Living in Iowa in the month of February makes me think about Mr. Tumnus describing the White Witch to Lucy Pevensie in “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” He says, “It’s she who makes it always winter. Always winter and never Christmas; think of that!” As I look out my window while writing this, I can think of that! The sky is grey, temperatures remain frigid, and snow lingers. Lent, from the Old English word Lencten, meaning springtime, feels like a distant hope.
When Jesus arrives on the scene, healing the sick, proclaiming good news to the poor, and bringing liberty to the captives like the demon-possessed man in our reading today, it’s like the buds of spring bursting forth in the land of Narnia when Aslan appears. Wherever Jesus goes, he announces the arrival of the kingdom of God, and the evidence is as dramatic as the rippling streams, primroses, and gifts from Father Christmas in a land that had been under the frozen spell of winter for far too long.
But as Jesus travels, he encounters ongoing opposition, and in Matthew 12:24, the Pharisees condemn his power as being from Satan. Jesus defies their accusations by arguing, “If Satan is casting out Satan, he is divided and fighting against himself.” Later, he says, “But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has arrived among you.”
In this passage, Jesus is shining a spotlight on the hearts of his accusers. If his power is from Satan, it’s dismissible and their positions of power can remain unchallenged. But if his power is from God, the only reasonable outcome is that new creation is breaking through and everything will change. This wasn’t a metaphor; it was an earth-shattering event that would forever shift the worldly structures of power and authority. Instead of responding with joy, the Pharisees are threatened.
As Jesus continues teaching, he issues a clear warning against the hardness of their hearts. Mercy and forgiveness are freely given to anyone who has sinned, “but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven” (Matthew 12:32).
For many of us, the words of Jesus here can instill fear as we worry, “Have I ever spoken against the Holy Spirit? Am I unforgivable?” But Jesus isn’t just addressing sin or doubt. He is calling out the consequences of the willful rejection and sustained hardness of heart against the work of the Holy Spirit. He is teaching that to reject the Holy Spirit is to cut yourself off from the source of forgiveness itself. (In other words, if you’ve ever worried that you’ve done it, you haven’t.)
The arrival of the kingdom of God announces creation made new, a restored hope, and a decisive defeat of the strongman of sin and death that had gripped the world. It’s like the ground starting to thaw and letting life burst through. This is good news to the poor and oppressed. But to the oppressors and powerful, it is a proclamation that the reign of winter is over.
As we walk through Lent toward Easter, the days will get longer, the temperature will rise (in theory), and hopefully we’ll start to see leaves budding on the trees. But may what happens in nature remind us of the Spirit’s work, softening the soil of our hearts as we trust his kingdom work.
Reflection:
- Where in your life right now does it feel like it’s always winter, never Christmas?
- What signs of spring have you seen in your life (God moments or other reminders of the Spirit’s presence)?
- Where in your life might God be inviting surrender to more joyfully experience the arrival of his kingdom?