One of the greatest events in World History occurred at 6:30 a.m. the morning of Tuesday, June 6th, 1944. Seven thousand ships carried 175,000 American, British and Canadian soldiers to the Normandy coast of France to fight for the freedom of Europe from the Nazis. Years ago, I obtained cassette tapes that recorded the entire two-day CBS Radio broadcast of the invasion. Famous newsman, Robert Trout, was working late in the CBS New York studios when reports came in from German radio that an invasion was underway. He joked that only he and the cleaning lady were there in the newsroom to report this momentous event. You could hear her running the sweeper in the background. I listened to these tapes many evenings in the dark, reliving in my mind the hell our soldiers faced. Nazi bullets rained down on them from the hills above as they tried to storm the beach below. Ten thousand brave allied soldiers died on the first day. This day will forever be known as D-Day, deliverance day. Mark’s story of Jesus healing a man with the evil spirit I call J-Day. It is a report of the very first battle of Jesus fighting Satan for the liberation of the human people. Jesus declared in Mark 1:15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Good News.” Jesus then goes headlong into battle against the demonic power. The Good News of our deliverance has begun. The evil spirit took control of this man, screaming out at Jesus, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God!” (Mark 1:24) By mentioning the name of Jesus, the devil is trying to claim authority over Jesus. In the Bible, one can claim authority over an opponent if you know his name. It’s like when your mom catches you doing something bad, and she calls you by your full name. I can still hear my mom yelling, “Michael Allen! What have you done?” The devil is telling the Holy One of God, Jesus, I know your name. I know who you are. I have power over you. I command you to be gone. Go away! Jesus was peeved. He angrily yelled at the devil, “Shut your darn mouth and get your sorry butt out of here!” Then the devil threw a baby temper tantrum, shaking and screaming before he left. The devil was the first one to know what the kingdom of God meant. It meant that the reign of Satan’s hatred over humans would crumble before the power of God’s Love. It is correct to say that when Jesus came to earth, “all hell broke loose”. Jesus broke us loose from the hell of eternal suffering, the hell of eternal loneliness, the hell of eternal despair. I have counselled many who were addicted to drugs. They all described their addiction as “hell on earth”. There is an important fact in this story we must not forget. Jesus healed that possessed man. The Kingdom of God is revealed in healing. Jesus yearns for you to give Him authority over you. God also allows you to have authority over Him. That’s why God revealed His name to us. When you call upon the name of Jesus, God will personally come to you with a special blessing tailored just for you. Jesus said this in John 14:13, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” There is true power in the name “Jesus”. The very mention of the name Jesus will bring God’s power directly to you for healing the messes, chaos, and troubles you face. The most powerful prayer is only three words, “Jesus help me”. I remember a powerful story of a man who was in the hell of addiction. He couldn’t give up the beer. He was living the country song “What’s Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me)”. Every morning, he would look into his bathroom mirror and hate the face looking back on him. He reached a point of losing everything. His wife, his kids, his job, his home, and his life. He told me, “I reached bottom when I lost hope. I felt like no cared for me anymore. I saw my future as being alone, sucking on a beer bottle in an alley. One day I took a hot shower that steamed up the bathroom. I prayed in the shower. I haven’t prayed in years. I simply asked God to give me a sign that He hasn’t rejected me like so many others had done. I turned the water off and got out of the shower. I grabbed a towel hanging on the wall. I turned around to look at the mirror that reflected my shame for far too many years. This morning was different. A miracle happened. Etched into the steam on the mirror were the words, “Still Love you.” I called my wife to come quickly upstairs. I asked, “Did you write this?” She replied, ‘Yes, I wrote it while you were in the shower. I felt you needed to know that. I hope one day you can love yourself enough to get help.’ I know God used her to give me His sign that He still loved me. That day was the first day of my sobriety. With God’s help and AA I have been sober for twenty years. I believe God did for me what I couldn’t do for myself.”

I close with a lyric from the hymn “There is Power in the Blood.” Would you be free from your burden of sin? There’s power in the blood, power in the blood; Would you over evil a victory win? There’s wonderful power in the blood. There is power, power, wonder-working power, In the blood of the Lamb Blessings…Fr. Mike