Wednesday of the Twenty-second week of Ordinary time

Lectionary: 433

And demons also came out from many, shouting, "You are the Son of God."

But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Christ.

Jesus' disciples, as of Pentecost, were charged with announcing to every creature the Good News of his resurrection. Early Franciscans, rather comically, went so far as to preach to animals about the victory God has won for us. There could be nothing secretive about our mission.

But the early church, as it settled into communities and began the laborious process of forming and initiating new members, preferred not to reveal too much. During those first centuries of RCIA (the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults), aspirants to the Church were not told what they would see and hear during the Easter Vigil service. Explanations of the meaning of their ritual bath, ceremonial food and drink, and anointing with oil -- the sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation -- were not given during the Easter season before Pentecost. As they underwent these rites they knew only that their new family was eager and delighted to welcome them, and that the mysterious gestures were intensely meaningful and sacred.

Just as young children should not have sexual experience lest they be traumatized, so should strangers and potential members not be exposed to our mysteries. Strangers will mock them and the foolish will misunderstand them. Words like transubstantiation are mere babble until they have learned the language of the Holy Spirit. (The word babble refers to the Tower of Babel; and the new language of the Holy Spirit was taught in the "upper room" in Jerusalem.)

The Gospel of Saint Luke remembers Jesus' reticence as he began his ministry. Though his first address in Nazareth overwhelmed and delighted his family, neighbors and friends he did not attempt to explain everything to them. They might be drawn to him by the action of the Holy Spirit but, before his death and resurrection they could know nothing of his true identity. To them, as we heard yesterday, he was only "the son of Joseph." They frankly expected nothing more of one of their own.

In today's gospel we hear the demons trying to sabotage Jesus' mission by shouting, "You are the Son of God." Jesus rebuked and silenced them. Evil cannot announce the Gospel; it can only spread counterfeit rumors about the Lord. Like the fake news which is planted in the American media by foreign and domestic criminals, a counterfeit gospel intends to do more harm.

This incident in Nazareth should remind us to approach the Gospel with great reverence. Historians, archaelogists, anthropologists, psychologists, philosophers, medical doctors, and philologists may have many interesting insights but none of those disciplines, without God's Inspiration, can reveal the mystery of Jesus. They may, like the demons, know that he is the Christ but their intentions are suspect.

This incident reminds us to speak of Jesus with great reverence. Loud arguments persuade no one; angry remarks only repel. The name of Jesus brings joy to our hearts and a smile to our faces. As Saint Peter taught us:

Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame.