Proclaiming the good news of the kingdom

After leaving the synagogue he entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him about her. Then he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and began to serve them.

As the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various kinds of diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on each of them and cured them. Demons also came out of many, shouting, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Messiah.

At daybreak he departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowds were looking for him; and when they reached him, they wanted to prevent him from leaving them. But he said to them, ‘I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.’ So he continued proclaiming the message in the synagogues of Judea.

- Luke 4:38-44

The first thing about this passage that struck me was the use of the word "rebuke." In this passage, Jesus rebukes a fever and he also rebukes demons. So, I looked up the word in Greek, and it seems to me to imply, more than anything else, Jesus' authority. There are various definitions for this Greek word so it gets a little confusing. But I think in the end this word is used in the sense of asserting authority, laying down the law, or more specifically to charge someone in a certain way. I think we can take it that Jesus here is seen to assert his command over all things: he can heal in any manner, whether it be to "rebuke" a fever, or to "rebuke" a demon.

In the case of the demons, he has charge over them, too, and commands them that they should not speak about Jesus' identity. In one commentary I read, it's noted that Jesus prohibits the demons to speak because what they say is not a confession of faith. For me personally, this notion of these demons coming out of people and recognizing Jesus as Son of God is intriguing in the sense that it opens up a concept of a world beyond this one (or rather at work in our world) that we know nothing about. What is this world where there are spiritual entities that recognize Jesus, and are subject to his authority, yet are somehow not of his faith? They must follow his commands, and yet they don't serve him. This is an indication of free will at work not just in us but also in realms that we don't necessarily perceive, and it tells me more about the nature of free will at work even under the authority of Christ. I am also curious to understand the nature of these different spiritual "entities" (for lack of a better word). We understand that God is love (see especially yesterday's readings), but in these demonic possessions which we can take as a form of ill health, we see human beings subject to something else, which is not practicing love. The people are freed by the healing action of Jesus.

So, we have a kind of hidden world of spirit in which one side is allied with God who is love, and the other, in its given free will, chooses to ally with that which is not God and not love. God gives us all free will to love God or not, but this "other side" is unloving - it is enslaving and punishing. It is terrifying and it does not respect nor desire free will in its victims but rather domination and control. If we are to look around us in the world I believe discerning these characteristic differences in any situation will perhaps help us to understand what is the nature of that with which we wish to be allied, or rather those characteristics we wish to follow or emulate. I am also reminded of characteristics of conditions of our modern world which need healing, such as addiction of all kinds.

Jesus here also goes into a deserted place - this Greek word can mean either "desert" or "wilderness." He seems continually to go off to be on his own to recollect himself and to recharge in some way. I personally need my "down time" spent alone in prayer or meditation, to "renew a right spirit in me." But always, Jesus' prime concern is with the mission from the Father: he must go to preach. This is what he is here for, to continue with his mission for the kingdom. The healings, and Jesus' choice to reveal himself or not, are all in service to this work, this spreading of his gospel.