Sermon
Mark 1:21-28
Naming the Spirits
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Mark 1:21-28
Naming the Spirits
The gospel lesson for today picks up where we left off last week. When Jesus heard that John the Baptist was in prison, he left Nazareth and moved to Capernaum, where he called his disciples and started his ministry.
According to Mark, he got off to a quick start. The first Sabbath he was there he went to the synagogue and taught. Mark says the elders were astounded at his teaching because he taught as one with authority and not as their scribes. (Mark 1:21-22)
So far, so good. Then trouble began. Mark says,
“Immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit,
and he cried out, saying, “Ha!
What do we have to do with you, Jesus, you Nazarene?
Have you come to destroy us?
Now, who was this man with the unclean spirit? Mark doesn’t say. The fact that he’s there in the synagogue suggests he was one of the regulars. He may have even been one of the elders. We can assume he looked and acted like everyone else – reverent, righteous and respectable.
So, what unclean spirit did he have? Again, we don’t know, and this is where we’re apt to get off-track. To speak of an unclean spirit is to suggest being possessed by a demon, and that conjures up images of Poltergeist – people with wild eyes and bad hair and green stuff spewing out of their mouths – deranged people who belong in cages or late-night horror movies.
What I’d for us to think about in the sermon this morning is that this man Jesus confronted might not have been all that different from us, and the unclean spirit he had might have been something we can all identify with. If so, I’m hoping that by naming some of the spirits that commonly afflict us, we’ll be drawn that much closer to the Spirit of the living God in Jesus Christ.
Listen again to what the man said:
“What do we have to do with you, Jesus, you Nazarene?
Have you come to destroy us?”
I’d say this man had an overly protective spirit. He sounds like someone who can see the handwriting on the wall – that it wouldn’t be long before this Jesus, “taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes,” (Mark 1:22) would soon shake the foundations of the faith and upset their comfortable little ways of doing things.
If I were guessing, I’d say he was one of the scribes – someone who had the most to lose and, therefore, the most to protect.
I had an elder in my church years ago with an overly protective spirit. He considered himself one of the last remaining guardians of the one, true faith. His father had been a longtime Presbyterian minister. For him, the ‘true faith” was what he remembered his father doing and saying. So, he took it upon himself to stand guard watching for any signs of heresy, then exposing them first to the heretic – which, in my case, was me – then to everyone else who would listen.
I could give you any number of examples, but one that stands out in particular was the time I introduced the Service of Renewal of Baptismal Vows. The Session had given its approval, and the service went well. More than half the congregation came forward when the invitation was given. But when I walked to the back of the sanctuary at the close of the service, there he was waiting for me. “You’ve crossed the line this time,” he said with fire in his eyes. “That was clearly un-Presbyterian!”
I tried to explain that the service came right out of our Book of Common Worship, but he just scoffed. If he could’ve had his way, I would’ve been looking for another call that afternoon.
I hasten to say he was not a bad person. On the contrary, he was a respected member of the community, a lifelong member of the church, a man of faith and integrity – someone you’d be honored to know. I also hasten to say that, when I moved to another city some five years later, we parted as friends. I loved him as a brother in Christ and he loved me, though we obviously didn’t see eye-to-eye on many things.
I still say he had an unclean spirit. He was overly protective of the faith. And, in his zealousness to safeguard the church from heretics like me, he stood in the way of the gospel that offers new life and, with it, new expressions of praise and worship.
I had another elder who was possessed by a spirit of pettiness. Again, I’d be the first to tell you what an upstanding man he was and how you’d never find a more dedicated and committed layman. It’s just that he couldn’t see the big picture. He kept getting hung up on minutia.
Like the time our choir director and organist asked for a modest raise. Well, she deserved it. When we hired her to direct the choir, we had a part-time organist. But two weeks later, the organist quit. So, the choir director offered to play the organ and direct the choir. What a deal. Not to mention the fact that she was well-qualified – she had a doctorate in organ performance from Indiana University, for heaven’s sake. It’s just that, when she assumed both roles, nobody said anything about adjusting her salary upward. So, at the end of the year, she asked for more – not twice as much, though she could’ve made a case for that – just a modest increase.
But, instead of sailing through the Personnel Committee, this elder with a spirit of pettiness wanted to review her salary on the basis of – are you ready for this? – on the basis of how many hours she worked! I kid you not.
Both the choir director and the organist positions were part-time, and he figured since she was doing both, there must be some overlap of the time she spent on each. One of the other committee members argued that you don’t pay an artist by the clock. Talent isn’t meted out in one-hour increments. Another said we ought to be thankful to have someone of her caliber. And another pointed out how she had prepared a complete organ concert, without any extra compensation, to help us celebrate our Centennial.
All this, and the elder still wasn’t convinced. He said, “I just don’t see how we can justify paying her what we do for no more hours than she spends at the church.” Thankfully, the others outvoted him five-to-one and gave her a nice raise.
Well, these are only two examples, but you get the point: Unclean spirits are a part of everyday life. You see them all the time. They lurk within us and about us, and, like the spirit of the man in the synagogue that day, they stand in the way of God’s grace and love.
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So, how do we get rid of them? The first step is to name them and so, expose them for what they are.
I had a friend years ago who made it a practice to name all the unclean spirits plaguing his congregation. He’d say things like, “He has a contentious spirit.” Or, “She has a spirit of animosity.” “He has a controlling spirit.” “She has a spirit of jealousy.”
His intent wasn’t to be judgmental, but to be honest. These are attitudes and behaviors that can kill a church. I’ve seen it, and you have too. The first step in getting rid of them is to bring them out in the open. Unclean spirits are like cockroaches – when you shine a light on them they run for their lives. Jesus put it this way:
“For everyone who does evil hates the light,
and doesn’t come to the light, lest his works would be exposed.
But he who does the truth comes to the light,
that his works may be revealed,
that they have been done in God.” (John 3:20-21)
Name the unclean spirits. That’s the first step. And the second step is to replace them with the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
Unclean spirits and the Holy Spirit are incompatible. You can have one or the other, but not both. And this is the Good News: When the Spirit of Jesus Christ fills your mind and heart, the unclean spirit within you has to go; and, when it goes, a visible transformation occurs.
Last Sunday night I went out to Garrett Memorial Baptist Church to see the movie, Fireproof. It was created and produced by a congregation in Albany, Georgia to offer help and support to married couples.
It starts off with a husband and wife at odds with each other and stressed out by the pressures of everyday life. As you get to know them better, you realize how egocentric they both are. The husband is caught up in his wants and wishes; the wife is caught up in hers. The marriage quickly deteriorates and they decide to split up.
It’s a long story how this all comes about, but the turning point of the movie is the moment at which the husband finally hits bottom and admits he needs help. In total surrender, he turns to Christ and begins a 40-day program of putting his wife first. Every day he does something intentional to honor her and show his affection.
Sadly, she doesn’t respond. She doesn’t trust his motives. She thinks he’s just trying to soften her resolve so that he’ll come out better in the divorce settlement.
Still, he persists. He makes her coffee in the morning, sends her flowers, cleans the house, calls to see how her day is going … and he gets nothing in return but a slap in the face. Only now, instead of losing his temper and fighting back as he did before, he leans on the strength of God’s Spirit and returns her rejection with deeds of loving kindness.
This was the most convincing part of the movie for me – the transformation of the husband when he turned his life over to Jesus Christ. No longer was he at war with his wife. No longer was he at odds with himself. His unclean spirit of self-centeredness had given way to a fresh spirit of unconditional love and heartfelt devotion.
His body language spoke volumes. Whereas before, his face was strained and his blood vessels popped out when he spoke; now, his eyebrows softened and his breathing was relaxed. Anyone could see the change: Here was a man filled with the peace of God and now able to share the gifts of God’s love, regardless of what he got in return.
As I got home and reflected on the movie and its message, the words of an old gospel hymn came to mind. It’s one we often sing in our Sunday school gathering:
What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought,
Since Jesus came into my heart!
I have light in my soul for which long I had sought,
Since Jesus came into my heart!
Before we wrap it up, I’d like to invite you to name the unclean spirits you’ve seen around here. For example, in my Pastor’s Report to the Annual Meeting two weeks ago, I said one of my greatest concerns is the spirit of complacency that seems to be so prevalent among us. For example,
• We have whole pews that go empty on Sunday morning. Does that bother you?
• We have two-to-five children in Sunday school on Sunday mornings. Is this the best we can do?
• We received three new members last year. Is that something we ought to be proud of?
Complacency is a close kin to lethargy and apathy and a spirit of resignation. They all lead to decline, and decline spells a slow and certain death.
Well, if I’m right and we do have a spirit of complacency among us, we need to be honest about it. We need to name it and then ask God to give us a new spirit of determination and resolve to build up the church’s membership and expand its mission.
Of course, I could be wrong. So, I invite you to name the unclean spirits you see lurking around here. And, while you’re at it, name the unclean spirits in your own heart.
Paul said the fruit of God’s Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) Does that fit you? Is this the way your best friends would describe you to others?
Listen: The secret to driving out the unclean spirits is to name them and replace them with the Spirit of God, and that leads to transformation. The change may be immediate, as it was in the movie last week; or it may be gradual, as, little by little, you become more Christ-like.
Either way, when the Spirit of the living God comes into your heart, the unclean spirits will scatter, and you’ll feel like a new man or new woman. Let us pray:
“Into my heart, into my heart,
Come into my heart, Lord Jesus;
Come in today, come in to stay,
Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.”
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Copyright 2009, Philip W. McLarty. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), a public domain (no copyright) modern English translation of the Holy Bible.