Word to the Wise
Thursday, January 24, 2008 - St. Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
[1 Samuel 18:6-9, 19:1-7 and Mark 3:7-12]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.
Can an author be unfair to the characters of a story or to the eventual readers? When we read a story and know that one of the characters has information that the others would find crucially important, do we find ourselves shouting at the book? Is it fair for the author to keep us readers (or the characters, for that matter) in such suspense? In point of fact, do we readers have the right to insist that the writer-artist tell the story the way WE think it should be told? These kinds of questions have plagued scripture scholars and ordinary Bible-readers forever! The authors of the Gospels seem to have their own "agendas" and weren't asking the questions or supplying the information that 21st century inquirers ask or want. One of those questions concerns the Gospel of Mark and Jesus' admonition to evil spirits that they shut up and not identify him! Why? The exorcism or healing certainly was not an everyday type of event! Jesus' popularity is clear and actually presents a physical danger to him. Yet, he tells the spirits not to identify him? Is it a matter of fairness to the ordinary people that evil spirits should gloat about knowing what ordinary people did not know at that moment? Is it a matter of timing in the story - i.e. the true knowledge of Jesus comes only at the cross? Is it simply that Jesus reserves the right to say who he is, no matter what the evil spirits know? What does this matter to us who have read the story (hopefully) all the way through and are still scratching our heads? Perhaps we have "objectified" the story too much and can't put ourselves in the crowd anymore? Are we taking our "knowledge" of who Jesus is for granted in a sort of "same ole, same ole" way? Is it easier to accept demons and their knowledge in such literature as Harry Potter or The Golden Compass, but then turn around and deny credibility to a gospel? Maybe we need to sit down and re-read this gospel and get re-acquainted with Jesus and the various encounters he has with people. Perhaps we should "encounter" him ourselves as real and not just print on paper or a mere character in a story. That may lead us to a better understanding of why he says to the evil spirits, "Shut up!" AMEN
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