In this church year, we go back and forth between the Gospels of John and Mark, whereas in other years, we focus just on one Gospel, either Matthew or Luke. Last year we heard the first proclamation witness of who Jesus is in the book of John, from Nathaniel who says, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Today, the first proclamation of Jesus’ true identity is made by an unclean spirit. It is always so interesting when those on the outside truly get it, in the scriptures, while the insiders and so called important people are freaking out.
If you think about it, maybe it makes sense that an unclean
spirit recognizes Jesus first, because if you think about it, they have the
most to lose. Of course they are going
to be paying attention to who is a threat to them. The scribes are next for paying attention,
because they have a lot to lose, too, and when Jesus casts out the unclean
spirit, it is a comment about the corruption going on in the temple, among
those in power, who are willing to do whatever serves them and increases their
power. This spirit is a comment on a lot
that is unclean in society, corrupt religious leaders, injustice built into the
social systems, Rome occupying Israel and Judah, military forces keeping
everyone afraid and obedient.
Jesus’ arrival in Mark is showing how close the Kingdom of
God is and so things need to be cast out that are getting in the way of that
Kingdom. Jesus casts out this spirit,
not with violence or force, not with long magical incantations or special
words, not by calling attention to himself or building himself up, but by
simply rebuking him, literally calling him out and putting him in his place.
Jesus comes from the margins of Nazareth in Galilee, steps
into the center of activity, on the central day, the Sabbath, into the system of
injustice that has been long established.
Jesus disrupts the whole thing.
He speaks from his authority and trustworthiness, as the most reliable
of prophets and more, speaking with the voice of God to create order out of
chaos, to strike fear in those who like the established order, and to usher in
the reign of God. Jesus is literally
reigning as King on earth when he gives this order casting out this unclean
spirit. And he does this by breaking the
law.
The law says no activity on the Sabbath. But Jesus’ Kingdom can’t wait for
Monday. There is an urgency, a “NOW” to
it that just can’t be denied. The powers
of evil, the corrupt systems are not given one more day to wreak havoc. They are done. So we see that even the prohibition against
work on the Sabbath has been misused to keep people in misery for longer. Jesus practices holy lawbreaking, peaceful
resistance in this first activity of his in the book of Mark. He’s actually laying down a key part of his
ministry, which is resistance to the powers of this world that hurt people or
even make them wait for healing. Jesus
is the embodiment of steadfast resistance to the powers that hurt us and
separate us, to unjust laws.
We want to be able to recognize Jesus, not as a threat, but
as a signal of hope and a sign of the imminence of his reign, hope that things
will change. We want to respond to his
presence among us not with fear, but with faith and hope, willingness to
follow, even when following is costly.
Remember the unclean spirit and scribes had a lot to
lose. They had power that suited
them. We have something to lose, too, in
the coming kingdom of God.
We just went through a snowstorm that challenged us. It made us uncomfortable and made us realize
what we take for granted. It made us
realize how blessed we really are. Which
of our comforts would we be willing to let go of or lose as we stood up to the
powers of this world that defy God? How
about our cell phones? I heard a story
on the radio this week about a woman from Gaza who went to beauty school and
was a couple of weeks from opening her salon.
Now she is displaced. What does
she miss most, her bedroom—her place of refuge, with her comforts. I can relate to the need for comforts and I
wonder how much they have become idols, false gods.
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