What scares you? Often people fear the power of Satan because there is something downright terrifying about the fact that evil exists in our world. We can observe this fear of Satan in the gospel reading today because some people believed that the evil power of Satan was stronger than that of God. Therefore, when Jesus drove out a demon, some of the people thought that he did so through the power of Satan – not the power of God. They attributed this strong power to someone evil. Yet, Jesus tries to show them how silly this kind of thinking is by giving them a rational example.

Jesus tells them that a kingdom divided will fall. Imagine a bundle of sticks. It’s easy to break one stick in half if it’s alone – but if you have a bundle of many sticks, it would be challenging to snap them in half. Therefore, Satan wouldn’t want to drive out his demons because then he would be dividing his kingdom! Thus, Jesus proves that it can’t be Satan driving out the demons! After pointing out this rational thought process, Jesus goes on to illustrate the great power of God. Jesus demonstrates this by saying, “when a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied.” Basically, Jesus is saying that the stronger man wins. And because Jesus had the power to drive out demons, He is stronger than Satan! We need not fear the power of evil, because the power of our savior is so much greater!

Sometimes it’s easy to be afraid of evil in the world. With wars occurring worldwide and violence occurring locally, some people only see the power of evil in our world. But in this darkness is light! God’s loving power is infinitely stronger than the power of evil, so we shouldn’t be afraid. And if we do get scared, we need to remember that God is always with us, protecting us with a power that is greater than any kind of evil.