1 Sermon 1-2-09 Mark 1:21-28 Mark gets right down to the point. Believed to be the oldest gospel, in his first chapter, Mark lays out, in quick sequence and in a definite order, the beginning of Jesus ministry. There is no list of Jesus heritage no appearance of the angel to Mary or her visit to her cousin. There is no nativity scene no visit of the wise men no extended story about John the Baptist. There is also no mention of Jesus early years. The gospel assigned to the next three Sundays covers most of this extraordinary chapter. The story is succinct, directional and to the point. First there is John who points to Jesus. Then Jesus Baptism and his temptation in the wilderness. There are a couple of verses about the transition from John s ministry to his. Jesus then calls his disciples and moves straight into healing. Even Jesus healing ministry is in a particular order.. He begins in the synagogue moves to a friend s house and then into the wider Today, we meet probably the most difficult story that of the man with an unclean spirit or a demon as some translations say. We don t know exactly what that meant at the time but we do know that this man was disruptive heckling Jesus and accusing him, a stranger, of coming to destroy their
2 comfortable worship space by teaching something new and alien to them and doing it with a sense of authority. How dare he?! It is interesting to note that this heckler was not from outside the worshipping There is no story of him entering the synagogue and barging his way in. We don t read of him bursting open the doors and forcing entry. The unclean spirit does not come in from outside, but emerges from inside inside the person inside the institutional faith. I don't believe it is a coincidence that Jesus first public encounter with the powers of darkness takes place in the synagogue. The faith gathering can be, and often is, the devil's favourite playground. Some of the worst acts of evil in history have taken place out of institutional religion forged and perpetuated by religious individuals who have developed a warped sense of spiritual authority. In the church, as in the synagogue, we strive to serve God and others but sometimes that can go terribly wrong. They say that whenever we pray, the devil appears and that the closer we get to God the more persistent is the devil s voice. We cannot remain complacent, believing always that we have the answers. We need to be constantly open to new voices speaking the truth discerning, yes but open.
3 When Jesus entered the synagogue and began teaching, it immediately became evident that there was something "different" about his teaching. Something VERY different. Mark tells us that Jesus taught "with authority." The people are astounded by Jesus' teaching because he chooses not to be bound or limited by the stale echoes of tradition that say "It always been this way and this is the way it must stay!" Jesus teaching invites them to experience God in a radically new way, far beyond the letter of the law and the narrow confines of the scribe's teaching. Jesus refuses to play the pre-recorded message they all had come to expect. He introduces them to a spiritual vitality that says that we encounter God when we are willing to dare to colour outside the lines. We do not know what Jesus actually said only that it was spoken with authority and was a new teaching. New teachings can be disturbing especially if they have a ring of truth to them. As it was in the synagogue, so it often is in the church today. We become so tied up with laws and rituals with tradition and familiarity that we miss the original message the message of Jesus. Not only do we miss the message but it has moved so far away from our consciousness that it has become lost and when spoken again often appears new. What Jesus said that day was indeed new to them and probably very challenging. However, although the message is not new to us, we often loose sight of its roots. We confuse the actual message of Jesus with culture and tradition.
4 We need to read and listen to his message again and again to remind us of just who we are and who we follow. Jesus got up in that synagogue in Capernaum and spoke with authority because he was speaking the truth in love and the truth often brings explosive reactions. We can look at this story of the man with the unclean spirit two ways. We can see it as a story of a very disturbed person shouting out unprovoked comments. We can see this as one suffering from mental illness which of course we are not one whom Jesus took pity on and healed as he healed those with bodily ailments. Or we can see ourselves in that story. How willing are we to really listen to the words of truth spoken by Jesus in the Gospel? Do we protest if we are challenged to think in a new way to see our mission in a new way from a new perspective. Do we prefer to maintain the same old same old or are we open to looking and listening to what God is calling us to in a new age. Yesterday, I listened to two great speakers calling on us as church to radically change our view of what we are called to in this new post-christendom age. We can no longer shut ourselves up behind stain glass windows and keep our cozy comfortable way of doing church and expect others to still come. We need to be challenged inside the church as Jesus challenged the worshippers at the synagogue. We need to look inside inside ourselves inside the church. The healing must begin there
5 We need to be healed before we can heal others. Healing begins inside the institution moves to our families and then out into the larger Let us listen to Jesus teaching and hear it afresh using Jesus directive as we go out into the world. Amen.