What caught my attention in today’s Gospel is the way Jesus’ endorsement of someone casting out demons in His name, which was something John reported to Him about. Jesus asked His disciples not to hinder those who would perform a miracle in His name, “for he who is not against us is for us” (Mark 9:40).
To me, we humans have many demons inside us that are always haunting and taunting us and need to be cast out – our fears, our greed, our selfishness, our sins… Jesus is encouraging us to perform a miracle of casting them out in His name, and if we do that, we are for Him, not against Him.
The question is: How do we cast out those demons in us? The hint lies in the context in which the conversation between John and Jesus took place. Shortly before this conversation Jesus was taking a child in His arms and He said to His disciples: "Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me." (Mark 9:37) If we receive a child in the name of Jesus, in other words, if we live our life like a child, then we receive Jesus. With Jesus in us, we will be able to cast out the demons which are crippling our life.
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