Mark 1:21-28 And they went into Capernaum; and immediately on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. And immediately 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. And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this? A new teaching! With authority he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him." And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.
Right before our scripture reading, Jesus has battled Satan in the wilderness and has exited the victor of this the first battle of many. Immediately he calls four men to his side to continue his battle against Satan and immediately they enter a synagogue where Jesus teaches. Mark does not tell us what Jesus teaches. But obviously his words are met with confusion and amazement.
In Mark’s scripture people react differently to the teachings of Jesus. While most seemed to be amazed by Jesus, they seem also not ready to follow him. There questioning seems to indicate that they choose to say to Jesus, we’ll get to you Later. And so Jesus leaves them behind as he continues onward in his journey, leaving those behind who are unable or unwilling to make the pilgrimage with him.
Most of the hearers in the synagogue that day seem paralyzed, not ready to hear Jesus’ words. Many question what they have heard. Obviously they are not prepared to hear what Jesus has to say to them. They might be amazed but they are not ready for action.
Now maybe we should be kind to the assembled crowd that day. It had been ages since a prophet had been in their midst. Malachi had promised so much but those promises seemed to have faded with each passing day. Yes, the assembled were there to prepare themselves to receive a Messiah, but let’s face it, the daily grind, the pressure to conform to Roman ways, probably had dulled their expectation for a Messiah. Complacency had taught them to guard their faith and their community and to be suspicious of anyone who would challenge their traditions and ways. And so when an uninvited Jesus pops in and begins to teach with authority it is hard for those in the synagogue to immediately respond to his teachings with anything but amazement and questioning.
But at least one person in the synagogue hears the words of Jesus and responds. The man with the unclean spirit, isn’t even supposed to be in the synagogue, maybe he has sneaked in, after the service had started. Who knows how far he has come to see Jesus and to hear his words. And immediately the unclean spirit who has possessed the man begins to battle with Jesus, sparring with words. But Jesus rebukes the unclean spirit and commands it to be silent and to come out of the man.
In the midst of the seemingly paralyzed congregation, the power of Jesus to heal and save the world continues onward.
The question then becomes for the rest of the Gospel of Mark, will we follow Jesus. Will give up all of ourselves to make the pilgrimage with Jesus, to claim with authority the authority that He, Jesus has been given by the Father? Will we venture out with Jesus into the unknown wilderness and do battle with evil or will we remain behind in the safety of our own created security? Will we rest in on the sidelines, saying we will get back to you Jesus later, and in the process lose our ability to recognize Jesus’ victory over sin and death and his healing presence that brings wholeness?
Now as most of you are aware, it is Super Bowl Sunday. So I want to bring in some imagery from the sport to help illustrate my point.
In football the play is continuously on and off. I wonder if the creators did this to make room for 1 million dollar ads, but I don’t think so, since football, at least college football came long before the invention of television. This on and off play, marked by long periods of time outs, huddles and inertia, is punctuated by short outbursts of energy and motion.
And I wonder if sometimes we treat our faith like a football game, something to grapple with periodically, and then we huddle, take a time out, or switch sides. Now granted in all this, the periods of no activity are preparing for the activity. But what if the whole point of our faith is to possess Jesus like a team possesses a football?
Something to be possessed or tossed about, all in an effort to “Win” or score points?
Do we spend our efforts and time wanting to possess Jesus, rather than let Jesus possess us? And in our efforts to possess Jesus do we miss out on seeing Jesus in our midst?
During these outbursts of play there is a line of scrimmage, an imaginary line beyond which an opposing team cannot cross. That imaginary line is heavily defended and if it moves then it is assumed that the opposing forces are winning, and that the defenses are weak and breaking down to the offensive force.
That was the line that the scribes drew in the synagogue that day. A line that was meant to shore up the defenses against unclean spirits, against outcasts, against false prophets who would tear apart the world of faith of the Pharisees. A line, granted drawn out of fear and self-preservation. But in drawing that line, those in the synagogue could not recognize Jesus as their Messiah. Yes they were amazed, but they also questioned and when Jesus left, Mark does not record that they followed, as others had and would through out Jesus’ ministry. In fact in Mark, there seemed to be a rather distinct scrimmage line between those who followed Jesus and those who could not or would not.
And I wonder if we create such line of scrimmages today in our world. It’s been almost 2000 years and Jesus has not come back yet. In the meantime, we have tried to keep our faith alive. Yes we have been given the Holy Spirit, but let’s face it, some of the ways that we live out our faith would make it very hard to recognize Jesus come back into our midst. Would we be like the people in the synagogue, if a stranger walked into midst right now, uninvited and began to teach with authority? Would we question the stranger? Would we even recognize the authority of the teacher? Would we get annoyed that following the stranger into our midst would be the chaotic mess of someone who was consumed in sin wanting healing?
And those scrimmage lines might extend even beyond the realm of the church. Maybe we have personal scrimmage lines. Do we say “Jesus you can have all of me up to a point, up to this imaginary line.” Do not cross that line, or I will have to defend with all my might, or worse even deny you and your power for my life.
I believe the man with the demons, had no such line. He was so consumed with the unclean spirit, that he had no hope other than Jesus. He could not rely on his own defenses, he had to give all of himself to Jesus in order to be healed.
So instead of these outbursts of faith meant to possess Jesus, marked by scrimmage lines to defend what if instead we lived our faith as a pilgrimage.
A pilgrimage is a journey to a sacred place.
One where we all start on different paths, but we have the same goal. And like the pilgrims of old, as we start out on our treks we are guided by the Holy Spirit, by Scripture, by those who went before us and told us of the many things they encountered and saw.
In Italy, where my stepmother is from, there is a church, between Rome and Florence, outside the ancient walled city of Lucca, where pilgrims would converge and rest as the made their pilgrimage to the Holy Land. And there, they would try to communicate with each other in their unfamiliar languages and they would tell stories about Jesus and share their faith stories. All the while th
ey were inspiring each other to move onward toward the Holy Land, their final destination.
Curran is going to the Holy Land. Many of us won’t have that opportunity.
But it doesn’t mean that we aren’t on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. That Holy Land is a physical place, but it is also a spiritual place where we let Jesus guide us on our journey through this life. A place where Wesley says we will eventually rest in the will of God and be united forever with Jesus. A place few arrive permanently before they die, but still a place we yearn to travel to each and every day of our lives as Christians.
In our scripture today, I imagine that the scribes and Pharisees, sitting in their synagogue, thought they had arrived.
They were safe, they were confident in their faith. They were the keepers, the protectors of the faith. They had no need for a travel plan, they had already arrived.
When they encountered Jesus, they could not recognize him for who he was, because they had not prepared themselves to know Him.
But someone in the congregation did recognize him. An outcast, a man with a demon. And man who needed healing, who had been trapped and enslaved by evil forces. He recognized Jesus. He called out to him.
So do we live our lives as if we are on a pilgrimage to find Jesus? Do we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us ? Do we rely on the resurrection of the Jesus to be our compass? Do we bring with us the Holy Scriptures, the Old and New Testaments for sustenance? Do we travel alone, or do we rely on our fellow travelers in the church to strengthen and encourage us when we are tired or when we stumble?
Mark repeatedly tells us in his gospel that Jesus disturbs and distabilizes the established. What do we do when that happens on our pilgrimage? Do we retreat to our fortressed walls of security, or do we press onward, allowing Jesus to change or correct our course? Do we walk clothed in our baptism, taking sustenance from our communion meal? Do we continuously seek to encounter the risen Lord Jesus and his hope for healing, redemption and peace?
In the year 433, Saint Patrick was a pilgrim journeying to the King’s court. En route, he and his men prayed a special prayer of protection, later known as the Lorica or Deer’s Cry. At one point St. Patrick and his men were surrounded on both sides by Druids who lay in hiding, ready to kill. The druids however only saw a gentle doe followed by twenty fawns as St. Patrick and men passed by. There was no slaughter that day.
I believe this was the prayer or something just like it that brought the man with the unclean spirits to Jesus that day in the synagogue.
May this prayer bless you on your pilgrimage with Jesus as it has all who have ever prayed it on their journey.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ in breadth, Christ in length, Christ in height, Christ in the heart of every person who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of every person who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.
