January 29, 2012
Mark 1: 21-28 NRSV
21They went to Capernaum;
and when the Sabbath came,
he entered the synagogue and taught.
22They were
astounded at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority,
and not as the
scribes.
23Just then
there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24and 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.”
25But Jesus rebuked him, saying,
“Be silent,
and come out of him!”
26And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with
a loud voice, came out of him.
27They 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.”
28At once his fame began to spread throughout the
surrounding region of Galilee.
***
I find it interesting that the man, besides Jesus
who is central to this story has not voice. Today I attempt to give voice to
the man with the unclean spirit, and hopefully, give voices to the parts inside
of each of us, which suffer from that same distance from God.
I like to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath. On the
other days of the week the scribes usually shoe me away. They call me impure
and say I don’t belong, but on the Sabbath there are enough people where I can
hide. On the Sabbath, when the scribes see me, they figure kicking me out would
be more of a disturbance than just letting me be. I still don’t feel welcome,
but it’s nice to find some peace and rest inside. Besides there is usually food
around, and the small scraps of fish and bread I get make for my biggest meal
of my week. That’s what brought me here this week, besides, its not like I have
a home to go to instead.
I watch the people. They stand clear of me, so I
have a good line of sight. All of a sudden this young man comes in, almost
running, as if he is late. Maybe he’s late for some urgent meeting with the
scribes. My stomach turns. Is he one of them? He seems to have some kind of
power. He starts teaching, and the people draw near to his words, and his
presence. I’m curious to know what’s going on, but I know if I get too close to
other people I will be thrown out.
People don’t really want me around. They say I am
possessed, and they are right in a lot of ways. I have not felt like myself in
a long time. Its lead me to be out on the streets, to be shunned, to feel
pretty down about myself. But I am more than my problems. People just don’t
want to see the person underneath. They think they can’t relate, but I watch
them, and I know we are not that different.
That woman over there is possessed by money, her
husband possessed by work. I guess they make a good pair that way. That
teenager is possessed by wine, and his friend is possessed by illness. There is
a man possessed by immorality, and a woman possessed by depression. Others I’ve
seen are possessed by fear, or narcissism. I’d say prejudice possesses all of
them, at least against me. There are ways in which each one of those people and
myself don’t belong in this temple. I’m on the outside because I can’t seem to
hide my impurity well enough. It makes me so angry. It isn’t right, or fair.
Look at them all, engrossed in that teaching man,
what about me? Will anyone ever show love or care to me besides the scraps from
their feast? I cannot imagine ever being heard. I would love to tell them what
I think like that teacher man, but most oppressed among us have no voice. Who
is this teacher man anyway? I’ll draw closer, and try not to be seen.
He is talking about holiness. Go figure. Who from Nazareth has any right to
talk about holiness? He is certainly not a scribe? He is almost as poor as me.
What makes him so special? What is it? It makes me so angry. Why are some
people chosen to be the center of attention, and others pushed aside? Why am I
always pushed aside? It is injustice that I am a treated the way I am, even
this teacher man seems not to notice me. How can he talk about holiness? I am
so angry. I better not get too angry. That’s when I can’t control what I say,
and words I don’t know I have spin out of me, and I get kicked out. But looking
at all these people makes me so angry. Whoa, here I go again, I can’t control
my anger. I feel it. I’m about to start yelling. I look at the teaching man.
“What have you
to do with us Jesus of Nazareth? My head is spinning. I try
to call him out on his prejudice. What has he to do with me? Or is his teaching
only for the possessed that keep their possession under wraps? I cry out again.
Have you come
to destroy us? Is this another person who is going to kick me out of God’s house? Will
I get no food, and no rest this day? More and more angry I mock,
I know you are
the Holy one of God? Who does he think he is? He is acting like he knows everything.
and all of a sudden, he is turning toward me, and
rebukes me saying,
“Be silent,
Come out of him.”
and then the sickness I feel starts to stir just
like it did when this teacher man came in. I should have known to stay away. My
body starts convulsing, and twisting, and I am crying out, and then, the
unclean spirit inside me is gone.
I can feel it’s different. I feel clean and pure. I
feel lighter. I don’t feel sick, or out of control. I have not felt this way
since childhood. My head is not a whirl of angry thoughts that don’t connect.
My thoughts seem calm. I stand up straight and my body relaxes into the
confident posture. I have been healed. I am amazed and in shock. I try to
replay in my mind how it all happened.
Who was that teacher man who traded in my insults
for healing? How did he heal me? Why did he heal me? Why did heal me even after
I yelled at him? He made me clean. He must be the Holy One of God. I look up
for the first time. I try to find him. He is gone. Tears fill my eyes.
I breathe deeply, and smile, realizing those around
me are in just as much amazement as I. All the people are looking at me. I am
looking back at them.
None of us know exactly what to make of it, but all
of us have been touched. I can tell.
Maybe in this way, the prejudice is broken. In this
moment we realize we are all equal no matter how broken we are, no matter what
possesses us. We all came to the teacher man with our insults of brokenness,
yet he saw us all for whom we are and touched us. He saw what oppresses us and
showed us freedom through his care and his love. What an amazing man, I think
to myself.
The people were also amazed. They asked each other,
and me,
“What is this?
A new teaching – with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits and they
obey him.”
For first time, in a calm voice, I explained what I
knew, “Jesus of Nazareth has come to destroy evil, and he is
the Holy One of God.” The people listened to me, the tables seemed turned,
and at once Jesus’ fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
