Kingdom Harbor

The Gospel Reading for this Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany gives us a front row view of Pastor Jesus “preaching” in a small town synagogue. Many pastors and preachers drool at the level of excitement that broke out when Jesus came to town to preach! No one checking their watch. Nobody asleep in the pew. No one slipping off to the restroom to play online Scrabble until the sermon’s over. No need for manufactured excitement through music, smoke machines and laser lights. Let’s listen in:

“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.” (Mark 1:21-28)

[You can also LISTEN to this article on the Anchor Podcast.]

Jesus brought the real deal: spiritual power confronting dark forces, weighty words piercing souls, life-changing encounter with the living God. Christian, is this your typical Sunday worship experience? Pastor, have you ever preached to a man with an “unclean spirit”? I’m 20 years into the pastorate, and I haven’t. Oh, I’ve ministered to people with unclean shirts, unclean houses, unclean cars, and filthy language. But I’ve never had to silence a demon, or tend to someone lying on the floor and convulsing during my sermon.

Looking more closely at this scene, I began to wonder if we have a different kind of “troubled soul” sitting in many churches in America today. Instead of people with an “unclean spirit” who recognize Jesus’ authority and convulse wildly and come out loudly at his command, the church today is filled with “un-spirited-clean” folks all clean in their Sunday best, but who don’t acknowledge Jesus’ authority, who sit silently through sermons, and are largely unmoved by Jesus’ words. Yes, the play on words is a bit of a stretch — the “un-spirited clean” — but if Jesus was casting out unholy spirits in his ministry, do we need to be questioning if squeaky clean, well-polished church attenders today are even filled with the Holy Spirit?

Notice how responsive the person with an unclean spirit was to Jesus’ presence and power! The unclean spirit was terrified, knowing full well that Jesus had come to disrupt its existence, while many self-professed Christians today claim Jesus as savior but live in a way that shouts, “What have you to do with me, Jesus?” And what if Jesus’ answer to that question is, “Well, apparently not much.” Jesus had to calm the demonized man down, while pastors need to call an usher over to see if some attenders have any pulse — literal or figurative. (This is not an endorsement of extreme forms of Pentecostalism that finds people convulsing in the Spirit and flopping around on the floor; but at least there’s signs of some kind of life there.)

My main point is this: Jesus wants to disrupt our services and our lives just as he did long ago. He’s looking for people today who are equally “amazed” and “astounded at his teaching” and willing to surrender their lives to his “authority.” He’s come to confront both unclean spirits and complacent spirits in the church. To the former he says, “Be silent and come out of him!” and to the latter, he might say, “Make some noise and come alive and be filled with the Holy Spirit!”

Jesus comes to clean up those with unclean spirits, but he also thrills at messing with the un-spirited clean whose lives may be too clean and comfortable for their own good. As we begin to respond excitedly to Jesus’ dynamic presence in our midst, exclaiming “What is this? A new teaching!” Perhaps Jesus’ fame will begin to spread around our region today!

In this case, it’s not a bad idea to ponder the demonized man’s questions and turn them onto ourselves. Do I daily acknowledge Jesus as the Holy One of God worthy of my loyalty and obedience? What idols and rival kingdoms in my life has Jesus come to destroy? What have I to do with Jesus of Nazareth?