28 January 2024 - Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

 

Theme

There seems to be a dual-theme running through this week’s scripture readings. First, the readings remind the reader of the One True God in the midst of the various gods and idols that are worshipped throughout the world. Second, the readings speak towards Jesus as being the Prophet who speaks for God and offers God’s salvation to all.

Scripture Readings

  • Mark 1:21-28 - Jesus taught with authority in the synagogue in Capernaum. A demon-possessed man claims that Jesus is the Holy One of God. Jesus quiets the man and calls out the demon within him. The people are amazed and news spreads quickly about Jesus throughout the region of Galilee.
  • 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 - Addressing food sacrificed to idols, Paul says that having love is more important than having knowledge. The important knowledge to have is that there is one God and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. Paul says that food (or no food) does not bring us near to God. However, we should make sure that our freedoms to do certain things should not hinder other people’s way of living.
  • Psalm 111 - A psalm of praise, declaring to praise God in the temple. God will provide food for those who fear him and He remembers His covenant forever. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”
  • Deuteronomy 18:15-20 - Moses declares that God will raise a prophet from among the Israelites because they asked to not hear God’s voice anymore lest they die. The prophet will speak God’s words and God will call to account any who doesn’t listen to the prophets words. However, a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods is to be put to death.

The Context

The Book of Deuteronomy is Moses’ parting words to the Israelites before they enter the Promised Land. His overall message is that God will continue to expect righteous living and God will provide them with support along the way, including “a prophet” who will be their guide and liaison with God.

In Mark's Gospel, not only do the first disciples recognize Jesus’ authority as Prophet “immediately” — an “unclean spirit” does, too, confronting Jesus as a threat and naming him as “the Holy One of God.” This confrontation serves as the iconic launch of Jesus’ public ministry, and so Mark’s message is clear: Jesus comes into the world as a healing liberator in direct, authoritative opposition to the death-dealing forces of evil and ruin in the world.

Personal Application

Christians have a natural tendency to police what people may or may not do, based on our beliefs about God and the world. This is particularly true in church circles, as we try to enforce what other Christians should or shouldn’t be allowed to do. I am sure that most folk do this with good intentions, based on a desire to obey God and be true to the biblical texts.

Paul addressed this tendency in his letter to the church in Corinth who were telling people that they should not eat pork and certain unclean foods because the bible says so. Clearly these Christians had good intentions, but Paul notices their misunderstanding and uses this as a teaching moment.

Paul explains that “there is one God and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.” What Paul is saying is that it is not necessarily what we eat or do that makes us righteous or sinful. Rather, what is our purpose in doing so? Who are we trying to please? If we are doing something to satisfy our man-made idols and gods, or doing it is causing others to stumble, we should perhaps reconsider. But if we do something that brings us closer to the One True God without hurting others or ourselves, perhaps it is not so disastrous after all, regardless of what some gatekeepers of Christianity might try to tell us.

This passage reminds me of a conversation I had recently with someone who was arguing that it is wrong for a Christian to do yoga because they are opening themselves up to Eastern spiritual practices and gods. The same arguments have been used against Christians getting tattoos, drinking alcohol, and many other things deemed to be wrong because of a particular interpretation of Scripture taken out of context. Perhaps the answer isn’t as simple as that. Going back to Paul’s teaching, perhaps the better question is: What is our purpose for doing these things? Who are we trying to please? Is our partaking in these things causing ourselves or others to stumble? Once we grapple with these questions alongside the scripture readings that seem to address them, we might just come to more respectful understandings and might even be able to accept if other Christians disagree with us.

Communal Application

Since many people today don’t typically interpret the world in terms of demons and exorcisms, it can be a struggle to really understand Mark’s passage this week.

Any number of death-dealing forces today are often experienced as "possession" or being "caught up" in dynamics that far exceed our intentions or control. Think of how addiction overwhelms individuals and families; how racism, sexism and homophobia shape-shift over time; how anger consumes; how envy devours; or how all of us, even against our will, are complicit in creating the blanket of pollution overheating the planet (2023 set the record for the hottest global year on record).

We may or may not call addiction or racism or the sexual objectification of women “demons,” but they are most certainly demonic. They move through the world as though by a kind of cunning. They resist and sidestep our best attempts to overcome them. And as we make those attempts, the experience can be less like figuring out a puzzle and more like wrestling with a beast.

And so for Mark, Jesus comes into the world to wrestle with these shape-shifting beasts. For the sake of all people and the whole of creation, the death-dealing forces around us must be confronted and, ultimately, overcome. To follow Jesus is to join him in just this kind of confrontation, to speak and act with boldness and clarity, to heal and liberate with our words and at the same time with our deeds. As Mark tells it, when Jesus says to the disciples, “Follow me,” he means follow him into the fray, into the shadows, into the menace itself. He means follow him into the work of building up from the ruins, of freeing the captives, and of salvation.

The good news of the Gospel this week is that however formidable such death-dealing forces may seem, with God’s help, they can be overcome. However deep our wounds may be, with God’s help, they can be healed.

What demons are you currently facing in your life? Do you believe that by choosing to follow Jesus, you get to partner with God in confronting the demonic forces in the world and confront them with boldness and power?

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