LETS TALK ABOUT EVIL SPIRITS

What is this? This is Kanji. The Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system. This four character kanji idiom meaning stands for Akuryou; an evil spirit. *Aku = an evil. = wickedness. wrong. a vice.
*Ryou = the soul. the spirit. spiritual.
Just a few of the adjectives that these characters represent are: bad. evil. wicked. wrong. immoral. inferior. coarse. foul. nasty. miserable. ill. harmful. injurious. rotten. stale. sick. unwell. not well. unfortunate. broken. out of order. ominous. slow. dull. stupid. ugly. inferior. terrible.

Why am I using this? Because our Gospel reading this week (excerpt bottom of this page) again speaks of Jesus casting out unclean spirits; and I couldn’t think of or find a better representative symbol of evil spirits. Maybe I could have considered using some pictures of the people on Wall Street who cared nothing about long-term consequences as long as they could collect their right-now paychecks and brought about great human wreckage to millions; or perhaps I should have picked a few of the greedy, irresponsible corporate executives who also helped bring on the recent economic collapse and suffering. And there certainly is no shortage of corrupt politicians we could use as evil. Or remember the terrorists who killed thousands on 9/11 and more thousands since. Maybe a few child abusers or hypocritical religious leaders could be our example. I thought of Hitler or Stalin. Pol Pot (Cambodia) or Idi Amin (Uganda). Robert Mugabe. (Zimbabwe)..... Need I go on?..... I would greatly appreciate hearing from you as to what you think would be a good visual sign of evil. In the meantime the Akuryou kanji was the best evil spirit sign I could come up with.

Verses 32-34: tells us that He healed many and cast out many demons. It may help to remember in exorcisms the issue is not primarily physical but spiritual. Now, repeating what we said last week; we don't talk much about demons these days; we've outgrown that kind of talk, haven't we! But we have not outgrown the reality. If you think that the word demonic is too extreme, do as I suggested last week, read your newspaper or watch the evening news. If you can't find something demonic there, especially after the above suggestions, I would recommend asking prayer for the faculty of discernment. I believe when we read a story in the Bible about Jesus casting out unclean spirits that we should be careful lest we think that was then; and we deny the evil spirit presence in our midst here and now.

I want to talk to you also about verses 35-37 and 38 ..............Next post.


(From Mark 1:29-39; this weeks Gospel reading)

32That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33The whole town gathered at the door, 34and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.35Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!" 38Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." 39So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

Shalom