The Rite of Exorcism in Baptism

The Rite of Exorcism in Baptism

            I will never forget my first exorcism. When I was around 15 years old, a family member came to visit us from the United States to Puerto Rico. She had been a Christian for many years, but for the last few months she had been suffering from an obsessive fear of the dark. She explained to my mother and I that she often felt as if someone was in the bedroom with her and that in order to sleep she had to turn on a light or a television. We began to pray and ask God to take away the fear she was feeling. Suddenly, her facial expressions changed and she fell unto the floor, screeching and rolling. My reaction was to stand over her and command the demon in the name of Jesus to leave her. After everything was over and she was composed, she could barely remember what happened. It has been 27 years since her exorcism, and since then, she has never felt again the obsessive fear of the dark that used to torment her.

            Thanks to Hollywood, when we think of exorcisms we often associate it with green pea soup and twisting heads. But the truth is that most exorcisms are performed without much drama. The word “exorcism” comes from the Greek word: ἐκβάλλω (ekballo), which means “to bring forth, to eject, to cast out, to expel, to send away.” The ministry of exorcism is closely associated with the ministry of healing (Luke 11: 14) and it is a sign that Jesus Christ is Lord over everything in heaven and earth (Matthew 28: 19). When Jesus sent out the 12 Apostles to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom, he gave them the power to heal and to cast out demons (Luke 9: 1-2).  Later on he sent 72 disciples with the same power over demons (Luke 10: 17), and upon hearing their joy over the fact that demons submitted to them, Jesus said: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions (demons) and to overcome all the power of the enemy...” (Luke 10: 18).

            The Holy Christian Church has recognized from its inception that it is the instrument that God has called and chosen to fight against the Devil and his angels (Matthew 16: 18; Eph. 6: 12; 2 Cor. 10: 3-6, et. al.) with Jesus leading us in triumphal procession (2 Cor. 2: 14) after he disarmed the powers and authorities through his humiliation on the cross (Col. 2: 15).  Though Satan is like a roaring lion seeking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8), he is a defeated foe (Heb. 2: 14) and cannot harm a Christian, unless that Christian allows it through complacency (by not being “sober-minded,” “watchful” and ceasing to “resist” the devil in temptation through prayer-Matthew 26: 41).  

            Any Christian congregation that decidedly becomes evangelistic in its purpose and mission, in reality is going to war with the principalities and powers that hold captive the minds of unbelievers (2Cor. 4:4). Part of the Pastoral Vocation is to lead people “to a knowledge of the truth” so that they may “come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.” (2 Tim. 2: 25-26).

            During the first 3 centuries of its existence, the Church understood the importance of its mission against the Devil (which is linked with the Great Commission- see Mark 16: 15-18), and therefore, established the office of The Exorcist in order to work closely with Catechumens (see Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History, 6.43; Apostolic Constitutions 8.2.26) This is why from early on, the Christian Church established the prayers for the “energumens” (the possessed catechumens) in preparation for their baptisms (Apostolic Constitutions 8.2.7). It was common for the Exorcists of the Church to pray over the Catechumens up to a period of about 40 days- including fasting and prayer vigils. Before the Vatican II reforms, the Roman Catholic Church performed a lengthy exorcism on the catechumen before baptism. The Eastern Orthodox Church still performs a lengthy exorcism that includes a facing toward the West, with the Catechumen spitting and exhaling toward the Devil while renouncing him.

            Dr. Martin Luther’s Baptismal Rites of 1523 and 1526 include several exorcisms performed upon the catechumen with the words: “Depart thou unclean spirit and make room for the Holy Spirit.” Due to the Rationalistic Movement that was espoused by several Lutheran theologians and philosophers of the 18^th century, the Lutheran Church quickly revised its Baptismal Rites by excluding the Rite of Exorcism from its service books. Unfortunately, even the TLH inherited this defect. The idea that the Devil is simply a biblical metaphor captivated the minds of many Lutherans, with the exception of a few who like Martin Luther, staunchly believed in the reality and personality of our common Enemy. In an attempt to move away from the Rationalism that still plagues the Lutheran Church, the LCMS adopted an Alternate Rite for Baptism that adapts both of Luther’s Baptismal Rites and incorporates it in our Agenda. This rite, which includes an exorcism in the very beginning, is quickly becoming the preferred rite of our Synodical Pastors.

            Every Sunday, the Church celebrates the fact that God has “rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”  (Col. 1: 13-14) But how many of our friends and family members are still slaves to sin and the devil? All unbelievers (without exception) are under the dominion of the devil (1John 5:19), and it is the mission of the Church to “snatch (them) from the fire and save them.” (Jude 23) Those who have an aversion toward the salvific work of the Church through active Evangelism (like The Association of Confessing Evangelical Lutheran Congregations- a new ultra conservative LCMS watchdog organization), simply do not understand the severity of this WAR we are waging against Satan.

            In the 1960’s, a popular Latino Revolutionary, echoed the words of Simon Bolivar before a United Nations assembly: “Esta es una Guerra a MUERTE.” (This is a War to the DEATH), meaning, that he was dead serious about his commitment- even if it cost him his life. The Apostles shared this spirit…do you?

The Wedding Garment (sermon)

The Wedding Garment

 Matthew 22: 1-14

            What we wear says something about what we think, who we are, or at least what we would like others to think about us. Language- what we say with words is a mere fraction of what we actually say when engaged in communication.

            How we use our hands, the way we use our eyes, our facial expressions, the way we stand, the way we walk, the way we laugh and the way we dress are all part of an intricate web we call communication.

            And those of us who make our living in the realm of communication, tend to develop a certain instinct or ability- that even without helping it- we’re constantly scanning for those almost unnoticed cues that communicate a truth and intention that goes beyond words.

            The business world, is a whole lot more than just a competition of degrees, resumes and references. And although a hefty resume can get you an interview- getting the job is oftentimes the outcome of how well you did in an interview- including, how well you dressed for the occasion. Have you heard of the phrase: “Dress for success?”

            From the skinhead, biker pastor wearing boots to the young girl dressed wearing a mini-skirt and high heals- from the man wearing a business suit to the woman dressed like a man- From the Vietnam Vet wearing his veteran’s hat, to the young man wearing his pants on the ground- All are saying something with what they wear… or what they don’t wear.

            In today’s Gospel, the Lord Jesus tells us a parable about the Kingdom of God. It is a parable that speaks about God’s invitation to the Jews to be his Guests of Honor at the Wedding Feast of His Son-

            In the middle east, it was customary for Kings to send richly embroidered garments to his guests- what an honor to receive an  invitation from a King! And what a privilege to dress with the expensive garments of royalty!

            There is still a vestige of this left in our culture- where people usually dress with ballroom dresses and tuxedos for special celebrations.

            Last night, my daughter dressed in a very beautiful dress for her very first homecoming dance- and she looked like a princess.

            But the invited guests did not want to come to the wedding feast of the King-

            Matthew 22: 5-6 says: But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully and killed them.

            This was a picture of the Jewish religious leaders who rejected the invitation of God, not only ignoring the high honors of the King, but also even persecuting and killing God’s servants.

            But notice what the religious leaders did- They IGNORED the invitation. They dealt with the invitation of the King as if it were rubbish, dishonoring the grace of the King as if it were something vile and despicable- unworthy of their attention and attendance.

            But this way of dealing with the invitation of God was not only found with the Jews of 2000 years ago.

            You would think that the world would burst through the doors of every Church- asking to be admitted to the Salvation Feast of God- but the world, not only ignores the Gospel invitation- it deals with it as if it were a despicable nuisance- unworthy of their attention.

            And not only is the Gospel invitation despised and ignored, but it is also exchanged for the affairs of this world. For we live in a time where there is no time for Church, or for prayer, or for doing good deeds, or for reading the Bible or for feeding the poor, or for acts of service!

            There’s only time for our entertainments and our affairs- with what face can a person who rejects the Gospel invitation be able to stand before a wrathful God on judgment day?

            Those who think that they will be their own advocates before the Supreme Judge will suddenly find themselves mute when they see scenes of their own lives flashing before their eyes- and every moment that they despised the invitation of God- bearing witness against them- and pointing them, not to the feast of Salvation-

            but to the feast of damnation- what they chose for having rejected the loving invitation of a Gracious King.  

            So in the parable we see the King dealing with those evil subjects in the way they deserved… The King then sends his servants to the Highways and the Byways- to find and to bring all whomever they found- both good and bad- rich or poor, --it did not matter!

            This was the Great Commission of Christ to his Apostles- for Christ sent them to “Go and Make Disciples of all Nations!”

            You and I, the members of Christ’s Holy Christian Church, are those who have been invited to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb- people of all races, and all backgrounds, and all cultures, and all ages, and all levels of education. Males and Females invited to one Feast-

            A Feast where individually, we are all guests of honor, and collectively we’re the Bride of the Son. And every Sunday we gather around the sacrificial Altar that is also a wedding Table- for the mystical feast that is a glimpse of that one feast in Heaven where we will share the same Cup of Blessing with our Bridegroom- Jesus Christ.

            In our baptism we were washed of our sins with the water and the Word- we were cleansed with the blood of the Lamb that was shed in Calvary for our transgressions- We were born again into a new life by the Spirit of God. Our Idolatries and Adulteries were washed away- and we were dressed with a Wedding Garment that is Christ Jesus Himself-

            For it says in Galatians 3: 27- for all of you who were baptized into Christ, have clothed yourselves with Christ!

            In Isaiah 61: 10 it says - I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness.

            Oh how wonderful is our God, that though we were undeserving of his invitation- he called us by Grace- to be not only the guests of honor, but also to be the Bride of Christ.

            But my dear friends, the story does not end here; for the parable continues and says that the King entered to see the guests that were invited. And as he was greeting his guests, he noticed that there was one who had come into the wedding feast without a wedding garment.

            “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?” And the guest was speechless- he stood mute before the King.

            Notice how the King called him “friend.” Oh my dear friend, when God calls you friend, be careful that you find yourself to be faithful, because God also calls his traitors, “friends.”

            On the night our Lord Jesus Christ was betrayed, Judas Iscariot led a mob to the garden of Gethsemane in order to arrest Jesus. And when he approached our Lord, the Lord said: “Friend, why are you here?”

            The King said: “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?” The wedding guest was speechless- he was speechless because he had no excuse-

            by not wearing the wedding garment given to him, with his actions he was communicating to the King the same thing that the religious leaders had previously communicated to him-

            That the King’s invitation was something vile- something that didn’t carry much weight- of little importance! By wearing what he felt like wearing, rather than the wedding garment- he was communicating to the King what many Christians today communicate with their lives-

            For many of us think that it is enough to have received the wedding garment in our baptism- and then live the Christian life in the backburner- as a nuisance that gets in the way of our daily lives.

            But the garment of Salvation is not just given to us in our baptism- it must also be intentionally put on.

The Apostle Paul says in Romans 13: 13-14- Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

            There is an interesting story in the Apocryphal book of Tobit, of an angel called Raphael and a man called Tobias. After Tobias follows a series of instructions, the angel Raphael follows the wicked demon Asmodeus who had fled to Egypt, and bound him hand and foot.

            In the same way the King of our parable takes the “friend” without the wedding garment and binds him hand and foot. He treats him like the demon Asmodeus in the Apocryphal account and casts him into the outer darkness- in the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.

            So my friend, if you have received the garment of Christ- put it on! From now on- tell God with your entire life that you want to live for Christ and only Christ.

That with our lives we may say like St. Paul in Philippians 3: 10-

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Like Paul, cling passionately to him who is taking hold of you!           

            And you will see that rather than suffering the outer darkness of hell and damnation- with the saints you will see the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

            And He will wipe away every tear from your eyes, and death shall be no more, and neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain. And this corruptible body of ours, will be dressed with the incorruption of Christ’s resurrection. And in perfect union- we will celebrate the wedding feast with the God who loves us, forever and ever. Amen.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Why the Cassock?

God invented clothes. When Adam and Eve fell from grace, God probably sacrificed a couple of animals in order to make them vestments from the skins (Gen. 2: 21). In the book of Revelation, the bride of Christ is dressed in a white linen wedding garment, which represents the righteous acts of the believers (Rev. 19: 8). The Apostle Paul also says that those who were baptized into Christ are clothed with Christ, who is our very righteousness (Gal. 3: 27). When Christ returns to judge the living and the dead, he will be wearing a white robe that will get stained with the blood of his enemies and have inscribed on it the title of “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Rev. 19: 13-16).

            For God, clothes have meaning. When we fell from grace through Adam, in him we ran and hid from God bearing the shame of our guilt (Gen. 3: 8-10). Not only were we naked like the rest of the animal kingdom, we actually knew we were naked, becoming conscious of our vulnerability and ashamed of our fallen state. The shame we feel when naked, is an instinct deeply imprinted in the human psyche that points to the reality of our sinfulness before God and creation, and our inability to cover it.

            When Jesus Christ became sin on our behalf (2Cor. 5:21), he was crucified naked, bearing not only our sin, but also the shame of our sinful state before God, the principalities and powers of the air and all of creation. The banner and emblem of our shame became the sign of our redemption. Jesus Christ on the Cross- while suffering the ultimate shame gained the ultimate glory for undeserving Adam and his offspring. This is why the Church for almost 2 millennia has entered the sanctuary, bearing high the Processional Cross as it enters into the Nave (ship) of our Salvation- boasting high, proclaiming to both angels and demons that we, the barren children of Eve, have triumphed before all through the shame of Christ on the Cross (Heb. 12:2).

            When God instituted the Old Testament priesthood, he designed and ordered particular vestments for all the priests (Exodus 28). These vestments signified the special duty and purpose of the priests of Israel, whose vocation included atoning for the sins of Israel by means of the daily sacrifices and the offering of incense with intercessions. The priests, not only served as representatives of the people before God, but also as representatives of God before the people. Priestly vestments were to be a sign of honor before the people and foster respect toward the ordained ministry (Ex. 28: 2, 40), a respect that many in the Protestant/Evangelical churches lack today.

            From its earliest times, the Church (which is a kingdom of priests similar to old Israel- 1 Pet. 2:9) adopted the practice of vesting the catechumens in white garments (Albs) after their baptisms, representing their new vocation in Christ as priests (Ex. 28: 42). Almost from its inception, the Church adopted certain vestments for its clergy in order to distinguish them from the people as those appointed by God (ordained) to be special ambassadors of Christ to the world (2 Cor. 5:20) and shepherds of God’s flock (Acts 20:28).

            Because the Bible clearly teaches the Church to honor its pastors (1 Tim. 5:17; Heb. 13: 17), the early Church adopted “signs of honor” that were common in the Roman Empire. For instance, what eventually became known as the pastor’s stole, was originally a “scarf of honor” that was given to the dignitaries of the Roman government. In the Church, it came to signify the “yoke of Christ” over the neck of its pastors who serve as ministers (servants, slaves) of Christ. The clerical collar is a symbol of that iron collar that slaves wore and from where they were chained. The collar is white because that is the symbol of holiness and moral purity. The black reminds us that without Christ, humankind is in the darkness of its sins and trespasses (Jn. 1: 4-5; 3:19) and that Christ comes to saves us from that ultimate, utter darkness, that the Bible calls Hell (2 Pet. 2:17).

            There are two types of attire that pastors wear: Vestments and Clericals. Vestments are what pastors wear during church services (Albs, Chasubles, Stoles, etc.) and clericals are what pastors wear OUTSIDE of the church building. Yes, clericals are what pastors are supposed to wear on the street- not suits and ties. Clericals are the “uniform” of the clergy. A suit and tie says to the world, “I’m a business man. I’m a professional,” or “I’m a Jehovah’s Witness.” Clericals say to the world, “I am an ambassador of Christ.”

            The clergy shirt is actually a smaller, casual version of the clerical cassock. A pastor’s casual attire is not a yellow polo shirt…it is the clergy shirt.  The cassock is an older clerical that has fallen into disuse in America (as opposed to the rest of the world), simply because in America we have fostered the image of the “cool and worldly” pastor who worships “buddy Jesus” and who lives a non-religious, cool life. In the 1960’s the notion of becoming “relevant” harmed the evangelistic efforts of the Church catholic. The Church has become so much like the world, that the world virtually has no interest in the Church.

            In a time where Western society has become so aggressively secular and the Church has been riddled with so many moral scandals, it takes great courage to wear clericals on the streets. Everyone looks at the pastor who wears his clericals…and even more when he wears his cassock. All eyes lock on the guy wearing clerical attire! One of the reasons why so many pastors refuse to wear their clericals publically is because they are afraid of the infamy of the Gospel. They are afraid of being singled out and insulted or judged harshly. Another reason why many clergy wear the polo shirt, as opposed to the clergy shirt, is simply because they don’t want to be bothered. These are what I humorously call “Reverend Detectives.” Ambassadors of Christ working in undercover!

            I wear the cassock because I am a Christian revolutionary. I want the world, the principalities and powers and all of creation, to know that I am a radical disciple of Christ who bears words of consolation and reconciliation. That I am uncompromisingly committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that I am willing, not only to suffer the ignominy of the Cross, but also die for the One who died for me, if needs be. The world does not need any more scholarly, cool, cigar smoking, beer drinking, video game playing, “Reverend Detectives.” The world needs holy, religious and fully committed, courageous Pastors (internally and externally) who stand against the current of the world rather than swim with it. The Church needs public luminaries of hope in a darkened and dead world: men who live for compassion and mercy rather than for their passions!

            I have one life that is hidden in Christ (Col. 3:3) and with it I intend to preach Christ publically in season and out of season. I preach Christ, not only with my words and deeds, but also with my clothes. In Christ, the shame of my sin was covered with his blood. I stand unashamed before a world that revels in its shame- representing Christ and preaching him crucified to the world- with words and without; being an example to the Church and its children- an example of courage in an age of relative, Christian cowards. I also seek to actively offend people and make them uncomfortable with the foolishness of the Cross (Gal. 5:11; 1 Cor. 1:18). Think about it…if you feel uncomfortable next to me when I wear my cassock, what will you feel when you’re before the KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS, wearing his blood-stained robe?