“WHAT HAVE YOU 

TO DO WITH US, 

JESUS OF NAZARETH?”

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B,  is a question from today’s gospel, “What Have You To Do With Us, Jesus of Nazareth?”

Jesus comes to the town of Capernaum - where he spent some time. On a Sabbath Jesus enters the synagogue in town and taught the people. He begins like us - as a baby. He works in a carpenter shop. He becomes a wandering rabbi - a great teacher. He taught with authority - not as one of their scribes. He is hunted and hounded. He is arrested and killed on a cross. He rises from the dead - as Savior and Redeemer. Jesus is Lord!

Today’s gospel goes on, “In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; he cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?’” Then this character - filled with demons - asks, “Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the holy one of God.”

THREE QUESTIONS

Here are three questions,

1) Do we know what Jesus wants to do with us?

2) Do we have to be aware of our demons, know our addictions, problems, sins, before we know down deep who Jesus is?

3) What are we missing?

1) DO WE KNOW WHAT JESUS WANTS TO DO WITH US?

My first question is: We’re here in Church again this Sabbath. Do we know why God sent his Son to earth - to our world - when he did?

Do we know why Jesus came to Israel and then to us - to our inner synagogue - inner space, inner place - to be sitting at our beach at the dawn of each day - telling us where to put our nets - to get the catch of each day - and why he wants to walk with us in the cool of our evenings.

Do we realize that Jesus was sent by the Father in the fullness of time to be in communion with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit?

Have we moved from the thought and the feeling that God does not want to destroy us - but to restore us - not to take the fun out of life - but to help us celebrate the joy of life.

Some people's perception of God seems to be that God is the cancer giver or the car crasher.

Receiving communion is very important for us. Do we realize Jesus wants to be in communion with us even more. Then we will know that we really want to be with God.  We know Jesus is our center, our redeemer, our help, our God, our meaning.

In January of 2000 I got a great deal. An old priest always wanted to get to Israel - but he was hesitant - so our Provincial asked him if he wanted another one of our guys to go with him. Our provincial called me and asked if I wanted to go to Israel with Leo, one of our guys - whom I had been stationed with in the 1970’s and early 80’s. You can help carry Leo’s bags. I said, “Great!” and so I ended up on a retreat - a pilgrimage to Israel - with about 20 priests. I thought it was going to be just a tour - and a vacation. It ended up being a wonderful spiritual experience.

A Franciscan priest, Father Stephen Doyle, lead the retreat/ pilgrimage. Every spot we got to began with a reading of a New Testament scene that took place in that place. Then there were some prayers - and then some quiet. If it was the first place in the morning, we would begin with Mass together in that place.

So the Lake of Galilee, the possible mountain of the Transfiguration, Nazareth, Bethlehem, the place of the Sermon on the Mount, Jerusalem, the Garden, the Upper Room, the Wall, still stand out as wonderful memories - especially when the gospel reading at Mass was at a place where I once visited.

A good surprise was our bus ride to Capernaum - the setting for today’s gospel. It was on Friday January 14, 2000 - according to my journal. We got out of the bus - just outside of the metal fenced in place called Capernaum. The first place we walked to was the synagogue. It was about 5 minutes from the bus and the metal fence that is now part  of the town. The 20 of us went into the synagogue. It had no roof - but it had walls - and stone benches on either side. Father Stephen Doyle mentioned that this was a synagogue from around the 2nd century A.D. Then he said that scholars conjecture that this synagogue was built on top of the one mentioned in today’s gospel. Then he read a text - a story from the gospels - about something that happened in Capernaum. Then he gave us an hour to just sit there in the synagogue - to think, to pray, to reflect that Jesus was here - somewhere.

The text he read might have been today’s gospel story. I sat there on one of those big solid benches - made  of stone looking down into the open center of the synagogue.

As at the Lake of Galilee I kept feeling amazement that I was in one of the very places where Jesus visited and prayed and sang. I certainly became more and more aware of Jesus a bit more by being there in that synagogue.

Then after an hour we walked to a church where they think Peter’s mother-in-law lived.

Once more the first question was, “Do I know what Jesus wants to do to and for me?” Being in Israel certainly helped.

2)  DO DEMONS AND PROBLEMS HELP?

My second question is: Do we have to sin, do we have to realize that we have our own demons, do we have to know our addictions and problems, before we know down deep whom Jesus is?

The man in today’s gospel with the demons knows whom Jesus is: the holy one of God.

Is Mark pulling our strings - challenging us - that the people in Jesus time who were with Jesus didn’t know who he was? Then surprise, this oddball, this man with demons does know.

For the Jews, at times inner problems were called demons. For the Greeks and Romans inner problems at times were called, “Evil spirits.”

Today they might be called mental problems, addictions, sin, depressions, complexes, or struggles, etc.

How many people who have dropped out of religion - out of our church - come back because of a death or a problem - or a sickness - an addiction or a struggle?

Is that what Mark is getting at here in this gospel?

In A.A., Alcohol’s Anonymous, the first step is to admit I’m powerless or I’m overpowered by alcohol - and I can’t recover on my own. And the second step is that God - Jesus - a Higher Power - than self is the one who can help me.

How many people get down on their knees when they or their spouse or their kid or kids are sick or have a problem?

Is that why this man in today’s gospel is in the synagogue in the first place? Perhaps he simply wants help.


3) WHAT ARE WE MISSING?

My third question is, "What are we missing?"

As we were getting in our bus just outside Capernaum, Father Stephen Doyle our tour guide and retreat master pointed out a whitewashed church with a bright red room off in the distance. It’s the Greek Orthodox church of St. John the Theologian.

Then he added that the church was built in 1931. Then before the bus started up, he told us to notice the big mounds and lumps of earth surrounding the white church with the red roof. He concluded, “It’s only the year 2000. Who knows what they are going to find down there in years to come?”

One of my fantasies - as well as a fantasy for a lot of people - is to be in on an archaeological dig. I know they off such an experience as a possible vacation - in places like Turkey or Egypt, Africa or Palestine.

Some people will do just that - but many people do their digging inside their own brain - in their own hidden spots - in their inner synagogue.

I can still see that white church with a strong red colored roof - surrounded by mounds of earth. What’s under those mounds of earth? I get that same feeling when I go to the library - or go on vacation - or when I'm reflective while driving - or when I just sit in a quiet church - or when I'm in front of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament  - or after I really start praying during Mass  - but for me it's after preaching and usually after the Creed.

I’ve done my digs into Dante and Shakespeare, C.S. Lewis and G. K. Chesterton, Herman Melville in Moby Dick and Nathaniel Hawthorne in some of his short stories, Flannery O’Connor and the poems of Mary Oliver, in the writings of Robert Coles and Robert Fulghum, and on and on and on.

Just yesterday I read an interesting comment that some people learn all their learning’s from hearsay. They hear what others say and they bring that inside of them. I got that because one of my life memories is being on a Metro North train going from Poughkeepsie New York to Grand Central Station, New York City. I had a book in hand - and also a spiral note book - ready to jot down the page of something that might hit me. Just in the 4 seats behind me were 4 women in two seats - facing each other. You could do that with the seats. Our section of our car was quiet except for these 4 gals - and they were recalling and remembering their time at Hunter College, New York City - 25 years earlier. As they talked I jotted down their questions and their comments. “What ever happened to what’s her name?” “Oh she married a podiatrist - but they broke up. I heard she was in Phoenix now with a shoe designer.” And on and on and on.

CONCLUSION

How do we learn what life is all about? How do we learn about God and ourselves? We can talk to each other. We can listen to each other. We arrive at God in a tragedy. We can spend time in a synagogue or a church on the Sabbath and say and pray, ““What Have You To Do With Us, Jesus of Nazareth?”

And surprise. There will be answers.”