The following is an edited version of a homily for Sunday.
They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
**
I think of these Sundays as part of the Season of Epiphany. The gospels, including this one, reveal Jesus as the Messiah to a new group of people in each one. This gospel describes several distinct Epiphany moments.
But there’s more to this gospel than a story about Jesus and his impact on a group of 1st century Galileans. In a very real sense it is a story about us and how we engage with this Jesus person who was both historical and present, here now.
**
A few days before this gospel opens Jesus had called Andrew and Peter, James and John and immediately they left their boats and followed him. They didn’t really know Jesus yet. They had felt his personal magnetism but they hadn’t seen him in action.
So 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.
Consider the distinction that Mark is making. How would you paraphrase the words he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Mark seems to be saying that: authority comes from first-hand experience of God: from a sense of having seen God, face to face.
Jesus’ authority also came from engaging the hearts and minds. He appealed to their aspirations He did not condemn them. He invited people to act out of love not laws.
Saying you “must” do this, or “you have to” do that… or “this is the law” is a poor proxy for real authority…
But most significantly, the people of Capernaum experienced an Epiphany of recognition. They were astounded at his teaching. They encountered God made man.
**
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 ctome to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.’
This possessed person recognized Jesus. It was a kind of Epiphany for him, too.
But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit, throwing him into convulsions and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.
Jesus didn’t rebuke him for recognizing that he was the Holy one of God but for the disruption that this possession had wreck on this person's life
How do you understand this possession? Was it something like the theatrical scenes in the Exorcist? That would be a highly unusual experience, requiring a holy God-like person to address this…I’ve never seen this, or at least recognized this in my life.
Alternatively, I think of someone who has epilepsy. When I’ve talked with a person who suffers from it, they describe a sense of losing control.
I’ve also wondered if the situation could be like a person who was addicted to drugs or alcohol and acting disinhibited. People in recovery often describe the alcohol or drugs as having a power over them as though these things were independent appetites which drove them…even when they know the self-destructive nature of the addiction.
It’s impossible to know exactly what kind of possession this person experienced but we can assume that it was not something that occurred in the moment. It was a longstanding affliction. It may also have been something that made the community cautious and kept the person at a social distance.
**
Regardless, the voice in the person seemed to have an Epiphany moment when they recognized that Jesus was the Holy one of God.
The response was convulsions but the reaction may have been more that of a sudden awakening from a nightmare…of freedom and relief rather than of pain.
When Jesus cured the man he freed him from the demon, or the disease or the addiction that had taken over his life.
This is a hallmark of Jesus’ work. He provides the opportunity to become the best version of a person’s self. He sees the inextinguishable goodness at the heart of every person and cultivates it with love.
The people in the synagogue recognized that not only Jesus’ words but his power was divine.
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.
**
I wonder what became of the man who had been possessed. How did the rest of his life unfold? Did he become a member of the synagogue in good standing? Did he testify to the power of Jesus throughout the surrounding region of Galilee? Did he become a follower of Jesus?
The gospel doesn’t say, but it is safe to assume that Jesus marked the turning point in his life.
**
There are several different lessons in this gospel
First, excavate the gospels for their meaning… Look at curious or vague passages… At the beginning of this homily I said that in a very real sense this gospel is a story about us and how we engage with this Jesus person who was historical and here now.
Next, Jesus came for everyone… the good synagogue-goers, and those who were possessed by demons, disease or addiction. Jesus came to free us from the bondage of things that possess us… obsessive fears, addictions, regrets or other things.... so that we can become the people God intended us to be.
What are the things from which we want freedom?
Most significantly, what is God calling you to do and become?
Peace
Michael