“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!”
A Hollywood movie would certainly play up the drama of the demon's implied threat. We can imagine his horrible face, perhaps green and purple filling the movie screen. Add the screeching, spine-chilling background music, and the cringing terror of onlookers.
But threats are everywhere in human interaction. They crop up in humor usually, as in "Don't make me come upstairs!" and, "Smile when you say that." They might be well defined and regulated like the clauses of a building contract or the fines for traffic violations.
Or they might be more sinister, like those in today's gospel. Who wants to be denounced in public? Who wants his shortcomings, failures, and foibles exposed to ridicule by a loud-mouthed antagonist? Many politicians fell in line behind the Troll rather than risk his incoherent contempt, fictitious accusations, and insinuating, "I don't know; I'm just saying...." That he had neither experience nor political ability meant nothing to his admirers. There is always sufficient evil in a given population that some people find pleasure in the humiliation of others. The election in November 2016 proved its success as a strategy.
In today's gospel Jesus appears unafraid. If the threat lacks substance, his reply is as real as an earthquake, "Be quiet!" We heard the same authority in Psalm 46,
"Be still and know that I am God, supreme on the earth, supreme among the nations."
There are no secrets in Jesus's human life, and his divine identity is known only to the faithful. He does more than ignore the threat; he dismisses the demon back to a room in hell, or his beach house in Florida.
As Shakespeare put in the mouth of Julius Caesar:
Cowards die many times before their deaths;The valiant never taste of death but once.
Of all the wonders that I yet have heard.It seems to me most strange that men should fear;Seeing that death, a necessary end,Will come when it will come.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.