14 January 2020
Tuesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Jesus goes to Capernaum with His followers, not long after they had abandoned their previous way of life. Their hearts and minds must have been full of questions: who is this man? What is He about? What is it to be a fisher of men; for what are we ‘catching’ them?
Then, while with Jesus in the local synagogue, a man possessed by a demon cries out something quite unexpected: “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are–the Holy One of God!” Imagine what Simon, Andrew, James, and John were thinking! Demons? The Holy One of God? What have we signed up for? Who is this man who the demons fear, who is addressed by unclean spirits in such a manner?
Jesus of Nazareth. A common name, a common place; surely, too, a common man? Yet the demon essentially says, “Why are you here? Why are you bothering me? What business is this of yours? Go away! I know who you are!” And the demon addresses Him as “the Holy One of God” is if to rebuke Him, to name and therefore have power over Him. But then comes the most astounding aspect of this encounter of all.
“Jesus rebuked him and said, ‘Quiet! Come out of him!’”
The man was convulsed, gave a loud cry, and was free of the spirit. Though the spirit knew the identity of Jesus, it has no power over Him; it could not assert any authority, yet Jesus could. “He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.” This man carries an authority like no other, for other exorcists among the Jews drove out demons in the Name of God, or by some derived authority. Yet Jesus did not invoke the Name of God, nor anyone or anything else. There were no prayers, there was no ritual: He commanded, and the unclean spirit obeyed. Never before has anyone witnessed such a thing.
There was a lesson Jesus sought to teach in this episode, a lesson that seems to have been somewhat lost on the people present. Notice the people also say “What is this? A new teaching with authority…” Earlier in the Gospel we read that “The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.” In other words Jesus taught in the same authoritative manner as He drove out the demon: with His own authority. Scribes always taught with the authority of Scripture, backing up their teachings with the words of holy writ; sometimes they might even refer to a well-respected teacher or other religious figure whose insights were seen as having some weight. But no scribe ever taught on his own authority; Jesus did. The question is: would the people obey Him? The question for us all is: will we? We might do well to consider two passages in regard to this question.
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)
“You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble.” (James 2:19)