³¹He went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and was teaching them on the sabbath. ³²They were astounded at his teaching, because he spoke with authority. ³³In the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, ³⁴“Let us alone! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” ³⁵But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” When the demon had thrown him down before them, he came out of him without having done him any harm. ³⁶They were all amazed and kept saying to one another, “What kind of utterance is this? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and out they come!” ³⁷And a report about him began to reach

every place in the region.

The church makes a profound error when it turns to the world for promotion. When we start using the tools of mass communication: focus groups, surveys, broadcasting… tailoring the message we give to what people want. We make a mistake when we are spectacular and loud. And although I have a soft spot for the music of the liturgy, we again make a mistake if we emphasize overmuch the liturgy (by going either ultra high or ultra low) in the hope it will be attractive.

The church has to proclaim the word and do good. We can do that from a tent, using a couple of barrels as a table. We need to be meeting together — not relying on facebook likes or views — because we are placed in a certain town or city where there are certain, specific churches and we need the discipline our brothers bring to us. The internet, like the regional mega church, leaves us unchallenged and unaccountable.

And we should not be glad when the opposition praises us. It generally means we are doing something wrong.