In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out in a loud voice, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are–the Holy One of God!” Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet! Come out of him!”
It always strikes me that demons, unclean spirits, recognize the divinity of Jesus, while the scribes and Pharisees don’t. If the Evil One takes pride in his work on earth, surely one of his greatest apparent victories is a person’s failure to recognize what Satan knows without a doubt: Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And if Satan knows this about Jesus, he knows that Jesus came in power and glory to destroy him. With a word, Jesus quiets the demon and expels him from the man.
Thank you, God, for your Son in this account of his work on earth. In saying “Be quiet! Come out of him!” Jesus speaks, and a new reality is created for the man possessed. It takes only a his word to bring forth reality, just as when God spoke at the beginning of creation to bring it into existence: “Let there be light, and there was light.” In my own life, there is great peace and security in knowing that to speak the name Jesus is to bring into reality at that moment the risen and living Word of God that can banish darkness and expel into the light anything that does not belong.
Jesus, if I put myself into your presence and say your name and see behind closed eyes only a blue-black void, I have no doubt in my mind that you are present. If the many voices I hear run ceaselessly all while I stay with you for a moment, I know you hear me as I say your name. Hear me throughout the day as I work and speak with others and try to use your gift of time as best as I am able. Jesus, one more thing I ask, give me peace to silence the many voices and desires that do not lead me to you. Bring me into your presence and show me where to go.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.