Sermon: 7th Mar '21

Don't Feed The Demons

Gospel Reading: Luke 11: 14-36

Dear Community of Christians,

​Are we not long since passed the superstition that a human being is, possessed, by a demon? That is why we are also long past the idea that angels accompany us throughout our lives. But if we take the Gospel seriously, we must ask, does Christ represent a harmful superstition? Of course, at the time of Jesus of Nazareth there was no science in today's sense a science which is convinced it has long since disproved all superstition?

Recently, a scientist openly said: "I will not continue to feed the demons".  A scientist!!! what happened? He had made a video, explaining the various substances that make up the new vaccines and their possibility of danger. He said that he was personally insulted in a completely inappropriate way because of this position by many different parties, including scientists and others. After this he decided not to pay any further attention to this abuse and not to react to it anymore. He did not want to feed the demons.

What can this use of language teach us?

First of all, there are forces that exist in the world that we can calmly describe demonic. In psychological terms, we would call it hate, malice and infamy. These are strong human soul and spiritual postures that expresses themselves in words, and also in deeds, in order to attack people and absolutely destroy them mentally. We should recognize ever more clearly that these forces have the character of living being, not of flesh and blood, but that they are nourished by the human soul-qualities.

There are many other soul-spiritual attitudes that are detrimental in our soul. These include prejudices and above fear in all its varieties. Behind this is a belief, that my conviction why I must be fearful is a universal truth and that all others must also recognize as truth.

Such convictions quickly lead to distortion of perception and becomes demonic as we continue to nurture them with our rigid attitude and conviction. Without questioning, we destroy the humanity of our fellow human beings, and in the process also ourselves. Every one of us knows such qualities within ourselves, and that it can degenerate into the destruction of others. Hopefully we have enough inner strength not to fall in this trap through a weak character.

Perhaps we cannot completely banish these demonic forces from our souls, but we can try to recognize their way of working in us and in others. This realization is the first and most important step in starving the demons by not feeding them with our uncertainty about ourselves. Our self-knowledge is the prerequisite for a more developed knowledge of the connection between feelings such as hate and fear and the lack of power to classify them correctly in our soul life.

If we succeed in this classification, a certain self-confidence can arise and the feeling of trust in the invisible good powers can come to the fore. With this also comes the belief in good and well-meaning spirits.

Rev. Ute Koenig