Reflection: Mark 1: 21-28

[This week, as there will be no service, Pastor Beryl is sharing the text of what would have been her reflection.]

Mark 1:21-28 (NIV)
Jesus Drives Out an Impure Spirit

21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. 23 Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, 24 “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

25 “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” 26 The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.

27 The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” 28 News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.

Pastor Beryl’s Reflection 

Today we are reading from the book of Mark – the shortest of all the gospels and probably the first one written.

We are not so far from our Christmas journey, where we thought of Jesus as a child to be adored. However, there are so many other ways to think of Jesus: the Christ to be worshiped, a saviour to be followed, and voice to be heeded. 

In our reading today, we are asked to imagine Jesus as a man of authority, as a healer and as someone to be trusted.

We now see Jesus beginning his public ministry.  He has been baptized by John in the Jordan. He has spent 40 days in prayer and fasting in the wilderness and he has called Simon and Andrew, James and John to be his disciples

The story is set in Capernaum, the hometown of Peter.

Jesus has gone into the synagogue, which us not unusual because any Jewish man could go into there to teach.

But, what is different today is the unusual response Jesus receives - the people are astounded. Jesus is not like so many other teachers they have heard.  He does not cite a series of authorities. He does not cite learned references or facts, one upon the other.

Instead, he teaches out of his own authority; it is his own truth that he speaks from.

And, what is the content of his teaching at Capernaum? Mark’s gospel does not tell us.  There is not even a hint.  All we are told is that Jesus teaches not from a series of facts, observations or theories.  His teaching is himself!

The author of Mark wants us to know that Jesus does more than set forth truth. He is the truth -truth looking at you face to face

I think, at one time or another, we have all met someone like this.  Perhaps a relative, a teacher, a coach, a colleague?  Whoever it might have been, all this time later you are able to recall it because of who the person was.

 And Mark validates this when he says “the people were astounded” because he taught with authority.

This might be a curious thing for Mark to say because, surely, the teachers of the law in the synagogues already had spiritual authority and the law on their side.  They had been the spiritual leaders in that community for many years before Jesus arrived that day.  They had spent years in study and were well revered for the knowledge they possessed. 

Isn’t that what authority is all about?

So, why would Mark say that Jesus taught as one with authority?  What was Mark talking about?

I always thought that authority was the right a person or institution had to enforce or expect obedience from others.  But, over time, I have come to realize there are two types of authority.

There is positional authority and there is relational authority.

Perhaps I should explain this:

Positional authority is where someone expects people to respect him or her because of the position they hold - perhaps because of their title or, to bring it closer to home, because of the role they play in the life of the church.

A good example or positional authority would be words such as “I am the minister here and, as the spiritual leader of this community, I expect you to agree with me on all matters.”

Rational authority can be seen in leaders who seek to earn respect. Who seek to be transparent, not only about their mission and vision, but about their own failings and shortcomings.  In other words, owning up, with true humility, to their failures.

But, back to the story.

Ironic isn’t it that an evil spirit knew immediately who Jesus was, but the religious teachers of the law did not.  The holy men missed the truth right before their eyes

I think most of us recognize Jesus as a man who had authority and power

But, the more I read the Gospels, the more I don’t think Jesus is interested in our academic knowledge of who he is. 

It is easy to get caught up in academic debates about God - whether God created the world in six days or through evolution?  Whether Christianity is the only way to God - or do all religions follow a different path to the same ending? Even whether or not Jesus was fully God or just a great prophet  and good man?

Perhaps what I am coming to terms with is that an intellectual belief in Jesus can be irrelevant.  We can say that Christ is our Saviour.  We can say that Christ is our Lord.  We can say that Jesus is God incarnate.

But, ultimately, we have to feel the power of Jesus deep inside our being – in that place where intellect and belief meet somewhere on the bridge between the two.

The power of Jesus is an internal reality, it is a matter of the soul!

Today, Mark concludes this passage by saying “at once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.”

The Gospel, the Good News of Jesus spread because of word and deed and so it is with us.

Perhaps we were invited into this passage to develop a sense of Jesus’ authority – how we understand it in our lives and how it can make a difference in the world?

This story from Mark is one of healing and of transformation.  We can see that, to follow, Jesus we must not only be open to transformation, but we must find our own authority - our own truth as to who we are.

We are called to be a light in this world and, to do so, means living out the mission of Christ.

Those in the synagogue were amazed at Jesus teaching and his authority.

May we be amazed as well.

Let’s end in prayer:

Praise to you, O God of all creation
We exist in you and through you
You are the ground of our being, the source of all life
In and through you incarnate love,
We learn what it means to be your people.

Amen.