
The Third Sunday in Lent
Oculi
O God, Whose glory it is always to have mercy, be gracious to all who have gone astray from Your ways and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of Your Word; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.

An Overview
We're seeing a theme, no? The First Sunday in Lent included a conversation between the Devil and Jesus. The Second Sunday in Lent included the prayer from the mother of a demon-possessed girl. And now, on this third Sunday in Lent, we hear about what happens before and after a demon is driven out of a person.
When we read about Jesus' sermon on the return of an unclean spirit in light of the season of Lent, we see that no amount of ashes, fasting, and outward preparation can make us holy. A true, inward conversion by Faith is the only thing that makes a Christian a Christian. Pharaoh's magicians were not tapping into the divine, but were simply participating in the dark arts whispered into unbelievers ears by the Prince of Darkness, Satan Himself.
Paul's letter to the Ephesians describes what happens after the unclean spirit has left - the house must continually be "tidied up" in order to keep the dirtiness of the demonic away from it.
All three readings, the poems, and the hymns, swirl together in this half-way point to Good Friday to remind us that though we are saved by faith alone and preserved by God's Grace, there is still a prudent and wise discernment that is necessarily a part of the Christian life in fleeing from evil.
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Artwork: Moses Trampling on Pharaoh's Crown, Anonymous. Italian, 18th century. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Old Testament
Exodus 8:16-24
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The third and fourth of the ten plagues the Lord visited on Egypt may seem odd choices as stand-alone readings, but the language of "Finger of God" will prove helpful in interpreting Christ's words in the Gospel reading. So too, Beelzebul, mentioned by the crowds, is the "Lord of the Flies."
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Gnats are disgusting, and they are difficult to swat away. They are annoying to the point of insanity
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Flies are disgusting, but are easier to kill than gnats. Nonetheless, swarming flies bring with them a dirtiness and a terror that is greater than the small gnats.
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Pharaoh's magicians cannot reproduce the plague of gnats or flies because they do not have control over nature and living things.
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Throughout the plagues, sometimes "Pharaoh hardens his own heart," and at other times "God hardens Pharaoh's heart." Verse 19 is intentionally ambiguous as to who is doing the hardening.
Translation Notes
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v. 16 The Earliest English Bibles don't agree on the specific type of bug -- Wycliffe (1382): gnattis; Tyndale (1530s): lyse; Douay-Rheims (1582): sciniphs; King James (1611): lice. ESV: gnats. The exact bug is unknown, but it is a small one. The Hebrew text reads keyn (כֵּן) either gnat, gnats, gnat-swarm, or [louse] lice.
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v. 21 Middle English Bibles: "divers kinds" or "all manners" of flies. Greek Old Testament: dog-flies. The Hebrew bible doesn't name any bug, but simply saw 'eyhrev (עֵרֶב) literally "swarms" or "mixtures." Thus, it is not merely houseflies, but a gross combination of hosueflies, dogflies, blowflies, etc. etc. In light of the gospel reading, this "swarm" or "all manners" of flies could include zebub (the generic word for flies).
The Epistle
Ephesians 5:1-9
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v 1 This reading begins with a command to imitate God in the same way a son imitates his father.
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This imitation (while later explained in terms of what not to do) begins with walking in the same love that Christ showed us.
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v 3 The following are "mute sins," or things that should not even be spoken of (save in private confession and absolution)
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sexual immorality
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all impurity
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covetousness
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v 4 The following are sins that Christians are to avoid - the presence of them is proof to the outsider that faith is not genuine
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filthiness
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foolish talk
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crude joking
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v. 5 Covetousness (9th and 10th commandments) are made equal to idolatry (1st commandment)
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vv 6-7 a call to avoid false teachers
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vv 8-9 Paul returns to the positive commands, showing that avoiding these evil things necessarily means replacing them with good things
Translation Notes
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v 1 "imitators," Greek: mimetai (μιμηταὶ) the root of words like "mime" and "mimic." Sometimes we just "act" rightly, even if our hearts aren't in the wrong place. Of itself, this is nothing, but it does train the body to act a certain way and eventually the soul will catch up
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vv 3 and 5 "sexual immorality." Greek: porneia, pornos (Πορνεία, πόρνος). The root of our English word "pornography" which is by definition immoral. Pornography is evil.
The Holy Gospel
Luke 11:14-28
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vv 15-16 It is not the Scribes and Pharisees, but the lay-crowds that are doubting and challenging Jesus here
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vv 16-17 Beelzebul, the Prince of Demons, and Satan all appear to be "the same" here. This is a Jewish tradition that can be found in the Testament of Solomon (not actually written by Solomon).
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vv 17-20 First Proof that Jesus is not in league with Satan: Jesus rightly shows that a demon would not cast out demons, and the Triune God would never work against the Triune God. If demons are actually being driven out, then the "finger of God" (and not the finger of Satan) must be at play.
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vv 21-22 Second Proof: If a strong man (a demon) protects his house, it is safe from outsiders. But when a stronger man (Christ) comes, he over powers the first man, strong as he may have been.
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vv 22-23 Third Proof: Again, a divided house cannot stand, and so if someone is opposed to Jesus, he is against Jesus; if someone is opposed to Satan/Beelzebul, he is against Satan/Beelzebul.
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v 24 "waterless place" we can easily imagine that the unclean spirit has gone out of a person at the time of Baptism, but when it finds no new host, it goes back to see if its previous host is still unfriendly to demons (that is, if the "Stronger Man" is still there)
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v 25 the unclean spirit doesn't find a house filled with the Holy Ghost, but instead a vacant lot
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v 26 The unclean spirit moves in, brings other demons with it, and, so to speak, the person who is baptized but has since abandoned the presence of the "Stronger Man" is now a greater den of demons than he was before he was baptized.
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vv 27-28 An odd exclamation. The Virgin Mary is certainly blessed among women (Luke 1:42) and all generations will call her blessed (Luke 1:48). Nonetheless, anyone who hears the Word of God and keeps it (like Mary did) resides in that same state of blessedness.
Translation Notes
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v 15 Beelzebul (also called Beelzebub) is a transliteration of Baal-Zebub. Baal-Zebub was the god of Ekron in Philistia (2 Kings 1). His name literally means Ba'al (a pagan god) of the flies. In the 1860s, a book on demonology was published that imagined Beelzebul as a massive housefly with a crown. While there is some connection with the "plague of the flies," it is clearer in translation than it is in Hebrew, since Exodus never mentions zebub (remember, the "flies" are simply "swarms).
Poetry Used in the Liturgy of Oculi
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Psalm 25- David, as he often does, prays that God would drive away his enemies. Christ, being the "perfect" David, also prays that His father would drive away His enemies -- demons and devils. Verse 7 should be committed to memory, and should remind us that though we have committed great sins in the past, the "Stronger Man" still resides in us through faith to drive away all unclean spirits.
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Psalm 4- One of the church's "bedtime prayers," though it is still appropriate on a Sunday morning. This Psalm contains the great confession that the Lord alone makes the believer dwell in safety.
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Psalm 9- In some ways, this is the follow-up to Psalm 25. Rather than praying that his enemies be defeated, David thanks God for driving away his foes. So too, when we overcome spiritual troubles and demonic oppression, we can sing this song of praise to God.
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Psalm 123- Here the Psalmist prays for mercy confessing that "he has had enough." This is our prayer when we are in the midst of spiritual warfare - all we want is an end to our suffering and the mercy and strength of God to drive away all evil from us.
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Lord of Our Life and God of Our Salvation by Matthäus Appeles von Löwenstern
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The Death of Jesus Christ our Lord by Håkan Spegel
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Christ, the Life of All the Living by Ernst Homburg
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Not All the Blood of Beasts by Isaac Watts
Artwork: Virtue Crowned by Honor, Carlo Maratti. Italian, 17tth century. Metropolitan Museum of Art.


Further Reading & Listening
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"Thinking Out Loud" Lent 3 (2024)
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"Thinking Out Loud" Lent 3 (2023)
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"Thinking Out Loud" Lent 3 (2022)
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"Christ’s Defense Against Those Who Slandered Him," preached by Martin Luther on the Third Sunday in Lent, 1521
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An overview of the Character of Beelzebul from the Jewish Encyclopedia
Artwork: Crozier Head with Double Enthroned Christ, Italian
ca. 1350–1375 Metropolitan Museum of Art. Croziers, the principal emblems of the pastoral role of bishops, abbots, and abbesses, were often richly decorated with subjects appropriate to religious authority. The double depiction of Christ within the volute is unusual for the fourteenth century and may indicate modern, rather than medieval, manufacture. Below are the cardinal virtues: Justice with her scales, Fortitude with the lion, Temperance diluting wine with water, and Prudence with her lamp.