Readings for the Day:
Sermon:
Original Manuscript:
This is an interactive manuscript. To follow links, click the highlighted words below.
The Epiphany, as well as the season after it, is about the revealing of God’s work in this world. We see that again this week through Jesus’ ministry. Everywhere He goes, we hear that people are “astounded” by His teaching. Their response when He performs miracles is “what is this?”
This is the reaction we see in today’s Gospel and throughout all the Gospels really. These questions and reactions of the people suggest that none of these people, onlookers and Disciples alike, know who Jesus really is.
That might seem strange to us. The really strange thing, though, is that the demons, the servants of the evil one, seem to know exactly who Jesus is and why He is there.
We see this today when a man with an unclean spirit asks Jesus, by name, if He has come to destroy these evil ones. The spirit tells Jesus in no uncertain terms that it knows who He is. Jesus is “the Holy One of God.”
How is it that an unclean spirit seems to be the only one who actually knows who Jesus is? If you like spy flicks or mystery stories, the answer might not be so difficult. Think of Jason Bourne, James Bond, or even Sherlock Holmes. How do they know that their enemy is close at hand? How do they know who the murder is when no one else does?
They know because they pay attention. They listen and look at the details. Their eyes are wide open to see what no else sees.
Jesus, of course, is not our enemy. He is our “master and our friend” as the classic hymn states. Unlike the unclean spirits, the murderers and enemies, and the evil one, we do not need to fear Him.
But how much better would it be if we too kept our eyes and ears open? Then we would know who Jesus truly is. Then we could know what it is He is doing. Then we could know what we need to do in order to be better servants and followers of our Lord Jesus Christ in this world.