Photo by Levi Meir Clancy on Unsplash
Karen Hollis | January 28, 2024
Epiphany 4
Mark 1:21-28 They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then 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 with a loud voice, came out of him. They 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." At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be reflections of your word to us today, in Christ’s name we pray. Amen
Jesus walks into the synagogue on the Sabbath with 4 disciples in tow and says things to people they’ve never heard before. He speaks from the Jewish tradition, but it’s different . . . it’s new. It’s curious to me that those gathered don’t really distinguish between Jesus and his teaching. They don’t ask, who is this man? And they don’t ask: why is Jesus saying these things? Jesus is the voice and embodiment of something new. We also don’t get to hear his words – he’s presumably speaking in his usual Wisdom teacher style of sayings, puzzles and parables,1 - and does so with an authority that no one can really put their finger on.
Cutting into this moment of awe and wonder and curiosity is a surprising amount of clarity from an even more surprising source. The expression that is given the name “unclean spirit” knows Jesus’ abilities, purpose, and name. Isn’t that fascinating? It’s always intrigued me. Who or what is the unclean spirit? They are traditionally known as a manifestation of evil or demonic powers. However, I don’t think that’s the only option here. That which has been labeled demonic can be reframed as brokenness and perhaps make more sense in the context. One of the commentaries uses the example of The Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz. The Broadway show Wicked, offers her backstory. Her name was Elphaba and was “once an outcast. Bullied. Misunderstood. Abandoned. And throughout the story, Elphaba continues to be set up against folks around her. It is no wonder that eventually, Elphaba gives in to everyone’s assumptions about her. By the climax of the musical, Elphaba proverbially chooses violence and leans into becoming the thing everyone believed about her.”2 The darkness and the light are not always what they appear to be . . . in fact, the whole world is a lot more grey, cloudy, nuanced than we often acknowledge as we move through our day.
In the first century context, experiences like poverty, experiences of the Roman occupation, generational violence, or traumatic incidents could easily have completely disassembled the man’s wholeness until he is but a shell of himself, behaving with survival level defensiveness and self-protection.
While all of us might not know this level of fragmentation, we all experience brokenness in our own way. In this state, we know the tension of wanting to heal, but also instinctively protecting ourselves. It’s a real source of suffering to feel that ache of longing to heal while also feeling the need for self-protection at all cost. This very real and human tension in the man who walks into the synagogue is what I imagine knows Jesus by name and calls out to him. They are both drawn to him, longing for him, while simultaneously terrified of him and pushing him away.
He takes a risk by walking into the synagogue, because due to his mental state, he is also ritually unclean, which means he is not allowed to be in community with others. At a time when being in community could be critically important, he is cast out. In his ministry, Jesus challenges these kinds of purity laws by touching and healing people who are named unclean, and spending time with those who are named unwelcome or unacceptable.
Even so, I think it’s important to name the painful truth that these kinds of healing texts have also been weaponized through the years by the shadow that exists in the church to say Jesus exorcised and removed the unwelcome part of the man to make him more acceptable and able to conform. First Nation children were sent to schools where their undesirable parts were abused out of them so they would fit better in colonized society. Some queer folk are still instructed to pray the gay or the trans away so that they can be welcomed into the mainstream. The larger context of the gospels show us that Jesus never catered to the mainstream, rather he centered the margin. As a wisdom teacher, he reminds people of their own authority and teaches that, God’s presence within you is where you find your truth. Not with your oppressors, not with the Temple or the Scribes, not with the church or the catechism or the minister, but with the holy inside of you.
(breath and contemplate) What is this teaching? Wha . . . hmmm . . . it’s a little hard to put words together. What does this mean for how I pray and live and be a good Jew? What is the role of community? or the minister? How do I even find the muscle within me that is made for connecting with my own wisdom?