In reading today’s gospel, my first thought was, “Uh, oh, I never really understood this one.” Why would Jesus rebuke the only one who understood who he was and openly proclaimed it? Why didn’t Jesus just say, “See, even the unclean spirit knows who I am?”

When I stopped to reflect more deeply, I began to see that perhaps the unclean spirit’s proclamation was not what it seems. Sure, it is an acknowledgment of Jesus and his mission, but it is also a clever distraction to attempt to make Jesus more important than his mission. “You, Jesus, are the Holy One of God. What are you going to do? See how important you are!”

We are in a society where the messenger often becomes more important than the message. As social media influencers and political personalities dominate our lives, we are tempted to an unhealthy focus. This potential idol worship allows us to ignore the message, our responsibility in that message, and follow the messenger without critical thought.

As an adjunct professor, I use various methods to engage my students, hopefully making the class informative and entertaining. But my methods should not be motivated to make me seem more important than the class material or encourage great end-of-semester reviews. It is to help the students learn well and apply the lessons in their future careers.

I think Jesus’ rebuke of the unclean spirit was his way of saying, “Don’t confuse them. It is God’s mission that is important. I am only God’s servant doing his will.” But in the end, the unclean spirit’s slight-of-hand sticks. “His [Jesus’] fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee”.
Listen to the message. Don’t idolize the messenger.