Mark 1:21-28
Jesus and his disciples went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught.
They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried 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.’
But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!. And the unclean spirit, throwing him into convulsions and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.
They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He* commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’
At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
Bob was fighting unclean spirits all the time: in himself, at the church, all around. The first time I met Bob I was leading service by myself for the first time at St. John’s in Phoenix. Bob walked onto campus wearing three coates, sports goggles, and had a large buck knife hanging from his belt. He mumbled his first words to me: who are you and who do you serve? What a greeting right?
I quickly, and as kindly as I could, introduced myself and asked him who he was. He said “they call me Bob. I’m a warrior of the Lord.” Okay… Church starts in like 5 minutes. By this time I am sweating bullets, which was normal in Arizona but this was way worse. So I ask Bob if he’s been here before and says, “are you getting cross with me…?” No, no, no Bob. (Please I think to myself, I just want to get through my first service!) Finally I told Bob he was welcome to join us, we’d be happy to have him, but the knife stays out here.
He said “oh I know that, maybe I will or I might be here”.
Bob didn’t join us that day, but he kept coming back. Each time he was a little less threatening and we got to know each other more. Bob felt he had demons, real unclean spirits, attacking him or surrounding him wherever he was. He would patrol the perimeter of the campus to ward them off. He would point at them and curse them; unafraid to walk right up to them. For Bob, expelling demons was a part of his everyday life.
I suspect many of us don’t know what to do with stories in the Bible about casting out uncleaning spirits or exorcizing demons. We think we are so different from Bob or the man in the story. Afterall, we don’t really believe in those types of things, do we? We have science, the scientific method. None of it has proven the existence of demons or unclean spirits, right? In our western minds, demons and unclean spirits exist only in indigenous cultures, or scary movies, or in folks who are seriously mentally ill.
But should we be so quick to dismiss this notion? Just because we don’t understand or haven't experienced them doesn’t mean they aren’t real, does it? I asked our faith formation students if they thought angels and demons existed, and their opinions were across the spectrum from “absolutely i've experienced them” to “absolutely not.”I like what Mary Oliver says in her poem, “the World I Live In”. She writes:
I have refused to live locked in the orderly house of reasons and proofs. The world I live in and believe in is wider than that. And anyway, what’s wrong with Maybe? You wouldn’t believe what once or twice I have seen. I’ll just tell you this: only if there are angels in your head will you ever, possibly, see one.
Can not the same be true of unclean spirits? I am not trying to suede you or convince you to believe demons or angels are real. However, we should not write off others’ experiences so quickly, like the man in our story or my friend Bob. If anything, perhaps our understanding of unclean spirits is too narrow, which means our view of Jesus' power and ministry is too narrow, too.
Jesus, along with his first four disciples, strolled into Capernaum. Then on the sabbath, Jesus walked right into the synagogue and began teaching. He must have been feeling rather confident, maybe from seeing the heavens rip open at his baptism or from defeating the devil's temptations in the wilderness. Regardless of why, he taught with authority, as one who is sure and passionate about what he’s saying. And in the midst of that, the man with the unclean spirit comes up to him.
That’s what we read, “a man with an unclean spirit”. Yet, what the Greek says is a little more terrifying… It reads, a man “in” an unclean spirit… as if the unclean spirit has swallowed up the man, so much so that he could no longer be identified apart from the spirit that’s overtaken him. He was known only by this thing that had taken control of him, running and ruining his life.
So when the man cries out “what have you to do with us Jesus?”, I don’t think he’s referring to all the people in the synagogue, but instead referring to himself and the demon he can’t shake. And asking if Jesus has come to destroy “them” makes it clear: the man is consumed, terrified, and unsure what Jesus will do…
We too know what it’s like to be swallowed up by unclean spirits, so much so that our identity is unknown apart from the demon we have. You don’t call it an unclean spirit, but when you get so angry you can’t see straight, what else is that? Or when you fixate your gaze on a person, or a screen, or on sex. When you obsess about always getting more: more money, more stuff. When you can’t see the good things in front of you and only wish for what others have. When someone knows you not for who you are but only for what and who you stand against. All of these spirits can swallow you up so that no one can see you apart from them. They can run and ruin your life. And maybe you too are consumed, terrified, and unsure what Jesus will do…
This story, the first public action of Jesus ministry, tells us that Jesus is more powerful than any unclean spirit we could face. With as much authority as he taught with, Jesus commands the unclean spirit to shut up and come out, setting the man free. And the spirit does just that, but not without a fight, shaking and screaming until the end.
We’ve all been possessed by unclean spirits: powers that hurt you and others, voices telling you that you aren’t loved, things that seek to divide, disparage, and denigrate. We all want to be set free.
Thankfully, that's what the mission and ministry of Jesus is all about. In baptism, God claims you as God’s own and covers you in the grace and forgiveness only Jesus offers. Rather than a life full of anger and greed, jealousy, and hatred, at the font and at this table we are invited and empowered to live a life of peace and generosity, discipline and love.
But how do we experience this liberation? For some of us, it was quick, like a grace-filled lightning strike and your life was forever changed. For others of us the path of healing and freedom is longer and requires more companions along the way: like the unending support of a Stephen minister, the persistent presence of Al-anon meetings and sponsors, a parent support group, a prayer partner, or a fantastic therapist. We can be confident that God works in all of these ways, and more that we may not even notice, to liberate us from unclean spirits.
What is the unclean spirit that swallows you up? What’s the thing trying to run and ruin your life?
Often we are too scared to name it, to examine it, in case it takes greater hold of us. How’s that going for you?
Instead, what if we take a cue from my friend Bob; rather than ignore or deny it; point at, curse it, be unafraid to ask God to free you from that which threatens you, trusting that Jesus is still more powerful than any spirit we face.
Maybe we aren’t so different after all.
Amen
