,” we will not spend enough time putting into action the last words Jesus gave us. In the reading, we heard Jesus tell us how we will recognize and be recognized as believers. He said, “These signs will accompany those who believe in my name; they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
I have been praying about what Jesus meant by those words. I am a believer, and I believe you are too. While I don’t know about you, I know I don’t drive out demons. I speak only one language. I wouldn’t pick up a serpent on a bet. And I am not lining up to prove my faith by drinking drain cleaner or any other poison. I cannot say I have ever healed anyone simply by laying my hands on them. So, what did Jesus mean? These were Jesus’ last words to His disciples, so they must be important. Jesus wants me, as a believer, to accomplish these tasks, but how? Believers will be recognized by these actions.
I have prayed with this feast and these readings, looking for meaning and direction. As I prayed, Jesus whispered in my ear, “Be still, dear one, the answer is here for you. Be still and listen.” This is what I heard in the stillness.
Driving out demons means conquering evil and replacing it with God. The Evil One is as alive and well today as He was in the time of Jesus. And the Evil One is very active, especially in the hearts of believers. He wants to tempt us away from God and into selfishness, negativity, lust, anger, hopelessness, and so many other vices. Because all of these wound our belief and lead us from union with God. When we refuse to succumb to evil temptations, and we help others avoid those temptations, we are doing as Jesus asked. When we say, “No! I will not be mastered by my greed. I will be generous.” “No! I will not allow anger to control me and make the very air that surrounds me deadly to others.” “No! I will not slip into negativity and ascribe negative motivations to others.” In these and so many other ways, we are driving out demons. As believers, we have the power to drive them out of ourselves and our world. We need to harness the power we already have within us.
In prayer, I recognized that we can speak many languages if we refuse to limit ourselves. We can speak the language of love, the language of forgiveness, compassion, gratitude, and hope. We have a limitless ability to converse in the language of God. As believers, we demonstrate and witness our belief by speaking loudly and robustly in the languages of faith despite the discordant rumbling in our world.
We are healers of the wounded spirit and the damaged soul. We may not cure cancer or make the lame walk or the blind see. But the healing of the heart is our mission. It is the example of the Lord. Healing those wounded by life and society is the mission set before us at the Ascension of Christ.
I am running out of space, and I am not sure about picking up snakes or swallowing poison. Pray with me for wisdom and a continuing understanding of the mission Jesus gave us on this Feast of the Ascension.
In God’s Unending Love,
Gwen
