“14 And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, 15 said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” 17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”” (Matt 17:14-20 ESV)

A fierce demeanor may be the prescription for duelling spirits, for engaging an “alternate viewpoint”, for talking to the Sanhedrin. The alternative is forgetful wanderings, malaise, confusion, irreplaceable angst. Indeed, it can feel we have false buttresses, and the Christian Call is to return to some barebones Faith, to cast off literally everything, to find our “happy place” in prayer, in fellowship with Him who made it possible, who was a Father to us, who stayed in lockstep Fellowship with us through the storm.

Jesus had a fierce demeanor. Jesus was proactive and adjudicated a nominal startled Peace, by His words of confrontation. By His physical presence followed by twelve. By His simple reputation or presumed fact of belonging, of being community-bred and raised up, of a Respectable shadow He cast.

There is a model of Christian faith whereby our sins, rather than somehow glibly becoming Innocent, they are translated and, football “push” style, they are subsumed under more benign variants, social cues, verbal debate replacing physical outlets. What this means is that Jesus reached a tipping point, wherein He had sufficient Legitimacy as a fasted warrior, to go ape crazy on the Sanhedrin. Because time came for a little exasperated, “I’ve been here before; rest assured I love you, but I know well your diatribe and posture, your comfort zone, your predictable rebuttals”. All their rebuttals were predictable and indeed fore-ordained. God saw people immediately Acting Up upon meeting His Christ. God saw people as though walking in a hypnotic trance, in enmity of varying levels of severity, against His Son.

And as to that: we channel our aggression into reformed Peacemaking, our lust into reformed Fellowshipping, our ambition into blind reformed Seeking. We “Seek”, in order that the prize not devolve to some “minions” of the Lord who are thoughtless, who don’t act on their own initiative, who are bored with sonship, daughterhood. Who just do what they are told, allegedly.

No, we do not “do as we are told” alone. There is at the same time rest for the weary: the weary can rest in His caring arms. The weary can offload all their own duties, onto Him. But the hope still lies in our corner, together to be inspired by one another’s healthy conversation and fellowship, therein to Remember a passion, a soul now complete, an emptiness Filled.

We do as we are told only on the surface level where that phrase means anything. In the heart we must be self-innovative and courageous, because to intake Parables and Prayer levied in our direction, is to present our Gift, our Heart of hearts, at the altar. It is to repent of anything that Distracts, that obfuscates, that None on earth save the walking, breathing Christ, has a remedy for. We cannot remediate against certain sins. But too we have this promise with us, that Christ is for us, going in dastardly duty and needful promise-fulfillment, to His Cross. To breathe His last for us to be able to Carry On. Together, we can. Together, we find safe landing.