“WHAT HAVE YOU TO DO
WITH US,
JESUS OF
NAZARETH?”
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this 22 Tuesday in Ordinary Time is a question from today’s gospel.
It’s from the man in the synagogue - in Nazareth, “What Have You to Do With Us,
Jesus of Nazareth?”
Then the sick man, the man described as having a demon,
or being unclean, yells out, “Have you come to destroy us? I know who, you are
- the Holy One of God.”
GOSPEL OF LUKE
We’re into the Gospel of Luke now - right up to the end
of this Church year - and Luke is going to tell us the very reason why Jesus
came.
Today we are hearing why Jesus came into our existence. We’re told to wake
up - to not be in the dark - to not be caught off guard. We’re being told that Jesus is the Holy One
of God.
Yesterday we heard that Jesus incorporates Isaiah 61 to
tell us why he came: “to anoint us, to
bring us good news, to bring us freedom, to take away our blindness to let us
see, let us go free.”
As we hear in the first chapter of Luke, Jesus came to
bring the message, “Do not be afraid.”
He also came to tell us stories - parables. He came to
introduce us to Mary. He came to bring us his Spirit - and on and on and on.
So Jesus came not to destroy us - but to restore us.
Each of us who receives Jesus, who invites Jesus into our
inner synagogue - to be in communion with us - has to do their homework and discover what Jesus has to do
with us.
SELF-DESTRUCTION
In the time of Christ we hear about demons and evil
spirits.
As we read through the gospels we find out that’s how
people thought about sin and mental sickness - and strange behavior - and
depression - in the first century. They are
forces inside us.
In our lifetime we’ve heard people say, “The devil made
me do it.”
In our lifetime we’ve seen family members and neighbors do
self-destructive behavior.
Alcohol, drugs, eating disorders, addictions, porn,
gambling, procrastination are all self-destructive patterns and behaviors.
I am a diabetic - and I have found that sugar and sweets
can be diabolical. I have to fight taking sweets. And when I do take too many
carbs, I can feel the impact of high
sugar. So I know about being self-destructive - like not walking enough - not
doing enough exercise
SELF-HEALING
And we can do restorative behaviors. We can be saved.
Jesus can arrive in our synagogue - as well as meet us on the road, in our house, garden, field, or stable.
St. Francis of Assisi once spoke a tiny piece called,
“Wild Forces” that goes like this:
WILD
FORCES
There are beautiful wild forces
within us.
Let them turn the
mills inside
and fill sacks
that feed even
heaven.
CONCLUSION
"Within" is the key word.
Jesus came to earth dwell within us - in our inner
Bethlehem - to be born again.
And that man in today’s gospel - is a voice within us - that’s worried about
Christ coming into the synagogue within us.
Down deep we fear Christ will destroy us.
Today’s gospel
is telling us Christ does just the opposite. Within this synagogue this
morning, let Christ do to us what he did to this man in today’s gospel.
