Richard Rohr, a Franciscan friar and spiritual teacher, offers a fascinating take on Jesus’s casting out of demons in the first century. While the language may feel outdated to modern ears, the essence behind it remains deeply relevant today:
When a person has a constantly changing reference point, they have a very insecure life. They will take on any persona, negative or positive, and become incapable of much personal integrity. This is the celebrity-obsessed world in which we are living today. The biblical tradition uses the language of “having a demon” to describe such negative identity. We post-enlightenment, educated people don’t like this language very much, but one way to think of “being possessed” is when there is an unhealthy other (or others!) who is defining us—and usually rather poorly.
Rohr’s reflection challenges us to rethink the idea of “possession.” What happens when external forces, such as societal expectations, social media, or the opinions of others, begin to define us? In many ways, the “demons” of today are the unhealthy voices and influences that lead us away from our true selves.
How might we cast out these forces in our own lives? Rohr’s insights invite us to reflect deeply on where we find our sense of identity and security.
You can explore the full article at cac.org.
