Seven sons of Sceva, charlatons of the first century in Palestine, put on healing shows. (See Acts 19:11-20)  Yes, snake oil salesmen and magicians fool generations in every century.  But a fascinating detail in the biblical story claims that the demon recognizes the powerful name of Jesus but does not know the clowns who invoke Jesus’ name as though it were a magical incantation.  There is power in the name of Jesus because its utterance is like a quick link, instead of opening to a new website browser, it opens to an eternal portal of faithfulness.  The Christian who speaks Jesus’ name accesses a lifetime of prayerful focus in an instant.  The faithful person who calls on Christ instantly returns to a core of love, grace and mercy threaded with wisdom.  The seven sons of Sceva were clicking on a mouse with no internet connected – the name-calling was void of spiritual practice.  And messing with the demonic without wearing the spiritual armor of Christ is dangerous play indeed.

I have no doubt that demons are real.  Just ask anyone who has survived confrontations with homophobic hatred, institutional racism, or an enraged and violent alcoholic.  The urge to do the right thing, to do justice, to overcome evil with good often leads us in such confrontations to hate the hater, to fear their rage, or God help us, to hate or fear ourselves.  To effectively meet hatred or fear with love and grace requires a lifetime of prayer and spiritual practice.  Jesus demonstrated flawlessly a way of meeting hatred and fear with love.  When we utter his name, we seek to connect to that divine wisdom and power by which evil may be transformed by love.

Some of my friends hestitate to call out the name of Jesus for fear of offending those who are not Christians.  Or they fear being ostracized as religious fanatics.  But I love to speak the name of Jesus because it represents a timeless, eternal love and a depth of wisdom which offers me an alternative to hating people who hate me or fearing those who fear me.  Calling upon Jesus gives me the strength to embody love in the face of fear or hate.  Don’t you see?  If more of us showed such love, the demons would recoil and slither away.

This blog was inspired by a tremendous sermon I heard at Old South Church in Boston.  You may listen it on Rev. John Edgerton’s podcast at http://www.oldsouth.org/sermon/2013-10-06