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, convulsing him 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.
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In case you’re keeping track, we’re still in the first chapter of Mark’s gospel.
A lot has happened in a very short amount of literary time.
In this first chapter of Mark, so far, Mark has announced to his readers that he’s telling the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, Son of God, and John the Baptizer has shown up in the wilderness, and Jesus has been baptized and the heavens torn open and the Holy Spirit coming down like a dove and the voice from heaven calling out “This is my Son, the Beloved” and then Jesus has been whisked off to the wilderness for forty days, and then he’s come back and called some disciples, and now Jesus and those disciples are in the synagogue, and here, Jesus is going to do the first public miracle that Mark records in his gospel, the casting out of an unclean spirit.
To us readers, it might seem an odd or unrelatable choice for Mark to make an act of exorcism the first miracle of Jesus that he bothers to tell us about. In our modern context, we don’t really talk much about exorcism and demon-possession, except perhaps in the realm of Hollywood and guilty-pleasure television.
But this story raises us three important themes that will get revisited in Mark’s gospel:
First, it establishes Jesus’s authority. Jesus has both the power and the divine right to enact his ministry, his ministry is of God, and he triumphs over other powers at work in the world.
Second, it establishes Jesus’s identity. In an ironic twist, this unclean spirit in today’s gospel is the first entity in Mark’s gospel, apart from the voice of God itself, to name and affirm Jesus’s identity. Like, this unclean spirit totally gets who Jesus is. And as Mark’s gospel goes on, we’ll see that others, the disciples included, are much slower to come to this understanding.
Third, this story is an act of healing and of liberation, which are hallmarks of the good news of the kingdom of God, which Jesus has brought to birth, proclaiming, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near, repent, and believe in the good news.”
We might not relate deeply to supernatural unclean spirits, dear ones, but we certainly relate to the need for healing and liberation, lasting and not fleeting, authoritative and trustworthy good news for our souls and our world.
Like the man in today’s gospel, who comes into a space of worship full of fear and desperation, we all seek liberation from the things that torment us and the things that hold us captive.
Because, if we’re honest, we know that we all have demons to wrestle. We are all possessed by something. Possession is about ownership, and there are so many things out there that own us, that hold us, that replace our whole and holy innermost spirits with a spirit of unrest and fear. We are all always in danger of being bound and controlled and gripped by things that aren’t of God, things that are life-stealing rather than life-giving. Things that torment us and keep us awake at night.
We could make a list:
- I am possessed by the knowledge that my cancer could come back.
- I am possessed by an overwhelming work load and fear of underperforming.
- I am possessed by worry that my children are being bullied, hurt, or excluded.
- I am possessed by my addiction.
- I am possessed by a cloud of depression that cuts me off from the world.
- I am possessed by my prejudices, biases, and devotion to my own self-interest.
- I am possessed by my possessions.
- I am possessed by an unsettling feeling that, despite what the doctors say, things are getting worse and not better.
- I am possessed by the uncertainty of my job situation and my financial future.
- I am possessed by the voices that tell me I am unlovable, unforgivable, and unworthy.
What else might you add?
We are all possessed by something. And when we feel most troubled by these things that hold us in their grasp, we, like that demon-possessed man, seek out voices that can rescue our spirits.
And oh, my friends, we seek out so many voices to try to soothe our spirits.
This is part of why we are in this so devastating, tumultuous, bitter, angry, violent place as a nation. Because we keep trying to locate salvation for our aching spirits in leaders and rulers and we keep upping the stakes and elevating human power to the levels of divinely-ordained human power, and if the history of the kings of Israel in the Old Testament teach us anything, it is that this doesn’t work.
And we keep listening to the voices of advertisers and influencers, trainers and life-coaches, echo chambers on social media, network news commentators, late-night television hosts, our weekly coffee club, authors of inspirational books and self-help books…
There are so many voices out there. Not all of them bad or wrong. Some of them are absolutely necessary. Especially the voices of our doctors and our therapists and the loving words of trusted friends and family.
But here’s why we need the voice of Jesus in the mix as well:
Because Jesus is the one voice who speaks directly to our demons, names them for what they are, and then names us.
Jesus isn’t afraid to get totally honest with us about the stuff that needs casting out - selfishness and greed and anger and spite, nastiness and prejudice and cruelty.
Jesus isn’t afraid to talk about the hard stuff that we can’t shake on our own - grief and loneliness and despair and anxiety, fear and self-loathing and sadness.
Jesus names it all. And then he names our liberation.
Because, with authority beyond any other voice in this world, Jesus says, clearly and firmly: "You are a beloved child of God, and this good news has a tighter grip on you than any other power or fear in this world.”
It’s freedom, dear ones, to say, “I am beloved” in the face of our demons. To say, “I am beloved” as we fill out the third or twelfth or twentieth job application. To say, “I am beloved” as we take our anti-anxiety meds each morning. To say, “I am beloved” as we grapple with our complicity in systemic racism and injustice. To say, “I am beloved” as we grieve loved ones gone from this life too soon (because it’s always too soon).
“There are many gods and many lords and many idols and many demons (to misquote Paul!), “yet for us there is one God, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist and live and thrive.”
There are many things that hold us and possess us, but none of these things can destroy the divine life that God has given us. God is our source and our end, our life and our liberation. Nothing can separate us from God’s divine love.
Jesus, God-in-the-flesh, is a tangible way that know and trust this good news to be true. In Christ, we know without a doubt that we are loved beyond what possesses us, loved beyond what we fear.
This is crucial and beautiful knowledge. But it shouldn’t puff any of us up. This knowledge isn’t good news to brag about or become complacent in. It’s not good news only for us at the expense of others. That’s now how love works. And that’s not how liberation works.
We are God’s children, made in God’s image, created from love and for love and by love we are set free to bring goodness into this world.
Because that is what liberated people do. They liberate others.
Your liberation might be incomplete. There still might be stuff in your mind and heart that is still getting untangled. You might never shake all of your grief or worry.
But the seeds of life and liberation have been planted, and the voice of Jesus has spoken directly into your heart, with authority, permanently reminding you of your belovedness, speaking his own love and power over and above all the other powers of this world.
Be free today, siblings in Christ. Feel the grip of your demons relax, even just a little bit, here in the presence of a God who is not afraid of our deepest fears or most painful brokenness. Rest and breathe in the love that surrounds you. Feel a new Spirit come alive in your heart.
You are not beyond hope. You are loved. You are liberated. And you are sent into the world, astonished, amazed, and empowered by the one who is your life and your salvation, Jesus Christ the Lord.
Thanks be to God!
Amen.