At that moment there was
a person in their congregation who was tormented by the actions
and thoughts of his life, and he cried out, "What do you
want with me, Jesus of Nazareth? Are you here to destroy me?
I sense you are holy, which is to say, you seem different from
the rest of us (my adaptation of Mark 1:23-24).
Mark doesn't waste any time getting to the heart of things.
The first eight verses of his Gospel are about John the Baptist.
In three more verses Jesus is baptized and God declares that
Jesus is His Son. In two more verses Jesus survives 40 days
of temptation in the wilderness. In two additional verses Jesus
proclaims the Good News of God: The Kingdom of God has
come. Repent or change how you are living your life and believe.
The next five verses allow Jesus to call His first four disciples.
In verse 21 we come to today's text where Jesus has been
asked to teach in the synagogue, an honor that was not lightly
bestowed or easily obtained. And in verses 23 and 24 we have
Mark's primary interpretation of how he understood Jesus.
Jesus, the Holy One of God, is present in the world to overcome
evil. It is of absolute importance that we pay attention to and
understand Jesus' commandment in verse 25, "Be silent,
and come out of him." Jesus had not come to destroy the
man. Rather He has come, and is now here, in order to set us
free from the evil that prevents us from living and enjoying
the life God intends for us.
Each of us should cry out this very moment, "What do you
want with me, Jesus of Nazareth?" And the voice we hear
from beyond the cross should be clearly heard as it responds, "I
want to do everything with you! I made you and you are related
to me!" It is the voice of God and we need to heed it!
We need to stop kidding ourselves and learn how to be open to
God's truth. We need to accept that God chooses to come
to us in spite of the fact that we are imperfect. Secondly, we
need to get over any notion or idea we have, any previous training
or inappropriate notion, that God is out to destroy us.
Those who were unclean had a hard time getting into the synagogue.
If you had had a child or a recent menstrual period, if you had
any disease or had been near anyone who was ill or dying, or
if you had been involved with any number of what we would consider
to be normal daily activities you were considered to be unclean.
In spite of all these prohibitions, the man with the troubled
spirit was still in church that day. We should be thankful for
that because if perfection were a requirement for church participation,
guess who wouldn't be here.
We need to back up to verse 22 where Mark writes that Jesus
taught as one having authority. Many people have difficulty with
authority or with those who have it. In some instances those
with authority or power have abused it and do not deserve our
trust and respect. In other instances, however, we ignore authority
because we do not wish to admit wrongdoing on our part.
In his book, Good to Great, author Jim Collins describes
seven qualities or traits of leaders who have had great success.
These people have personal competence, are contributing team
members, are effective managers, show grace style and ease, have
appropriate humility and have a tenacious commitment to the outcome
of the enterprise. (Emphasis, January/February 2006, p.
36-37)
People quickly recognized that Jesus had authority or what Jim
Collins describes as "Level 5 Leadership." The man
in the synagogue acknowledged Jesus as the "Holy One of
God." The darker side of the man recognized that he was
in the presence of the Light of God. The fact that no one else
in the synagogue made this recognition does not mean they were
all that different from the man who cried out.
We need to come back to his question, "What have you to
do with us?" We need to make this much more personal this
morning with each of us asking, "Jesus, what do you have
to do with me?" or conversely, "Jesus, what do I
have to do with you?" It's a question of what each
of us and God has to do with each other.
I invite you to turn in the pew Bible to Psalm 103 on p. 554
of the Old Testament. We sometimes make the mistake of seeing
God as an angry creator who is judge and jury and whose only
intent is to convict and punish us. Many people see Christianity
as a bunch of rules and regulations designed to take all the
joy out of life. Nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus,
it seems to me, came into the world for one purpose. That purpose
is to show us how much God loves us and how much God wants us
to enjoy life living in God's Kingdom.
Psalm 103 seems to answer for me what God has to do with us.
Starting with verse 3, we see God forgives all our iniquities
or mistakes or shortcomings. Keep in mind we are created in the
image of God. God heals all our diseases. Maybe we don't
see that here on earth. In verse 4 we are told our lives are
redeemed from the pit. This means we have had our lives paid
for so that Hell has no claim on us. We are given steadfast love
and mercy. Steadfast means everlasting. God's love for
us is not based upon a whim. We can always count on it. Just
look at the Prodigal Son.
Verse six talks about justice. We are to work for justice giving
special attention to the poor and weak. There is much yet to
be learned about the first being last and the last first. In
verse five God's intention is to lavish good upon us throughout
our lives. We have to choose it rather than something else. In
verse eight we read, "God is merciful and gracious, slow
to anger and abounding in steadfast love." This continues
in verse nine, "God will not always accuse, nor will he
hold onto his anger forever." Verse 10 ought to give us
great hope, "God does not deal with us according to our
sins nor repay us according to our iniquities." If God
did, who could survive?
Do you know what it feels like to have someone who loves you
gently touch your face with the palm of their hand? If you have
never experienced that, I hope you will soon have the opportunity.
God is not at all interested in slapping our face. Rather, God's
desire is to lovingly caress us, to gently touch us and to invite
us to a place of love, life and joy.
That's what I believe Jesus of Nazareth has to do with
us. That's what God wants from us. That's what we
need to do with each other. It is a giving, affirming touch.
It is not a taking, hurting, abusing one. Jesus has come to do
the former and to do away with the latter. What do you have to
do with Him today? What do you want Him to do with you? |
