Have you come to destroy us?

What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
The question of the demons in today’s Gospel is ironic. Have you come to destroy us. The Greek word for demon, daimon, means, one that breaks down or destroys.
They destroyers are to be destroyed because Jesus is the Holy One of God.
When we think of Jesus we hardly ever think of his destructive power. We like to take our messiahs a bit more gently, more cuddly, laughing, hanging out with sheep and children. Kind, sweet, well-groomed.
The explosive message of the Gospel shows us a different side of Our Lord, however, a side that might make us a bit uncomfortable.
There can be little doubt of Jesus’ destructive power. Whether you are a demon, a malady, or just a generic sin-encrusted so and so. Jesus WANTS to break us down.
For those called to its saving message the Gospel cannot be mere comfort, as we like to think of comfort because the mission of Jesus is too important, too central to our eschatological condition. Jesus WANTS to break us down.
He wants to create a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness reigns. Breaking down our old categories and instilling in us new realities
Jesus wants to remove from us the sting of sin, the stench of death, blasting apart our carefully constructed justifications and building us into his likeness
Jesus wants to light a fire and burn away every vestige of half heartedness, timidity and fear making us holy, pure, saints
Jesus wants to stir within our hearts the deep fires of evangelization, apologetics, sanctity
Jesus definitely wants something and what Jesus wants, he gets. He wants to break us down
He breaks us down in our weakness and makes us strong in his love
He e breaks us down in our hiddeness and makes us bold in his spirit
He breaks us down in our sinfulness and washes us clean in his blood
And so
When we least expect it
Jesus catches us in his destructive power
When we are not anticipating it
Jesus surprises us with his cleansing power
When we can hardly fathom it
Jesus stretches out his hand to us with his healing power
What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
The career of Jesus is one of destruction and reconstruction
He deconstructs a people laid low by Adam’s sin
He reconstructs us in the image of the immortal God
He deconstructs our lack of faith, hope and love
He reconstructs us in the very potency of God, creating new hearts in us.
And we are participatory pawns in this magnificent career, this singular cosmic engagement
He’s doing it even now because this of course is the very dynamism of seminary formation, the seed broken apart in order to create something new
In this celebration, through the sacrifice of the Mass he breaks down the stony barriers of our individualism and by feeding us the dangerous food of the Eucharist, he makes us what we truly are. He refashions us as the Body of Christ.
What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
Yes.