Mark 1:21–28

Epiphany Four (Revised Common Lectionary) | 01.28.24 | Mark 1:21–28 | Carl A. Voges |

The Passage

And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he (Jesus) entered the synagogue and was teaching.  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 out 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 all the surrounding region of Galilee.                                                                 [English Standard Version]

In the Name of Christ + Jesus Our Lord

If a person falls into the healthy and rich habit of reading through the psalms on a monthly basis, such an individual is struck by the continuing references to the wickedness which surfaces in the world’s life.  Those references not only tie us in with the unclean spirit that Jesus confronts in a synagogue, they also remind us of the origins of this wickedness.  In one of the psalms assigned to the morning of this day, Psalm 135, we see the Lord showing compassion to his people while also pointing out that the idols of this world are silver and gold, elements crafted by human beings.  The Lord points out that these idols have mouths, but they cannot speak; that they have eyes, but cannot see; that they have ears, but cannot hear; that there is no breath coming out of their mouths.  The Lord concludes that the people who craft these idols are just like them and so are all those who put their confidence in them!

This outtake from Psalm 135 strangely mirrors the way this world treats wickedness.  Its realities fill all the media, bubbling through its news and commentaries.  The world’s treatment stumbles badly and tragically, however, because it ignores the source of its wickedness and makes the mistake of thinking it can do something about it!

Consequently, it is more than healthy that the Lord’s people this weekend are running into this passage from Mark.  It is Saturday (the Sabbath) and Jesus is teaching in a synagogue.  The worshipers are astonished at what he is saying; it is unique to what they are accustomed to hearing.  For thousands of years the Sabbath was the day set aside for faithful Jews to come into the Lord’s presence, to have his Word tumble out of the Torah and to learn what the Lord’s Life was teaching them.  It is striking how much similarity exists between the Sabbath and the practices of the Lord’s faithful people today.

Mark states that there is a person with an unclean spirit in that gathering, much like our parishes today whose members stream in to worship while heavily immersed in the details of their own lives.  Grabbing hold of our attention is that the unclean spirit knows who Jesus is!  That is shocking!  Such a spirit may know more than the worshipers in that synagogue!  One could speculate how that may apply to the worshipers of today.  Do the details of being wrapped up in one’s self recognize what occurs when they are confronted by the Lord himself?

After the significant words pouring out of the unclean spirit, Jesus rebukes that spirit and forces him to leave the man.  And the spirit does!  This is quite an event, one that has not occurred in prior Sabbath gatherings.  The worshipers are amazed and the occurrence causes the worshipers to pass on to others what has just happened.

There are key words in this passage which speak of our Lord’s rescuing activity.  They include the astonishment and amazement among the worshipers.  It is striking that the words are passive, that is, the worshipers are reacting to Jesus’ activity, they are not creating these realities!  Also, the unclean spirit is described in the Greek as “impure” and “vicious,” connecting clearly with the wickedness swirling through the world’s life.  This is why Jesus confronts that reality, rebukes it and, in a convulsive way, brings its exercise of that man’s life to an end.  His teaching and rescuing work help us understand why the worshipers responded so strongly and enthusiastically to Our Lord.

On this particular Sunday we are two-thirds of the way through the Epiphany season.

During Epiphany the Lord’s faithful people note how the Son’s Incarnation on 25 December steadily makes its way into the life of this world, rescuing and restoring its people!  That Incarnation leads to the full emergence of his Life from the Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension, making its way into the wickedness of this world’s life and rescuing the people trapped by it!

This wickedness surfaces because, when we are born, the world imbeds us in the desire to always have life wrapped around ourselves.  Yes, we discuss such wrapping all the time, but it should be taken seriously.  It’s what drives the world to be self-destructive and, ultimately, to die.  In spite of that we push on, thinking we have to endure it or make it go away.  With Jesus’ rescuing action in a synagogue today, we can confront such wickedness!  And it is done not just for our sakes, but for the sake of others!  It pulls us away from being consumed by such wickedness and carrying it into the lives of those around us!

That’s why the Lord mercifully surrounds us with the holy realities of his Scriptures along with his Sacraments of Baptism, Forgiveness and Eucharist.  This Life barges into the world from the parishes of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church, immersing people in the Lord’s rescuing, sustaining and creating ways.  These ways confront the wickedness that swirls around our lives and free us from its choking grip.

Those ways seize our attention during this Epiphany season and stir us to go easy on what we think and what we do.  It is a time where we, in spite of the wickedness that surrounds our lives, make our way faithfully to the Lord’s holy places.  The continual exposure to his Life is vital for us and the world’s people.  We have tried to live for ourselves, but such attempts only flounder and empty our lives.

There are people who see no need to be rescued from the destructive and deadly realities of the world’s life.  But who do they think gave them their lives and abilities?  It is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit who have!  Granted, this is not always obvious to those around us, but we press on, reflecting their Life to all those being hammered and squeezed by the world’s natural wickedness!  The Holy Trinity, working from their holy places, will always seek to loosen the grip that wickedness has on our wrapped-up lives!

Now may the peace of the LORD God, which is beyond all understanding, keep our hearts and minds through Christ + Jesus Our Lord

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Pr. Carl A. Voges, Columbia, SC; carl.voges4@icloud.com