Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling
Right
from the jump, in the gospel of Mark, Jesus is showing us that he has power. He
casts out the unclean spirit of a man who showed up in the synagogue, heals
Simon’s mother-in-law in the privacy of her home, and finally returns to the
wilderness, where he had once battled wild beasts, faced temptations, and
confronted Satan. There he restored a leper to wholeness, enabling him to
return to his community.
Mark is suggesting early on in his
gospel story that Jesus’ healing power is successful regardless of the location
or the opponent. “Mark, more than any other gospel writer, emphasizes Jesus’
miraculous power to heal and to exorcize demons. (Feasting on the Word, p310, P.C. Enness)
Witnessing his power, the crowd also reported that Jesus taught with
great authority. “What is this?” they asked in amazement.
Now, according to William Barclay,
the scribes had three duties. First “out of the great moral principles of the Torah, they were to extract rules and
regulations for every possible situation in life.” Think of our National Church
and its General Convention. We elect delegates and give them the authority to
create and revise our canon laws and the constitution of the Episcopal Church
every three years. We decide about our saints.
Second, “It was the task of the
scribes to transmit and to teach this law and its development.” Think of the
leaders and teachers in our parishes, here at Redeemer and throughout the
world, who follow and teach the guidelines of our faith. And third, “the
scribes had the duty of giving judgment in individual cases.” Think of our
disciplinary board members who adjudicate cases of clergy misconduct. Elected,
they are given the authority to address the misuses of power.
No scribe ever gave a decision on
his own, and the scribes would always refer to the Jewish traditions and their
religious laws as the reason for their decisions. (Barclay p.32) And yet, according to St. Mark, Jesus steps into the synagogue and
speaks with an authority that was not given to him by his leaders, nor by the
community around him. He clearly has power and yet he acts alone and with
authority.
How was Jesus different from the
scribes? He spoke with a personal authority that came from within him, not from
the people around him. And St. Mark suggests that He acted with a power that
came from above and beyond him, with a clean spirit, that is with God’s Holy
Spirit.
St. Mark recalls that a man, who clearly was
“out of his mind” with an unclean spirit, suddenly shows up in the synagogue.
Now Jesus didn’t call the synagogue bouncers (read ushers) to remove him from
the scene. Nor did he call the local paddy wagon to return him to the desert
where the other sick, homeless, and criminal people presumably belonged. Nope,
Jesus claims his authority and acts immediately, using his God-given power, to
help and to heal.
People
with demons and mental illnesses can be scary and sometimes downright
dangerous. Given power to roam freely and without consequences to their
behaviors and their diseases, these people can create chaos. They not only hurt
themselves but also others around them because they are neither coerced by a
power greater than themselves nor are they responding with respect to the
authorities in their lives.
Mentally ill people may believe
the voices in their heads that encourage them to do harm. Caught in their own
cycles of illness, ever growing deeper and stronger, they may live lives of
quiet desperation. Misunderstood by family members and friends, they may seek a
crowd of similar folks, creating camps of unhealthy degradation and tolerance.
They abuse the kindness of others or they isolate themselves from the very
people who can help them. They often fall prey to those who abuse them.
The
increase in what seems to be mental illnesses is on the rise and for various
reasons. So too is the use of the word “evil.” At the time that Jesus lived,
according to Barclay, “the Jews, indeed the whole ancient world, believed
strongly in demons and devils. Apparently, in many ancient cemeteries, skulls
were found which had been trepanned. That is to say, a hole had been bored into
the skull during their life to allow the demon to escape from the body of the
man.” (p.34-35, Barclay)
Many years ago a psychiatrist
named Dr. Scott Peck wrote a book that became very popular called “People of
the Lie.” In it he attempts to understand human evil from a clinical
perspective. “After years of interacting with a slew of clients, the author could
not escape the observation that some of them are fundamentally committed to the
destruction of the lives of those around them in a way that goes beyond normal
human misbehavior,” wrote Pastor Matt Herndon. “Dr. Peck builds a psychology of
evil, noting its unique characteristics as a mental condition.” (smatteriings.net 6/14/2019)
Today we can point to what seem to
be evil groups of people, as well as individuals, who behave in ways that
boggle our minds. We may wonder if there really are evil spirits operating in
and around us. Is the Devil and his army still using their powers to coerce the
harmful actions of humans? Why are there so many books and movies about
exorcisms? And why do we have such a strong desire for super powers?
According to surveys, more than
three-quarters of Americans hold at least one supernatural or paranormal
belief: The most common is ghosts and “haunting spirits” and the belief that
“Satan causes the most evil in the world.” (Wikipedia)
Evil is a powerful word that
commands our respect. In our own baptismal covenants, we ask candidates if they
“renounce Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against
God.” Do they “renounce the evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy
the creatures of God.” And will they, with God’s help, “persevere in resisting
evil, and, whenever they fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord.” (BCP p.302, 304)
In the gospel of Mark, Jesus is
portrayed as both an exorcist and a physician. Jesus uses his power to rebuke,
not the man, but the unclean spirit, demanding that it come out of the man. Or
as Pastor Matt wrote in his book report, “Jesus didn’t try talk therapy with
these people. Using both his power and his authority—which the demons somehow
recognized—he lovingly but forcefully ordered them freed.” (smatterings.net (6/14/2019)
St. Mark claims that the man was
convulsed, an outward and visible sign of the inward and spiritual battle. If
you have ever known anyone who has battled unclean spirits and demons, or
illnesses of any kind, the battle is real. And the battle is not only physical
and mental but emotional and spiritual as well. Healing is not a simple
process. Indeed it never is.
Mark is subtle but from the very
beginning of his gospel story he suggests that Jesus is fighting a battle that
is going on between him and Satan. Jesus’ war was not just with the little
demons and diseases that inhabit our human lives. No, Mark paints a much larger
picture of Jesus. He not only resisted Satan in the wilderness at the beginning
of his ministry but He also finally defeated death and Satan on the cross.
The goal here in all this devilish
talk of mine, and the purpose of St. Mark’s gospel in general, is to point to a
Higher Power that is greater than Satan and his minions. Using both the power
and authority given to Him by God, Jesus was restoring the health and salvation
of all God’s beloved children, once and for all.
The Rev. Peter Marty claims that
“what the people see in Jesus is more than raw power.” In Jesus, “They
witnessed the power of love.” (Peter Marty, Xian Century, 6/22/2016) For
St. Mark tells us that Jesus incarnated both the power and the authority of
God’s gracious love as a teacher, a healer, a physician, and an exorcist. And
his power is successful regardless of the location or the opponent. Good news
for us today.
Mark
1:21-28
