Deuteronomy 18: 15 – 20; Psalm 111; I Corinthians 8: 1b – 13; Mark 1: 21 – 28
A sermon by The Rev. Gene Tucker, given at St. Mark’s Church, West Frankfort, IL; St. James’ Church, Marion, IL; and at The Church of the Redeemer, Cairo, IL (by Mr. Eugene Sandow Myers, Lay Reader); Sunday, January 29th, 2006
We use evidence of things that happen in our lives everyday to learn how to deal with problems, to learn how to live better lives and avoid problems, and to know how to help others. Sometimes, the evidence is very evident (sorry for the pun!)…for example, when the balance in our checking account is higher than we’d expected, we can look into the situation, and see that our bills were lower than we’d expected. Sometimes, the evidence is less noticeable…for example, if our bank decided to give every account holder a free deposit of One Hundred Dollars, but let that gift be a surprise which will be discovered when we get our monthly statement (well, we can hope, at least!).
When we go to the doctor, the evidence of our condition might be very plain to see, such as a broken arm. Or, it might be less easy to understand, such as when we complain of having a fever, or aches and pains in certain areas. In that case, the doctor will have to do some investigating to determine the cause of our problem.
Teenage drivers (I am reminded of this because of the story in the news this past week of a bill that’s being proposed to raise the minimum driving age) have to learn how well the car they are learning to drive is running by the evidence the car is presenting to them as they drive. For example, if the car has a flat tire, the evidence is clear as to what the problem is. On the other hand, the young driver might come home and say “the car did such and such when I was driving it today”, which will most likely prompt a look under the hood or a trip to the mechanic.
Evidence is direct and indirect.
Our Gospel reading for today from Mark, chapter one, verses 21 to 28, offers direct evidence of Jesus’ identity and Jesus’ power. It also offers indirect evidence of Jesus’ identity. Let’s look more closely at both types of evidence….
Before we do, we ought to remind ourselves of some basic characteristics of Mark’s Gospel account…..
- Mark’s writing is concise and to-the-point: Mark generally gives us “just the facts” (with all due apologies to Sgt. Friday of the TV show “Dragnet”). The effect of Mark’s direct style is to deepen the impact of Jesus’ life on his readers.
- Mark’s Gospel is full of action: we often read the word “immediately”, as in last week’s Gospel, where we read that when Jesus called Peter and his brother, Andrew, to become disciples, “immediately, they left their nets and followed him” (Mark 1: 18). In today’s Gospel, we read that those who saw Jesus cast the unclean spirit out in the synagogue at Capernahum that day were “amazed”. “Amazed” is a word that Mark often uses to describe the reactions to Jesus’ work. “Astonished” is another word that appears in Mark quite frequently, and we find both words in today’s reading.
Now, let’s return to today’s reading…
Notice the direct evidence, the direct witness, to Jesus’ identity…It comes from the unclean spirit which has taken up residence in the man who cries out “what have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” So, this witness to Jesus’ identity comes from His adversaries, which are the various powers of evil that tested him in the wilderness just before His ministry in Galilee began, and which will attempt to gain control over Him again at His crucifixion.
Next, Jesus offers direct evidence of His power over those various forces of evil….He says to the unclean spirit, “Be silent, and come out of him.” And the spirit obeyed him. Mark is setting the stage for Jesus’ final victory over evil, that victory which occurs on Easter morning by recording this account for us at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry.
Now, let’s turn to the indirect evidence of Jesus’ identity and power. It comes from the witnesses to Jesus’ teaching, and to Jesus’ casting out of the unclean spirit (which, by the way, is the first of four exorcisms that Mark records)….Mark records the crowd’s reaction, saying that, “they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them with authority, and not as the Scribes” (Verse 22). Those who heard Jesus that day knew there was something different about Jesus’ teaching, for it had power and an impact, an authority (as Mark describes it) that the teaching they’d heard before didn’t have.
Next, Mark tells us that Jesus’ hearers begin to piece together the indirect and direct evidence about Jesus, as they exclaim, “What is this? A new teaching! With authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” (Verse 27)
Now, let’s turn our attention to the direct and indirect evidence that we have available to us, so that we may know who Jesus is….
The direct evidence is Holy Scripture itself….It is the “Word of God” (as the Book of Common Prayer puts it the ordination service – page 538), or as we say when we finish reading the Old and New Testament readings, “the Word of the Lord”. It is God’s direct revelation, God’s direct evidence through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, of Jesus Christ, and His work in revealing God to us. Everything that we know about Jesus Christ stems from Holy Scripture as the source, the primary source, of God’s work in Jesus Christ.
The indirect evidence often comes from the changes that result in people’s lives as they give themselves to the Lord in a personal relationship….When that happens, we can see the evidence of the change that the Lord can make in people who give up dangerous addictions (like my father did at age 72, with the Lord’s help), who surrender selfish and self-serving ways that distort their own lives and that make others who share life with them miserable, and who turn from self-destructive behaviors to a life that seeks after God. Such persons begin to live lives that are filled with joy, peace, and a sense of identity and purpose, even when life’s difficulties crowd in and threaten to overcome us. Life lived in the Lord holds Jesus’ victory over evil and over death in view, realizing that God did not spare Jesus from life’s heartaches and troubles, its pain and abandonment. Instead, we have a Savior who willingly embraced all those hardships, in order to take them up into Himself and to offer them to God. If God is able to conquer all of life’s problems and trials in Jesus Christ, then we, through Christ, can claim that same victory.
Finally, what do we make of today’s reading for ourselves? What direct evidence can we look to for hope? What indirect evidence do we have to investigate?
I think the direct evidence is Holy Scripture….to it we look to see God’s working in people’s lives down through the ages…..In it, we see Jesus Christ revealed to us as the Son of God, the “Holy One of God” (as today’s reading puts it), the perfect image of God the Father.
The indirect evidence is found in the changes in our lives….People we come in contact with might not know that we have an inclination toward God that enables us to see life differently, and to behave differently at first glance. But, if they dig into the evidence they can see, they should be able to put together the fact of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection with Jesus’ presence in our hearts.
One last thought….one main reason the Church exists is so that we can put the direct evidence of Jesus Christ as we read it in Holy Scripture together with the indirect evidence, as we live and worship alongside one another. Seeing God working in each other’s lives is one way we learn to recognize how God works in everyday life to bring our lives more and more in line with the image of God as we know it in Jesus Christ.
AMEN.
