I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!

 

Jesus teaching in the temple, fresco, 14th cent. (after John 7:37).  Vysokie Dechani Serbian Orthodox Christian Monastery, Kosovo

 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 forty days of temptation, 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 broken-hearted, 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 not this 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 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 own 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 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.  To teach with authority makes Jesus quite different from both the prophets of old and the teachers of His day.  Usually teaching would happen in the third person (i.e. "The Lord says"), or citing the teaching of a famous rabbi.  But Christ teaches in the first person, saying, "I say to you."

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!"   Here is something to remark about:  Jesus' presence stirs the demons and exposes them.  They know who He is, and that He is their powerful opponent.

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  Jesus commands the unclean demon to be quiet so as not to reveal His identity as the Christ, the Messiah.   My study bible offers several reasons for this, citing the prophecy of Isaiah as foreseeing this need (Isaiah 42:1-4).   The reasons for secrecy include first, the growing hostility of the Jewish leaders.  Then there is the danger of the people's confusion of the Messiah with an expected earthly, political leader, as opposed to Jesus' preaching the gospel of the Kingdom.  Also, Christ's desire is 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.  Jesus forbids the demon from openly declaring Him to be the Christ, the Holy One of God.  But let us note that His authority and power cannot be hidden. 

 

Christ's public ministry begins with a revelation of His identity, although inadvertent.  It does not come from Jesus, but comes from the unclean demons responding to His presence.  Once He has begun to preach on the Sabbaths, the response of the demons makes it clear they fear His presence.  They worry that the time has come for their destruction, and they clearly know that Christ, "the Holy One of God," has this power.  They already fear a final judgment, and that the time has come.  So what our text tells us today is that although Jesus does not want to make any sort of public declaration about His identity as Messiah, His authority and power are nevertheless revealed, and cannot be hidden.  They are at work in the power to cast out the unclean demon and also to silence it.  His authority and power are at work in His preaching, in which He notably speaks in the first person -- that is, "with authority" -- and the people clearly notice and remark upon this.  So what we can notice about this is that, even though Jesus refrains from speaking in public about His own identity as the Christ, and He also commands the unclean spirit to be quiet so as not to reveal this identity, the signs of His identity are nevertheless all there.  This is an important thing to realize when we speak of Christ and the stories in the Gospels, because the notion of a "sign" is quite important.  Everything Jesus does:  the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom, and especially His miraculous doings such as turning water to wine, healing the sick, and most exceptionally the raising of Lazarus, are all "signs," and quite clearly called so especially in the Gospel of John.  All of these signs can also be called manifestations of the presence of the Kingdom, and the power and authority of the Son of God.  The title by which the demon refers to Jesus, "the Holy One of God," is most particularly an important title for today's reading, because it establishes, so early in the public ministry of Christ, a particular distinction for Jesus.  He is not "a" holy one of God.  He is "the Holy One of God."  The word Christ or Messiah is not openly used by the demon, but "the Holy One of God" has a clear and distinct meaning without naming Him as Messiah.  However, Jesus' distinctiveness, despite His "hiding" of His full identity as Messiah at this stage of His ministry, is nevertheless present in the signs so far observed by people.  He speaks with authority, and He commands the demons, so both His authority and power are manifest as signs of who He is.  And this should make us think also about our own identities in Christ, and who we are.  We might not be called to go out and proclaim something about ourselves, but as followers of Christ, we nevertheless hope that we, also, manifest signs of the presence of the Kingdom, also known to us as fruits of the Spirit.  St. Paul lists among these fruits love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  And he adds that against such there is no law, testifying to the grace present in these fruits.  (See Galatians 5:22-23.)   Without publicly declaring ourselves as figures of discipleship with some sort of title to identify ourselves, these fruits or signs that manifest of our faith and the works that are products of that faith tell us about ourselves and our identity, and they tell others as well -- who may or may not understand the fullness of what is manifest and whence it comes.  But we will know and feel the products of grace in our lives.  Just like Jesus' "fruits" are signs of His real identity, so these signs or manifestations -- as small as they might seem -- are clues to who we are.  Possibly most importantly, they are clues as to vocation.  They give us hints about the road we're on, the journey our faith in Christ takes us on.  Just like the demons, there may be some people in our lives who react quite adversely to what we know to be manifestations of our faith, and that may -- fortunately or unfortunately -- give us a clue about where our own path of vocation in Christ may diverge from the paths of others.  On the other hand, there are those who will recognize the fruits of the Spirit in us for what they are, and value them deeply -- again, giving us a clue as to vocation and where our paths coincide with others who are part of the communion we have joined.  So for today, let us think about vocation, and observe how Christ's vocation or true identity cannot help but be manifest in the various signs that cause people to marvel and demons to fear.  We are but followers of our Lord, and our own paths must also be met as vocation, the signs of grace giving us help for discernment and the leading of the Spirit.  In all things, Jesus follows the Father and is helped and led by the Spirit.  He has also been ministered to by the angels, and will continually seek personal time in prayer.  Let us be like Him, for the disciple is not greater than the Master (Luke 6:40).  If we follow in humility, so we also might bear signs of the Kingdom.  In the icon fresco, above, Jesus offers the waters of the Holy Spirit to all who thirst (John 7:37), and so it is for those who would find their true vocation in faith.

I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them

Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

"I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. For I have given to them the words which You have given Me and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me. I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them Your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

"I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that he world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that he world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

"O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."

- John 17:1-26

Because it is Thursday of Holy Week, today the lectionary skips forward to the final words of Jesus' address to His disciples at the Last Supper, just before His betrayal. It is His prayer to the Father. From this prayer was shaped much of our theology, including the basis for the Nicene Creed. My study bible says, "We find our Lord's words bearing witness to His divinity and His filial relationship with the Father."

Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was." It is time, it is His hour. My study bible points out that this is a sign of divinity - the power over time. Not until it is the proper time will this happen -- His exaltation on the Cross. Hence, the glorification that belongs to both Christ and the Father. It says, "God is glorified when salvation and eternal life come to His people." Eternal life -- the power to draw Him with us -- is explicitly laid out here: it is the power to know God and Christ. My study bible says, "The knowledge of God, which is eternal life, goes far beyond rational or academic pursuit; it is participation in divine life and communion with God. Thus, eternal life -- life proper to the age to come -- is an ongoing, loving knowledge of God in Christ." He has finished the work He was given to do, bearing His life and divinity incarnate as a human being in the world, and He is going on to the place of glory with the Father that was His before the world was. It is a complete circle -- and all of this reality incorporates the One whom we know as Christ.

"I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. For I have given to them the words which You have given Me and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me. I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled." Here is an illustration of the "vine and the branches," the metaphor that He has used with the disciples at the Last Supper. God's name is a powerful way of expressing God's Person and presence. In the Old Testament, my study bible notes, the term "the name" was reverently used as a substitute for God's actual name, "Yahweh." The "name" is thus the extension of all things of God, including God's power, and the word given through Christ to those whom God has gathered to Him. In this prayer to the Father, He prays for those who could "hear" and "receive" and "keep" this word. So, all who receive -- specifically, here, the Apostles -- are "in His name." And this is a living reality, a participation, a living relationship. For this, which glorifies Him and the Father, He prays - that they will be sustained in His name after Christ has returned to the Father, "that they may be one as We are." My study bible says, "The word they have kept is Jesus' revelation, and especially the new commandment to love one another, which is a definitive mark of discipleship."

"But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them Your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth." What is the joy of which He speaks, here? It is the joy of that life in the word, in the name, and its fulfillment, that He prays for. My study bible says, "Inasmuch as Jesus comes from the realm of divine existence, He confers a heavenly identity and life on those who are joined to Him. In fellowship with Him, the disciples attract the world's hatred." We know what persecutions will follow. It is a life in which we belong to the Father and the Son and Spirit -- in God's name -- but our vocation is in the world. Here, Jesus prays for the Apostles, but through their word, others will also be of this "name" in the world. To be sanctified is to be made holy; as my study bible says, "to consecrate, separate, set apart from the world, and bring into the sphere of the sacred for God's use." The "holy" is always "set apart." So, by God's truth all those who are in His name are sanctified, set apart for purpose and mission. St. John Chrysostom has interpreted this verse: "Make them holy through the gift of the Spirit and by correct doctrine." The truth is inseparable from this loving relationship and from holiness and mission.

"I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that he world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that he world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world." Here, the prayer, in all its effects, aims and desires, is extended to all of those who will follow the Apostles -- all through whom the Apostles' word will live (that is, the word which has been given to them by the Father through Christ). This is the whole of the future Church, which, my study bible says, "participates in the life and glory of the Father and the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit. Christians enjoy two kinds of unity: vertical, with the Trinity, and horizontal, with one another, the latter rooted in the former." This prayer is so complete that He holds all who will come equal with the Apostles in this relationship, "that they may be made perfect in one," each participating in the fullness and eternity of this union.

"O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them." The union is complete: knowing God, and participating in God's love and reality in total relationship, is the aim. My study bible says, "We cannot have love for God the Father, or receive His love, apart from the knowledge of (communion with) the Father. The purpose of the knowledge of God is to impart the love of God." And so, this is our mission, our vocation. It is that fullness and its growth and power through us and with us that He seeks.

So let us consider today, on the eve of His crucifixion, what it is to love and to be loved by God, complete in a circle with Father, Son and Spirit, to participate in that life and relationship and communion, and to grow in such. We, of course, are to spread that love -- as vine and branches, we are to bear fruit and reach out to one another. Let us consider today, then, love and what it is to have joy in this love that is of God and spreads through us to the fullness of depth that is incalculable and eternal. What is it that God loves us so much as to keep us with Him in eternity, for which Christ prayed, for which the Spirit is alive and at work in our world? We who consider ourselves a part of this Church for which He prays, not of the world but in it, how do we feel that joy and know God? How do we know and live that love in His name and His word? For what are we set apart and sanctified?