The Double Feature

Back in 1979, when I was a teenager. My friend Steve and I decided to go to the local drive-in theater to see a double feature. Yeah, I know, I am dating myself – drive-in theater. The first movie was the original Alien with Sigourney Weaver. It was pretty scary. I know it is now a classic film. I mean, in 2002, the Library of Congress classified it “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. For me, an alien being bursting out of John Hurt’s stomach. Nah. Not my cup of tea.

It was the second film, however, that rocked me to my core. The second movie was 1973’s The Exorcist. Great googly-moogly! That film terrified me beyond words. For those of you who are not familiar with the movie. It tells the story of the demonic possession of a young girl, Regan MacNeil, and her mother’s attempt to rescue her through an exorcism conducted by a pair of Catholic priests. This film was absolutely horrifying. I was sixteen-years old and, yet, after seeing it, I hung my “glow-in-the-dark” rosary from a lamp on the wall above my head when I went to bed. Though the glow-in-the-dark capability was a complete waste because I slept with the lights on for nearly a month. I’m serious. I was really scared. The reality of the devil and what he could do was not something I had considered before. It didn’t help years later to discover that William Peter Blatty’s novel upon which the movie was based was actually a true story. Some of the specifics were altered but there was a young 13-year-old boy named Ronald Edwin Hunkeler from Washington D.C. who experienced what the girl in the film went through. Scratches on his body spelling out messages. A mattress moving violently on its own. Screaming and wild outbursts. Objects mysteriously flying in the boy’s presence and he would react violently whenever any sacred object was presented to him. After four months of spiritual battle, finally, on April 18, 1949, a “miracle” occurred. It was the Monday after Easter, and Ronald awoke with seizures. He yelled at the priests, saying that Satan would always be with him. The priests laid holy relics, crucifixes, medals, and rosaries on the boy. At 10:45 p.m. that evening, the attending priests called on St. Michael to expel Satan from Ronald’s body. They shouted at Satan, saying that St. Michael would battle him for Ronald’s soul. Seven minutes later, Ronald came out of his trance and said, “He’s gone.” The boy recounted how he had a vision that St. Michael vanquishing Satan on a great battlefield. Ronald went on to live a completely normal life from that moment forward, working nearly forty years as an engineer at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center before his retirement in 2001. He passed away in 2020, at the age of 84.

Jesus oversaw four exorcisms Himself. I mention this because Paul says to the Ephesians, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). It is true. Satan and his demons are at work in this world. One only has to watch the news at night to know that. And then of course there is Ted Bundy, the Zodiac Killer, Jeffrey Dahmer, Jack the Ripper, John Wayne Gacy, and Adolf Hitler. The list, sadly, goes on for longer than we would like.

Why am I going down this path today? Well, it is important to remember that God is real, and so is Satan. Jesus warned us, “The thief’s [Satan’s] purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give [you] a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10). Yes, the devil is real, and he will do everything he can to get us to turn away from God. Now, not everything bad that happens in the world is the result of the devil. It’s too easy to claim, “The devil made me do it!” That’s often simply an excuse to justify something we knew was wrong to do but did it anyway. However, the battle against darkness is real, and we need to remember when we are fighting spiritual battles, we need spiritual weapons. When we feel as if the evil one is attacking us. More than likely, it will not be flying objects or scratches on our bodies, but he could be planting seeds in our mind and spirit of distrust, anger, violence, maybe melancholy or depression. Like the priests that helped young Ronald, we need to respond with spiritual weapons like prayer, Scripture, faith, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are not always fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies that we can see. Nonetheless, there is no person or power that Christ cannot overcome. Do not let discouragement or hopelessness get a foothold. You have access to the creator of the universe. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords is in your corner. He will fight for you, and He will win. So, whatever you are going through. Please, do not give up. You are too precious to God. To Him, you were worth dying for. 

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