4B Epiphany                                    Mark 1:21-28                                       February 1, 2009

On this fourth Sunday in the season of Epiphany we encounter yet another divine insight into the person of Jesus.
If you recall, the word Epiphany itself means to be touched, to be made manifest.
It comes from the same words as manual, manifestation, to be touched by the hand.
In our common language we often talk about being touched, to be deeply touched.
We will refer to a person who’s having mental or emotional problems as being out of touch.
The season of Epiphany is a time when we reflect upon how we have been touched by the presence of God through the manifestation of Jesus Christ.

Today’s reading from Mark’s Gospel draws our attention specifically to Jesus’ authority to both teach and heal in ways that people of that day had never encountered.

Last week we heard about Jesus calling Simon, Andrew, James and John to follow him.
We were told how they dropped what they were doing and they did just that.
Today’s reading places them in a synagogue in Capernaum.

Before we go any further, I need to explain that going to the synagogue on Sabbath was not like our gathering for worship in Sunday morning.
There was not as much emphasis on singing or sacraments; instead it was like going to a classroom.
Each week the rabbi would select a reading from the Torah and then he would spend time preparing by reading the teachings of other rabbis and renowned scholars of the past.
And when he actually sat down to teach he would begin by saying something to the effect: “Moses taught us, or the exodus taught us, or the prophet Isaiah reminds us, or, rabbi so and so has said….” And then he would put in his two cents worth.
And when he was done, other men would take turns challenging the point he raised.
In many ways Sabbath mornings looked a lot more like a forensics meet as opposed to a Sunday morning worship service or a revival tent meeting.
And while it might sound strange to us, it was the way the Jewish people would teach one another and pass along the traditions of the past to one generation after another in a way that inscribed the beliefs on their very souls.

But guess what? Jesus wasn’t like that.
He taught in a way the disciples and all those gathering in the synagogue had ever encountered. Quite simply, he taught with authority and the people were amazed.

Unlike the rabbis, Jesus would address the people by saying, “I say to you.”
Unlike other rabbis who would quote the authority of others on matters of forgiveness, Jesus would simply tell the people that their sins were forgiven.
And whereas other rabbis would encourage people to believe in God, along comes Jesus and tells them, “Believe in God, believe also in me.”

The differences were astonishing.
All the other rabbis got their authority from quoting the Scriptures and talking about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
They reference the rabbis before them to support their position.
But Jesus! Here was something new.
He was the authority: I am the door, I am the vine, I am the gate, I am the Good Shepherd; I am the light of the world.
And every time he said, “I am” the people knew their scripture well enough to know that he was talking about God almighty—Jehovah and himself in the same breath. And they slowly came to realize that God was no longer something or someone from the past, but rather, God was in the present in the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

Mark tells us that the people were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority…” (v.22) With this simple comparison, the gospel writer means to tell us that Jesus was different from all who came before him; there was something special about him that his new friends couldn’t quite put their fingers on.
As we’ll see, while we explore the Gospel of Mark throughout the rest of the year, this kind of reaction was going to happen over and over again, until finally, the men and women who thought they knew Jesus better than any one else would come to realize that he truly was the Son of God.

One of the things that I have always found fascinating is that while his friends were slow to pick up on what was going on, the demons were quick to identify and name Jesus for who he is.
Mark tells us that a man “with an unclean spirit” whose possessor recognizes Jesus right off the bat calls out to him as “the Holy One of God” and questions Jesus as to what was going to happen next.

Let me pause here for a moment.
The first thing to notice is that the man did not burst into the synagogue disrupting the service. Mark tells us that the man was already there within the synagogue, probably a respected layperson and a productive member of society.
The synagogue leaders would not have permitted any other kind.

I have to admit, initially when I read about someone being possessed by a demon I am reminded of the year 1973 when I was a junior high student and seeing the movie “The Exorcist” with young Linda Blair with her head spinning around and vomiting green puke and spewing language that would make a sailor blush.
Is that just Hollywood’s wild fabrication of a demon possession?

Is it possible that there is something far subtler going on? 
In other words, are we ignoring the evil deep within an other wise seemingly decent person?
Is it possible that evil lurks just under the surface of people we encounter on a daily basis and reveals itself in acts of moral depravity and cruel and insensitive behavior?
I tend to believe that the evil most of us encounter is the evil rooted in things like unbridled greed, a hunger to control others, a complete disregard for the those who might get hurt and a perverted drive to take advantage of those who are vulnerable.
These are the demons that lurk around us waiting to destroy and infect.
And yet, in this day and age and in western culture we don’t talk much about this sort of stuff because it sounds primitive and simplistic.
We would rather speak of mental illness and attribute bizarre behavior to the person’s impoverished environment as a child, or perhaps, some sort of chemical imbalance.
We hesitate to use the word evil, which sound judgmental, and look to medical science to save us from our demons.
Medical science has accomplished a great deal in that regard, and promises to achieve even more as it burrows ever more deeply into our cells and molecules.
However, medical science is unlikely ever to solve the problem of evil, which is neither a medical problem nor a primitive idea, but a spiritual problem and a present reality.
We have only to read newspapers to confirm the pervasive presence of evil in our world.

So what are we to make of this? And how does Jesus’ authority play into this?
These are important questions because today’s gospel reading is not so much about demons, but rather it is about the authority of Christ, the authority of his teaching, his healing powers and the authority when it comes to changing the lives of people like you and me.

From other passages in the Gospels we know that some people were offended by his way of teaching, by his person saying, "Who does this carpenter think he is and what is he doing?" 

The demon in today's reading answers that question when it cries out:
"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."

Jesus is the Holy One of God. 
That is why he can speak with such authority; his words and God's words are one.
.
But more - and here is the real point of today's gospel reading: Jesus has the power and authority to banish evil from our lives! 

Imagine, if you will, the forces of evil gathered before us. 
The evil of greed.
The evil of violence.
The evil of abuse.
The evil of materialism.
The evil of taking advantage of others when they are vulnerable.
The evil of racism, sexism, and a whole lot of other “isms”.
These are but a few of the evils that surround us day in and day out.

Maybe if we close our eyes they will go away... (Close and cover eyes for a few seconds)  No, that doesn't work.  They are too real to just ignore. 

Maybe we can run from them? But that won't work either. Escapism is waiting to take us if we try.

The simple truth is that we can't defeat the evils or the demons around us and within us by ourselves.

And secondly - and this is the key to recovery --that there is a higher power who is fully able to help us.
That Power is found in Jesus.  Jesus can help! 
He came to destroy evil, and evil knows it. 
Because of his arrival, its doom is sure.
Christ has the authority and power to tell evil where to go.

The message this has for our lives is two-fold.
First it means that we can be set free. 

For some it is immediate - the bondage they experience is utterly and completely removed - for others it is a one day at time process - until lo and behold - when we look back we see that we are new creatures, that our lives are now filled with light rather than with darkness.

The second thing it means is that we can play a part in casting out the evil that exists in the world around us - that when we get with the program, when we get with Jesus, then Jesus is able to help us help others; his authority becomes our authority.

The Apostle Paul tells us in the sixth chapter of Ephesians that: "our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."

For a long time I was quick to downplay the talk of “spiritual warfare” and yet over time I have come to see the need and necessity for spiritual healing in our own lives and in the lives of those around us. 

The more we are inclined to 'down-play' the reality of an evil over which we have no control, the more we distance ourselves from the Spiritual force that is able to set us free from that evil.

The good news in today’s reading is this: Jesus has the authority to teach and to heal; the power to cast out demons and to grant new life to those will receive it.
The question is, do we want it?

Some years ago I cam across a cartoon that had a person sitting in the doctor’s office.
The woman in the cartoon looked frail, sickly and obviously not well.
The caption on the bottom read: “What can I do to feel better without giving up the things that make me feel bad?”
God can drive away the demons, but we have to help God out.

Change is not easy.
And most of us don’t particularly like change.
It takes great faith and courage, persistence and commitment to bring about healthy and positive change. Ultimately, it requires our acknowledgement that we cannot do it on our own, only God can. It takes faith to believe that Jesus Christ can indeed drive away the demons and still love us and claim us as his own.

We read in our Gospel account that people were amazed at Christ’s power and his authority. After the crowds left the synagogue they went and told everyone what they had witnessed. The news spread that day and it is still spreading today. Jesus Christ has the power to change lives, to bring healing and peace, and as a result—the demons of the world are still running scared!  Amen

Pastor Stephen P. Blenkush
Zion Lutheran Church
Milaca, MN

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