Thursday of the Second Week of Ordinary Time: Mark 3:7-12
When I was a boy, I sometimes was the instigator among my siblings. I knew just what to say to get my brother and sister squabbling with each other, after which I would just walk away as if I had no idea why this just happened. With friends, I might say something deliberately to get a certain reaction from them, and then be too pleased with myself when I succeeded. Those who know me well will tell you that I haven’t completely outgrown this habit.
Keeping this “instigator” story in mind will help us better understand what otherwise might seem like an odd moment in the Gospel story – a moment that happened more than once during Jesus’ ministry. Mark sets the stage. Jesus’ reputation as a teacher and healer have become widespread by now. He is by the Sea of Galilee, and people are coming to him from all over Galilee and Judea, and even the Gentile lands beyond. Jesus needs to get into a boat to prevent the crowds from crushing him. Then comes the odd moment: And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him and shout, “You are the Son of God.” He warned them sternly not to make him known. (Mark 3:11-12)
Unclean spirits – demons – announcing that Jesus is the Son of God! Are they now on Jesus’ side? If so, why does Jesus silence them? Not only now, but during a number of similar episodes in the Gospels? What is going on here?
Biblical scholars who study the Gospel of Mark will, initially, point out something they call the “Messianic Secret”. Jesus keeps his identity hidden for nearly all the Gospel of Mark. Even when he blesses Peter for answering the question “Who do you say that I am?” correct, he instructs the disciples to tell no one. Not yet. Jesus’ full identity cannot be understood before his passion, death and resurrection.
True enough. But there is more going on here. The demons are in a kind of struggle with Jesus. They are trying to resist his ministry. One way is by trying to name Jesus. There was a sense in the ancient world that knowing someone’s name gave someone power over the named person. Think of how quickly any of us turn around if we hear someone calling our name. This, incidentally, is one of the reasons why God’s name in the Old Testament – YHWH – could not be spoken. No one was to get the illusion that they could have any magical powers over God. But the demons in our passage are trying to gain the upper hand over Jesus by naming him. It doesn’t work.
But we can say still more, precisely with regard to instigation. The demons are trying to instigate a reaction, first from Jesus, and then from the crowd. They are tempting Jesus, trying to redirect his ministry. It’s as though they were saying, “Look around you. All these people, here to listen to you and be healed by you! You truly are the Son of God, the Promised One, the King of Israel! With all these people on your side, you could lead a rebellion! Imagine the possibilities!”
But the demons were also playing to the crowds. They wanted the crowds to see in Jesus some other kind of king than the King he really was – a political king, a great healer, a guru – it didn’t matter. Whatever instigation might derail Jesus’ work among them. And, if the demons could instigate division among the crowds over Jesus, all the better. Jesus came to proclaim the Kingdom, where, through Him, God brings all his people together. The demons (Greek diabolos, one who scatters) are trying to prevent this. Tempt. Instigate. Scatter. Resist. They may have been saying something true – “You are the Son of God” – but their intent could not have been further from the truth of who Jesus was, and is.
Even in our secular age, more is written about Jesus than about anyone else in history. Many people name Jesus. We also do so. What’s behind our naming? Are we trying to open our minds and hearts to a fuller understanding of who he is and who we are as a consequence of that? Or, is our naming a kind of unconscious wrestling match with Jesus, our attempt to resist him, to contain him in a safe box, to keep him from truly being the Lord of our lives?
Chances are, for all us human types, it’s both. At times, we can be truly open to Jesus, truly ready to give ourselves over to him. At other times, we resist. We wrestle. We bargain. We instigate – or try to. The question becomes, “Where is our heart?” Or, “What do we truly want?” Or, still better, “To whom do we truly belong?” Even great saints wrestled with God’s will at times. God is patient with that, because he wants as total, as free, an act of self-gift as we can offer him. Rather than try to name God, let God name you. Reflect on what it means to be God’s own, God’s daughter or son. Ponder the love that God has shown us in Jesus, a love that we encounter every day through the Holy Spirit. Doing this, you may find it much easier to give yourself over to God, every day, in faith, hope and love. Temptations and little wrestling matches may still happen. Even Jesus had a Gethsemane. But you will know whose you are. And then, you just might have a better name for God, once God has named you.