Allegiance and the stronger man
Audio is available here This past Wednesday some of us might have commemorated the 74 th anniversary of D-Day—the day when American infantry stormed Omaha and Utah beaches, while English soldiers waded ashore on ones named Gold and Sword, and Canadians took one of their own, named Juno. It was the turning point of the war. German forces were bogged down in Russia, the German/Italian army had been retreating since 1942 in North Africa. But this was the day when the tide turned. Once the beachheads established, the end of the war was not in doubt. The Axis powers would lose in Europe; it was only a question of time. In fact, we could say, the Axis powers lost the war on June 6; what remained was pressing the victory to its end. Keep that image of inevitability in mind today as we come to our Gospel lesson. When we pick up the story, Jesus has returned home—that is, his home base in Capernaum, probably Peter’s house —and he is tired. He has...