And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority

 

 Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.  

 

Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon.  And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.  Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is!  For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."  And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region. 

 

- Luke 4:31–37 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee (following His temptation by the devil as He fasted for forty days), and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:   "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."   Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"  He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.  

 

 Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.  My study Bible cites the commentary of St. Ambrose of Milan, who says that Christ begins preaching and healing on the Sabbaths in order to show that "the new creation began where the old creation ceased."

 

 And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.  The prophets of old would teach in the third person ("the Lord says"), and teachers such as the scribes of Christ's own time would teach by quoting famous rabbis.  But Jesus' teaching was expressed in the first person ("I say to you").  My study Bible explains that this is what is meant by the statement that Christ's word was with authority, and therefore why this type of teaching astonished the people.  See, for example, Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount.

 

Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon.  And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.  Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is!  For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."  And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.  My study Bible reminds us that the prophet Isaiah foresaw the Lord's refusal to fully disclose His identity as Messiah (Isaiah 42:1-4).  Therefore, Jesus rebukes this unclean demon, crying out with a loud voice, to be quiet!  The following reasons are given for this desire for secrecy.  In the first place, Jesus will contend with the growing hostility of the Jewish leaders (He has already experienced the wrath of the neighbors in His hometown of Nazareth in yesterday's reading, above).  Second, there is the people's misunderstanding and expectations of the awaited Messiah as an earthly, political leader.  Finally, Christ desires to evoke genuine faith, which is not based solely on marvelous signs.  My study Bible concludes that Isaiah's reference to the suffering Servant therefore refers first to Christ, and by extension all who follow Him.

 

Christ's humility takes front and center stage in today's reading.  This statement might seem paradoxical, given that we've just read, in fact, that Jesus teaches with a personal authority that is so rare as to be astonishing to the people.   But, in fact, if we consider that Christ expresses Himself clearly and honestly, but without declaring Himself to be the awaited Messiah, then we begin to understand what humility looks like, and why He is the example we have.  In fact, this humility is precisely what is notable about Isaiah's depiction of the Christ as a suffering Servant.  Through Jesus' example, we learn what it is to tell the truth, being obedient to God, but without ostentation or grandiosity, incurring the astonishment -- and resentment -- of others.  In fact, this propensity of Jesus to act and to speak with authority will earn Him the opposition of the religious establishment, and lead to His persecution.  It will be a sticking point in the questioning of the religious authorities as to why and how Jesus conducts His ministry.  But Jesus manages to do something very important:  He acts and lives by His true identity, but never declares this as a proposition to others.  It is His life that reveals who He is, something that can be seen only with the eyes of faith.  This teaches us a great deal about what is true humility.  Humility is not debasing ourselves nor degrading ourselves in some manner so as to please others, or to grovel.  Humility is basically an absolute truth; we are humble before God is who we are, including our flaws, and seeking to do the things that please God in all our choices.  If we think of being fellow servants with Christ -- and servants and disciples of Christ -- then we seek His will in all things, and this is humility.  Just as Christ puts His human will second to the will of God, so we seek to please God and put our own impulses in service to God.  And this is humility and truth, for it is a true expression of the truth of who we are as creatures of God who seek to be children by adoption, to be children of Abraham, in the words of John the Baptist (Luke 3:8).  To live this way is to live with true integrity, for it is an attempt to live transparently in accordance with who we truly are, no more and no less, as those who must acknowledge God and God's guidance as our greatest need and dependency in life.  To live as humble is to remember God, and that God is the ultimate judge of all things, and not ourselves.  To be humble is to know that the discernment of the Holy Spirit, who reminds us of all of Christ's teachings, is what we need to seek at all steps in our lives.  To be humble is to remember that we are time-bound creatures, and so we are born to be always learning, especially from our mistakes.  As those who live bound by time, we live with constant change, and that dynamic of change applies to us as well.  Therefore we must be aware of our constant need for repentance or "change of mind," as the Greek word μετανοια/metanoia literally means.  As Christ's disciples, we will always have new things to learn, and He is our authority.  As His disciples, we are also called upon to forgive and to love, both of which take a great deal of humility, and form a long learning curve.  Let us be "like Him" in all things, as we are able. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them

 

 Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.  Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.  And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. 

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.  Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?"  So he sought to see Him.  

And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all they had done.  Then He took them and went aside privately to a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.  When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."  But He said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."  For there were about five thousand men.  Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."  And they did so, and made them all sit down.  Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them. 

 

- Luke 9:1-17 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus returned from healing a man from a Legion of demons across the Sea of Galilee, the multitude welcomed Him back to Capernaum, for they were all waiting for Him.  And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue.  And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.  But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.  Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment.  And immediately her flow of blood stopped.  And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?"  When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me."  Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.  And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well.  Go in peace."  While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead.  Do not trouble the Teacher."  But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well."  When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.  Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, 'Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.  But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise."  Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately.  And he commanded that she be given something to eat.  And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.

 

  Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.  Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.  And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. At this stage in Christ's ministry Jesus calls the twelve disciples together and sends them out as apostles on their first missionary journey.  Disciples and "apostles" are frequently used interchangeably for the twelve as a result.  In Greek the word for "disciple" means "learner"; "apostle" means "one sent out."  We note that Jesus gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  These things Jesus did Himself by His own power; but He gave power to the disciples.  Note how they are to comport themself, in all humility and in dependency upon God.  They take nothing for the journey, they do not dress ostentatiously.  In whatever home they are offered refuge first they are to stay, and not trade up for better place.  Finally, note that they are given power and authority over all demons, and yet should they be rejected their only retort is to shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against those who refuse to receive them.

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.  Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?"  So he sought to see Him.  My study Bible comments that this is the same Herod (known also as Herod Antipas) to whom Pilate will send Jesus during His trial (Luke 23:6-7).  He is the son of Herod (known as Herod the Great) who slew the innocent infants in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16).  The beheading of John can be found in Mark 6:14-28.

And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all they had done.  Then He took them and went aside privately to a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.  When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."  But He said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."  For there were about five thousand men.  Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."  And they did so, and made them all sit down.  Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.  My study Bible cites Theophylact as seeing a liturgical parallel with the feeding of the five thousand.   Christ first healed and then spoke of the gospel, and then He fed the multitude with miraculous bread by the hands of His disciples, who've just returned from their first apostolic mission.  In the Church, he comments, a person is first healed through baptism; then at the Liturgy, the gospel is preached and the bread of life and the cup are received from the hands of the ordained clergy.  It's noted also that Jesus tells the disciples, "You give them something to eat."  This is a commission that is a type and preparation for the apostolic ministry the disciples will perform after Christ's Resurrection.  My study Bible says that they will feed the world with the word of God and with the Eucharist.  Of the five loaves and two fish, there is a commentary by St. John Chrysostom:  Christ is the same Creator "of both the earth and the sea, who in the beginning brought fruit from the earth and life out of the water."  Again, Chrysostom comments that Christ looked up to heaven "not as receiving power from elsewhere, but as honoring the Father who begot Him."  That Christ blessed and broke the bread teaches us "not to touch any meal until we have given thanks to Him who gives us food."  My study Bible adds that this blessing also presents a clear eucharistic image, and directs us to pursue spiritual food greater than that which is earthly (see John 6:26-27).  

In today's reading, we can observe a growing ministry of Christ which now begins to reach out past those of His immediate vicinity and home base.  His apostles are now sent out on their first apostolic mission, going to towns and cities announcing the gospel of the Kingdom, using the power and authority that has been shared with them by Christ over all demons, and to cure diseases.  This is a very important announcement of a kingdom:  note Christ shares His power and authority as a king or emperor would do.  But the nature of this kingdom is obviously quite different from an earthly kingdom.  Its power is not in armies or cavalry or chariots of military weapons, and its authority is not found in worldly structures but is given through Jesus, who holds no official institutional office.  This is the kingdom of God which is entirely dependent upon God.  The disciples are to practice no ostentation, no fancy clothes, not a lot of money, and not to court people who can offer them luxurious places to stay.  The appeal of this kingdom is to the faithful wherever they are found, and that is the key to Christ.  They are not to take vengeance upon those who don't receive them, but rather to leave testimony against them by shaking the dust of the place from their feet.  And at the same time, a worldly kingdom has begun to take note of Christ.  Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee, has heard of Him.  Herod has beheaded John the Baptist, and wonders who Christ is when He hears of the miraculous signs which accompany His ministry.  Elsewhere we're told that Herod fears that Jesus is John returned from the dead, and that this is the explanation for the powers He displays in His ministry (Mark 6:16, Matthew 14:2).  We should make careful note that Christ's authority is about a Kingdom making its way into this world; in the next chapter of Luke, Jesus will send out the seventy, teaching them to preach as they go, "The kingdom of God has come near to you" (Luke 10:1-24).  Perhaps most significantly in today's reading, we're given the story of the feeding of the five thousand men (and more women and children).  This becomes a story about feeding the world, a prefiguring of the Eucharist, because now, having returned from their first apostolic mission, the disciples are taught to feed the multitude who comes to find Christ and will not leave.  The twelve baskets of leftover fragments tell us about the Twelve who will go out to the world and feed the world with the gospel of the Kingdom of God.  The fulfillment of the twelve tribes of Israel, this will expand God's kingdom out to the four corners of the world and bless the world as it does.  Jesus has come to claim the world for the kingdom of God, to share His authority and power in a conflict with the demonic already planted in the world.  We note how in the demonic encounters we've read recently, the demons fear Christ; they know who He is, they know His power, and they know their time is necessarily limited.  But He has come to claim a whole world, including us; that is, the multitudes, and the hearts and minds in which He will find the faith that enables the establishment of that Kingdom and the working of its power to heal in us.  This Kingdom does not work by coercion; it relies on God's timing and God's power (hence the disciples merely shake the dust off their feet in testimony to those who will not receive it).  But it is still at work -- the bread sent out with the Twelve across the land and seas of the world reminds us of Ecclesiastes 11:  "Cast your bread upon the waters."  It is worth reading the rest of that chapter in Ecclesiastes and consider how much of it we can find in the teachings of Jesus about reaping and sowing, and even about the harvest of judgment that will come.  The world remains a place where the seed of the Sower must continually go out, where we may choose to join in the work of the harvest, where we may rejoice to hear His word and play our part in His kingdom.  For the four corners of the world still need His blessings through the holy bread of the Eucharist, and His Kingdom must continually go out with its own authority and power -- even into a world of coercion, greed, and so much faith in material power. 

 

 

What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out

 

 Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.  

Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon.  And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.  Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is!  For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."  And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

 

- Luke 4:31–37 

 

Yesterday we read that after being tempted by the devil, Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:  "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."   Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"  He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"   Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine thorughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

 

 Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.  My study bible quotes St. Ambrose of Milan, who explains that Christ begins preaching and healing on the Sabbaths in order to show that "the new creation began where the old creation ceased."  Regarding teaching . . . His word . . . with authority, my study bible comments that Christ doesn't teach like the prophets of old and the teachers of His own time, who taught in the third person ("The Lord says").  Christ instead teaches in the first person ("I say to you").  See also Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount.

Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon.  And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.  Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is!  For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."  And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.  Jesus commands the unclean demon to Be quiet, as He does not want His messianic identity revealed at this early stage of His ministry -- and certainly not this way, but rather in the way His ministry will unfold with His disciples.  My study bible explains that Christ's refusal to fully disclose His identity as Messiah is foreseen by Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1-4).  The reasons for this secrecy would include the growing hostility of the Jewish leaders, the people's misunderstanding and expectation of the Messiah as an earthly and political leader, and Christ's desire to evoke genuine faith which is not based solely on marvelous signs.  The people marvel at Christ's authority and power, shown in His command to the unclean spirits.

So what is authority and where does it come from?  Where does power come from?  These are the things that distinguish Christ from all the others the people hear preaching.  Christ speaks from His own authority and acts from His own power.  But how would we recognize this authority and power?  My study bible makes note of the ways in which Christ preaches, that He speaks direct from His own authority, in using phrases like, "I say to you," such as when He preaches regarding the Law in the Sermon on the Mount.  In Matthew 5:21-48, Jesus uses the formula, "You have heard that it was said to those of old . . .  But I say to you . . . ," adding, refining, building upon the Law, in just the same way in which the New Testament illumines, expands, and further reveals and enlightens what was given in the Old.  So Jesus conveys power and authority in His speech, but speech alone would not be enough to convey what truly exists with Christ.  In our story of the synagogue in Capernaum in today's reading,  Jesus commands the unclean demon and the demon must obey.  This is another display of authority and of power.  But still, exorcists did exist within the Jewish tradition -- to cast out an unclean demon was not an exceptional sign, but the sign of the authority and power of Christ Himself was something exceptional.  He needs no other name in which to act, no other authority other than what He possesses within Himself.  These are the things to which the people respond and for which they marvel about Christ.  His authority is in His identity, in Himself.  Once again, when pondering this question of authority and power, we return to Christ's relationship to the Father and the Holy Spirit.  His authority and power is in His identity as Son.  As such, this authority and power is something new in the world, something the people have not seen before.   As my study bible reminds us, Christ's preaching is bringing something new into the world, a new creation.  But as "sons" by adoption, how does this authority and power work in us, or through us?  St. Paul writes, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).  If Christ's power and authority have come into the world in order to reconcile all the world to Himself, and therefore to save, then what is our place in this "ministry of reconciliation" which Paul writes about?  How is Christ's power and authority extended through us?  Ultimately, the power of the Cross is the way of Christ, and that power and authority work in this world, through the good and the bad, for God's purposes.  Let us keep in mind, as we read that the people marvel at Christ, that this power and authority was brought into the world for us, and continues in the ministry He's given to us, and through us.  We each have our place within and among this power and authority which is shared with us, and distributed through the Spirit.  What grace does God share with you?  How does power and authority translate to grace, in order to be at work in your life, and through your part as one among the faithful?  Christ's power and authority startle the people of His time, but in our own lives at this time, we perhaps need that more than ever -- to rely on it, to participate in it, and especially to make it real in this world by living through it.  Let us consider the new creation as one that is ever-renewed, continually made new in us, and our part to play in what is meant for the life of the world.  

"Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"

 Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.  Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon.  And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.  Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is!  For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."  And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

- Luke 4:31-37

Yesterday we read that after His temptation in the wilderness,  Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:  "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."  Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which  proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"  He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country."  Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.   My study bible cites St. Ambrose of Milan, who comments that Christ begins preaching and healing on the Sabbaths to show that "the new creation began where the old creation ceased."

And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.  Jesus does not speak like the prophets of old, nor like the teachers of His own day, who taught in the third person ("The Lord says").  But Christ teaches in the first person ("I say to you").  See also Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount.

Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon.  And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"   Everything that has occurred so far in this early ministry of Christ has been done through the work of the Holy Spirit, as our readings have attested (3:22; 4:1, 14).  But here, the spiritual world "breaks out" into the open, and it is clear there is a kind of battle going on, a war for a kingdom within a spiritual setting, in which we also dwell.   But Christ wishes to keep His messianic identity a secret ("Be quiet . . .!").  Isaiah foresaw His refusal to fully disclose His identity as Messiah (Isaiah 42:1-4).  My study bible says the reasons for secrecy include:  (1) the growing hostility of the Jewish leaders; (2) the people's misunderstanding of the Messiah as an earthly, political leader; and (3) Christ's desire to evoke genuine faith, which is not based solely on marvelous signs. 

And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.  Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is!  For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."  And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.  One revelation of Christ's identity occurs through His interact with unclean spirits; He commands them with authority and power. 

Jesus' identity breaks through His own self-imposed silence.  There is a spiritual battle going on, a kind of war for the world.  Human beings are in distress.  In the action of the demons, there is all the symbolism and signs of an invading army:  occupation, brutality, violence, oppression, hostility, imprisonment, hostage-taking.  The unclean spirits impose harsh sentences and penalties upon those who are their victims.  There are many different "evidences" of demons presented in the Gospels:  a boy who's thrown into a fire, a man occupied by a "legion" of demons that destroys his life and his ability to live among people, and here, a man thrown down in the middle of the synagogue.  In all ways, the action of the demons parallels that of an occupying, hostile enemy force.  But in comes Jesus who comes to speak in the synagogue, and it prompts panic from this enemy force, who, unlike the human beings who deny Christ (as in His hometown of Nazareth, in yesterday's reading, above), know precisely who He is:  "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"   The demons fear His power and they cannot resist His commands.  They wonder what He is doing here in our world -- if He's come to destroy them.  It's as if the world is a kind of wilderness where they may roam free, but all of a sudden the One who has the true power and authority to assert order and peace has come into the world.  Has He come to destroy them?  Not quite yet.  Our Savior has come to redeem us, to liberate us.  We needn't be hostages to this force which alienates us from God.  But we are meant to cooperate in our own liberation.  Our Redeemer does no healing and saving apart from our own cooperation and assent to this work.  We are part and parcel of His ministry, and He has come for us, not for the unclean forces that seek to draw us apart from God's love.  Love comes first of all to claim its own, the ones capable of loving in return, and who desire life with Christ -- and to follow where He will lead.  With Christ's word, His entry into our world, just as He enters into the synagogue, He offers us a choice, a freedom, a liberation that asks us to follow Him and make a choice for ourselves.  We are His own creatures, capable of using intelligence and will, and love will not compel us to follow nor love back.  This is a force of love, not manipulation.  We await a final judgment and reconciliation, but in the meantime His life is here, His forces are here, and He offers us this choice to realize who we are in relation to Him.  And this is our healing.  The signs are all there, but who is capable to read them and to know Him and follow? 

You give them something to eat

Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  And he said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.  Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.  And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.  Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?"  So he sought to see Him.

And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done.  Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.  When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."  But He said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."  For there were about five thousand men.  Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."  And they did so, and made them all sit down.  Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.

- Luke 9:1-17

Yesterday we read that when Jesus returned from across the Sea of Galilee, the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him.  And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was ruler of the synagogue.  And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.  But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.  Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment.  And immediately her flow of blood stopped.  And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?"  When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me."  Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.  And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well.  Go in peace."  While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead.  Do not trouble the Teacher."  But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well."  When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.  Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, "Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.  But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise."  Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately.  And He commanded that she be given something to eat.  And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.

Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  And he said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.  Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.  And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.  Jesus calls His twelve disciples ("learners" in the Greek) and invests in them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  They are "sent out" (the literal meaning of "apostle") to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  We note with what humility they are to go on this mission and characterize their conduct:  they take no extra provisions nor clothing, they stay and remain in the first place that will receive them.  Their rebuke to those who do not receive them is simply to shake the dust from their feet as testimony against them.  This is their first apostolic mission.  It is the works they do, the power and authority given to them, which will speak for the Kingdom. 

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.  Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?"  So he sought to see Him.   This is the first mention we're given in Luke's Gospel of state power taking notice of Jesus and His ministry.  Herod is tetrarch of Galilee.  It is significant that Herod hears of Him just as the first apostolic mission takes place.  At Jesus' trial, Pilate will send Him to Herod (23:7), when Pilate finds that Jesus is a Galilean.  The beheading of John the Baptist can be read at Mark 6:14-28.

And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done.  Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.  The Gospel gives us the events as they unfold in His ministry:  the apostles return from their mission, and Christ takes them aside privately to a deserted place.  But this is the region in which His ministry is already well-known, the the crowds follow Him.  Jesus' graciously receives those who want what He has to offer:  first He speaks to them about the kingdom of God, and then heals those in need of healing.

When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."  But He said to them, "You give them something to eat." My study bible suggests that this commission (You give them something to eat) is a type and preparation for the apostolic ministry the disciples will perform after Christ's Resurrection.  They will feed the world with the word of God and with the Eucharist.

And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."   St. John Chrysostom, in His commentary on the Gospel, notes that Christ is the same Creator "of both the earth and the sea, who in the beginning brought fruit from the earth and life out of the water."

For there were about five thousand men.  Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."  And they did so, and made them all sit down.  Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.  About five thousand men is a way of counting from the period;  there were more women and children as well.  My study bible again quotes St. John Chrysostom.  Christ looked up to heaven "not as receiving power from elsewhere, but as honoring the Father who begot Him."  That Christ blessed and broke the bread serves as example for us "not to touch any meal until we have given thanks to Him who gives us food."  Christ's blessing gives as well a eucharistic image; it directs us to pursue spiritual food greater than that which is earthly (see John 6:26-27). 

There is a clear parallel between feeding and being given the bread of the Kingdom:  the spiritual food and drink of Christ's authority and power in the gospel of the Kingdom and the healing and casting out of demons.  In the meantime, we have the interest of Herod, son of Herod the Great who destroyed the children of Bethlehem as he sought to destroy Christ (ironically, the very reason that Jesus is a Galilean -- see Matthew 2:16-28).  Notice the difference in what power and authority means between the examples of Christ and of Herod.  As Christ sends out His apostles, it is that very authority and power that "speaks out" as substance within the very works they do.  Their conduct is not to draw attention to itself.  It bears no marks in itself of authority or power.  Their conduct, on the contrary, is one of great humility.  They are not to "trade up" for better lodgings after they preach and heal and cast out demons.  Their rebuke to the places that do not receive them is simply to "shake off the very dust" from their feet as a testimony against them -- when they go out of the city.  Herod, on the contrary, is notorious enough in his use of power that the Gospel makes no mention of the story of Herodias and her daughter (found in Mark 6:14-28, which it is obviously assumed that readers will already know about).  Herod has committed the grave sin of having John the Baptist beheaded, such is his rule and use of his power and authority.  In a subtle sense, the juxtaposition of the state power of the time and of Christ's power and authority gives us a great sense of the temptations and corruption of our world, as compared to the ways in which Christ uses His authority.  Moreover, the authority and power which Christ gives to His apostles is also remarkable:  it is to cast out demons and to heal, and especially to preach the Kingdom.  One can sense a clash, a war at work here between two very different sources of power and authority, two different types of rule, two forces at odds with one another.  The oppressive and enslaving and unjust power of the "prince of this world" is exemplified in Herod's unruly, chaotic, power-hungry court.  Our Liberator, Redeemer, and Deliverer is embodied in Christ and in the ways in which power and authority are used by Him.  Compare the grandeur and haughtiness of Herod's court with the conduct that Jesus teaches His apostles to use as they are sent out on their first mission.  The difference is staggering.  It reminds us of the truth of His teaching, that "by their fruits you will know them"  (Matthew 7:15-20).  And so the truth of this teaching remains for each of our own lives.  And there is precisely the point:  the culmination of today's reading is in the very sharing of the bread of this Kingdom with the multitudes.  The obvious parallels to the Eucharist make that clear.  When we pray the prayer Jesus has taught us (Luke 11:1-4), we pray for our "supersubstantial bread" given to us day by day.  "Supersubstantial" is the literal meaning of the word that is translated as daily in Luke 11:3.  Therefore in this foreshadowing of the Eucharist, Jesus raising His eyes to heaven and blessing the food before it is distributed gives us an important message about how we, too, need this "extra-essential" bread day by day, so that we also share in the power and authority of Christ in whatever way is available to us.   On some subtle level which we may not necessarily always discern, it is always about choosing which Kingdom we wish to serve, whose power and authority, what conduct is truly becoming to whom (or Whose) we truly are.   Just as identity may be derived from what is stamped on a passport, so the Gospels give us a picture of the reality that what we choose to ally with becomes identity for us.  Compare the notion of what we take in, what we choose to consume, to take to heart, to become a part of and to make a part of ourselves.  It's all about what we choose in our heart, not about any predetermined aspect of our lives and behaviors that comes only from worldly sources -- unless that is how we live our lives.  Let us consider the power and grace in the mercy of Christ, the good gifts He gives us, to make us "good trees" who bear "good fruit."