Scripture: Mark 1:21-28

It is one of those stories even the most faithful among us find challenging to believe.  After all, our life experience teaches us that the story of a demon possessed person is more suited to an action-packed thriller like The Exorcist rather than the middle of a Gospel like Mark. 

Unlike our ancient brothers and sisters, we are beginning to understand the actual cause of many mind-altering diseases like schizophrenia, paranoia, depression, and even epilepsy – the probable diagnosis of the man in today’s story.  Because we understand these diseases, various medical treatments and therapies have been developed that allow those who suffer from them to lead more normal lives.  So, when the Scriptures tell us there was a man in the synagogue possessed of an evil spirit, we cringe.  As a result, our tendency is to either ignore such passages or superimpose our knowledge . . . our understanding . . . onto them.

But what would happen if we simply allowed this story to stand on its own?  What if we suspend our current understanding and sensibilities surrounding mental illness and simply agreed on that particular day, in that particular synagogue, there was a man who was possessed by an evil spirit?  How would that alter both our understanding of the story and its meaning for our own lives?

Well, if we agree to agree with the Gospel writer’s diagnosis, the first question is how did the man get in there!  After all, the rules of the synagogue were clear.  Those who were suffering for any disease, abnormality, or disability were not allowed in.  This fact becomes even more intriguing when we remember this incident takes place in Capernaum – a town that, in Jesus’ day, had a population of somewhere between 600 and 1,500.  Just in case you’ve never lived in a town that size, let me reassure you there are no family secrets!  None! Zero! Zilch!  And that goes for all your ancestors, too!

Remembering those two pieces of information, let’s go back and read the story.

Mark 1:21-28

Now, think about it.  If the man was truly possessed by an evil spirit, how did he get in there?  Everyone in town would have known it and everyone in town would have kept him out.  No where in this passage does it say he broke down the door or overpowered the crowd.  All we are told is that the crowd was amazed at what Jesus was saying and suddenly this man began crying out:  What do you want from us, Jesus of Nazareth?  Have you come to destroy us?

Friends, if everyone in town knew he was possessed, wouldn’t someone have stopped him from entering the synagogue?  Yet it appears as though the man was already standing in the crowd when Jesus arrived.  It is as if something Jesus said – something he was teaching – caused the man to snap.  So, what was it?  What did Jesus say that was so upsetting?

While we don’t know the exact message Jesus preached that day, we do know that time and time again he stood before God’s chosen people and proclaimed that a new world, a new order, a new day was coming.  It would be a day when we no longer worried about what went inside a person but what came out instead.  It would be a day when all the boundaries and barriers that separate us from each other would be removed – when all God’s children worked together to insure the safety and sanctity of all creation.  And the people who heard that message began to understand that if that world was to become a reality, their positions of power and places of privilege would have to end.  So the man cried out:  Have you come to destroy us? 

And, yes, that is a fair question because what Jesus is saying is that for the Reign of God to be established on this earth, we will have to abandon many of our old, but comfortable, ways.  He is telling us we have to throw caution to the wind and buy into this crazy scheme where our first and last consideration is God’s will for our lives.  Not only that, when Jesus talks about loving our enemies and giving away our possessions, he is not referring to some hypothetical tomorrow.  He’s saying, instead, that we are to do it and we are to do it today.

But with all that said, there is one more thing we must understand.  Jesus is not trying to destroy us.  He is trying to free us from our complacency so e can join him in the exciting, but dangerous, work of envisioning a new world.  If that means stepping on a few toes, appearing to be rude, and issuing a few demands, so be it.  We can get angry.  We can insist that it is lopsided and impossible.  But it won’t change anything because it is still God’s vision for us.

Oh, and if we still want to tell Jesus how unfair it is, let’s remember one thing.  He gave his life so it could all come true.  So if we don’t follow – if we refuse to do as He asks – who’s really being rude?  Who is the impossible one?

To God Be the Glory!   Amen