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22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Get behind me Satan

In the 1995 film the ‘Usual Suspects’ one of the main characters says, ‘the greatest trick that the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he didn’t exist’. It is not a film that I recommend watching but the quote has become a cultural reference to discussing themes of deception and identity and is seen as a clever and satirical commentary on the nature of evil and the human tendency to dismiss it as mere superstition or myth.

Scripturally, Satan or the Devil is portrayed in two ways:
1) As the accuser. He will test our fidelity to God and seek to unveil our hypocrisy.
2) As a Tempter. He leads us away from God by manipulating truth, virtue and goodness.

Whether or not you believe that the devil is a real person (although the Church is convinced that the devil does exist), it is apparent that Christians are being pulled in two directions:
a) Into a Kingdom of Righteousness; one of truth and life, of holiness and grace, of justice, love and peace.
b) Into a Kingdom of sin, one of lies and death, of sin and selfishness, of injustice, hate and conflict.

Unfortunately, that choice is not always obvious for us, for the temptations are often subtle, a manipulation of the truth for our own ends. Our desires and passions are wounded; we often choose things that are good but in the wrong measure, at the wrong times, and without reference to our neighbour. And so, Christianity will always be demanding and counter-cultural for as Jesus calls us to a life of service and sacrifice: ‘if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me’.