JESUS CASTS OUT FEAR

(Preached on Sunday, February 1, 2009)

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ABe silent, and come out of him!@                                                                                                  -Mark 1:25

 

What was the matter with that man in the synagogue?  We may never know.  The Bible does not specify what that evil spirit is, but we can imagine some possibilities:

C Depression, which runs rampant world-wide;

C Bi-polar disorder, which tears apart homes and families;

C Addictions of all kinds, with devastating effects on work and self;

C Alzheimer=s disease, with spiraling loss of memory and capacity;

C Stroke, with tenacious loss on Amuscle memory;@

C Post-traumatic stress disorder, with crippling legacy.

The list could go on.  These are Aour@ scientific explanations for the maladies which afflict and bind us today.  Yet in truth, most of us don=t understand these descriptions any better than we do the idea of demon possession. 

 

Demons were the Ascientific explanation@ of Jesus= day for the maladies which afflict and bind people.  Theirs was a demon-haunted world.  Evil spirits were the cause of illness, especially mental illness.  They didn=t know about microbes and bacteria, viral infections and body chemistry.  But the point of the story is not to explain illness.  The point of the story is to demonstrate the authority and power of Jesus over the demons that enslaved and bound people in illness.

 

Just as that was Good News for that man, for the others in the synagogue and for the readers of Mark=s gospel, even so it is Good News for us today.  For our world too, is a Ademon-haunted@ world.  We just don=t often speak of it in those terms.  We are too sophisticated for that language.  But think about it: we are haunted by many demons C fear, worry, anxiety, insecurity, inordinate self-concern.  We still contend with demons in our lives today: demons of lack C lack of courage, lack of hope, lack of trust, lack of love.  These are powerful forces which possess us, incapacitate us, bind us, and distort our humanity.

 

Now some would argue there are good reason for these fears.  Open the newspaper every day and the stories seem to get worse.  Yesterday just a quick read of the headlines presented plenty of reason for fear.  On the front page: AEconomists: The worst is yet to come.@  On the Metro & State section the lead story said: ATeacher raises may be put off.@  And the Business section included: AWorst January ever for Wall Street;@ ALosses force Ocean Bank Layoffs;@ and AFDIC closes three banks.@  You may not choose to call them demons, but how can you know and watch the community around you on any single day and not recognize the evidence that there is still at work in this world a sinister force that opposes God=s will and purpose for our lives?  The reality of evil is a part of our lives.  One of Jesus= central missions in life is to confront that evil.  He empowers his followers to do the same in love.

 

The demons in our lives are nourished by our lack of faith.  We too easily lose sight of the truth that we are God=s children, shaped in the image of God.  We forget that God wants for us what we want for our children: that we become the best person that we can be, that we become what we were created to be.  The demons keep us from fulfilling our human potential, our God-given purpose.  The demons pollute our souls with fear and envy, tempting us to despise those who dare to dance to a different tune and tear down those who would challenge our certainties and pretensions.  Perhaps the hysteria of the unclean spirit that possessed the man in the synagogue was the fear of self-discovery.  Jesus= words had authority.  They brought peace to some but disturbed others.  One could agree or disagree, but never ignore what he had to say.  His words hit home and invariably provoked a response.  Sometimes we would rather hear bland platitude, but that is not what Jesus brings.  His words have power.  As Simeon predicted when Jesus was brought to the temple as an infant, he would be Athe downfall and the rise of many ... a sign that will be opposed ... so that the thoughts of many hearts may be laid bare.@  Perhaps that is why the unclean spirit reacted so violently.  We sometimes cannot stand the thought of our hearts being laid bare.  We are afraid of our own vulnerabilities.  So the unclean spirit was uncomfortable, threatened and convulsed the man violently before leaving.  Jesus= presence threatens not its existence as much as its control of the possessed man.  Jesus= successful rebuke and direction eviction of the unclean spirit signals who holds genuine power.  There is power in the naming of our demons.  As we name them, as we speak about them, they lose their control over us.

 

Jesus wants to confront the demons and cast them away.  And the way we most often experience Jesus doing that for us today is in the community of faith, the church.  It is telling that the man in this story was in the synagogue.  Even though possessed and bound by a demon, he was present in the community of faith and it was in that community that he found his healing and release. 

 

Jesus is still on the cutting edge in bringing healing and casting out fear today.  During the last year of her partner=s life, the real-time Prayer Chapel at i.ucc.org became a caring community for Bonnie.  Judy, her partner, was struggling through the last stages of cancer.  As she grew weaker and required constant attention, Bonnie had few opportunities to worship in her congregation.  At the end of a tiring and discouraging day, she would often turn to the i.ucc prayer chapel for a quiet time of devotion C and a reminder that she and Judy were not alone.  AI have found the fellowship of believers to be vital in my emotional, physical and spiritual health,@ Bonnie wrote towards the end of Judy=s life.  AThis chapel very well may have saved my life when I have been in my darkest places.@ 

 

The online prayer community accompanied Bonnie through Judy=s death and the time of grieving that followed.  Sometimes only two or three may gather in the online Prayer Chapel at 9 p.m., sometimes nine or ten.  Some are seekers C checking out the UCC for the first time.  Others are life-long members of the church.  But whatever the number, daily prayer has become the heart of the online community at i.ucc.org.  One frequent participant describes the experience: AWhen we pray together online, it is almost like I can >see= golden ribbons connecting us across the U.S. where we each live, holding virtual hands, bowing our heads together, sacred intention joining as one.  A blessing!@

 

It is through our relationships with one another which we are building in this church that the power of God is at work to bring release from fear.  As God does that, we will discover ourselves free and empowered to join Jesus in that work of liberation.  Lee Yuille, a nutritionist who had just come home from work in the spring of 1992, was watching TV with her brother.  They saw the reports of rioting breaking out all over south central Los Angeles in response to the verdict in the Rodney King beating trial.  They watched pictures from an overhead helicopter showing a mob of angry African American young men beating and kicking a white truck driver almost to death.  The intersection where this was going on was less than a mile away from their home.  Although they are black, they could not tolerate what they were seeing on the television.  Her brother turned to Lei and said, AWe are Christians; we need to go help him.@  They rushed down to the intersection. Helped Reginald Denny get to the hospital, saving his life.  They did so empowered by the authority of God.  They did so because they had found liberation and freedom in Christ and now they wanted to share that freedom.

 

This is the power of Jesus still at work in us today.  This is where the real power in our world lies: in Jesus, in God, and in the community of faith, our church, where we stand together and support one another.  Together we can confront our demons and with Jesus, cast out all fear.