I've been watching the uprising in Egypt with concern. I love living in a Constitutional Republic where the people, at least in theory, run the show through our elected representatives. Our form of government certainly isn't perfect and some are more equal than others (the inhabitants of Capitol Hill for example), and some are not equal at all (pre-born babies). But at least we can speak up and fight for what we believe without being sent to the gulag or dragged off in the middle of the night for interrogation by the secret police and possible assassination.
Well, the dictator Mubarak has resigned and the military is now in control and there is massive rejoicing. This morning, as I read the reports, however, I immediately thought of the parable of the swept house in Luke's gospel. The devil is expelled. He goes roaming around the world looking for new habitation only to come back with seven devils more evil than himself to reenter the "swept and tidy" house. The result, Luke tells us, is that "the last state of the man is worse than the first." (Luke 11: 25-26) Will this be Egypt's future?
