Mark 1:14-28

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’ As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people.’ And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him. 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, throwing him into convulsions 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. (NRSV)

Mark doesn't waste any time and gets on with the story of Jesus' call to the first disciples and his first acts of teaching and casting out demons. The thing that stands out for me today is that the "unclean spirit" knows who Jesus is and it knows that Jesus has authority over it and will destroy it. Jesus doesn't waste any time and does just that. He casts out the unclean spirit from the man. This causes the man to convulse and cry out and the scriptures say that all were amazed. The crowd had not seen anything like Jesus. They had never seen anyone that had authority over unclean spirits. The word of his teaching spread fast.

To me, this makes me consider Jesus' ministry and actions a little closer. In Mark's gospel account, Jesus is very much "on the move" and goes about teaching and preaching where the people are, where the hurt is, where the demons are. As we are being taught to "fish for people," we should go out to where the people are, show them that they are loved by God, and help them cast out the demons in their lives that control them.

It is shocking to me how much the "modern church" doesn't look like a fellowship of Jesus' followers that is working to fish for people who need their love. It looks more like an institution or organization that mostly worships together. People constantly speak of the decline in the modern church and fail to see that the fish just need to be fed. In order to feed the fish, we need to go to them instead of expecting them to swim to us. I pray that we continue to become more of the body of Christ, reaching out to the world in love and reconciliation.

Mark 9:14-29 (NRSV)

When they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them.  When the whole crowd saw him, they were immediately overcome with awe, and they ran forward to greet him.  He asked them, "What are you arguing about with them?"  Someone from the crowd answered him, "Teacher, I brought you my son; he has a spirit that makes him unable to speak; and whenever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked your disciples to cast it out, but they could not do so."  He answered them, "You faithless generation, how much longer must I be among you? How much longer must I put up with you?  Bring him to me."  And they brought the boy to him. When the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth.  Jesus asked the father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood.  It has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us."  Jesus said to him, "If you are able!  All things can be done for the one who believes."  Immediately the father of the child cried out, "I believe; help my unbelief!"  When Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You spirit that keeps this boy from speaking and hearing, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again!"  After crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, "He is dead."  But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he was able to stand.   When he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?"  He said to them, "This kind can come out only through prayer."

 

The father of the possessed boy says, “I believe; help my unbelief!”  This passage takes place immediately after Jesus, Peter, James, and John come down from the mountain where Jesus was transfigured before them.  They return to the disciples who are trying to cast a demon out of a boy.  However, the disciples are not able to exorcise the demon.

This passage shows the abilities of disciples who are trying to act out their faith.  Obviously, it is a problem for them.  Jesus seems frustrated with what he calls a “faithless generation.”  I don’ t think Jesus says this to belittle them, but to set them straight on their actions.  I have a feeling that they were trying to reenact the miraculous “dog and pony” show that the people are always asking for – what they think proves the power of God.  Their “actions” didn’t work because they were not backed by prayer.

Of course, Jesus is able to easily restore the boy to perfect health by casting out the demon.  It looks like he does this prior to the arrival of the crowd.  This would be exactly what we would expect of Jesus at this point, trying not to draw too much more attention to himself.

The call that I hear today is pray.  Prayer builds and guides belief.  A healthy prayer life becomes a centering force that strengthens you and guides your actions.  Prayer becomes a part of everything that you do as you seek to be closer to God.  We would just pour out our heart and mind and make ourselves vulnerable to God.  In prayer we make ourselves a receiver for the divine word that may come to us.

Mark 5:1-20 (NRSV)

They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.  And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him.  He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him anymore, even with a chain; for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him.  Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones.  When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him; and he shouted at the top of his voice, 'What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?  I adjure you by God, do not torment me.'  For he had said to him, 'Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!’  Then Jesus asked him, 'What is your name?' He replied, 'My name is Legion; for we are many.'  He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country.  Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding; and the unclean spirits begged him, 'Send us into the swine; let us enter them.'  So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the sea.  The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened.  They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid.  Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it.  Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood.  As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him.  But Jesus refused, and said to him, 'Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.'  And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.

The word “tombs” speaks to me in this passage.  I’m not sure if I ever noticed it in prior readings.  The man with the unclean spirit lived among the tombs.  We still associate tombs and gravesites with scary places where spirits are thought to linger.  The man that Jesus encounters doesn’t only have one unclean spirit, but has many.  The man has been tormented by the demon for some time.  The demon knows exactly who Jesus is, and immediately pleas for mercy.

In the passage Jesus performs an exorcism and casts a demon out of a young man.  The manner in which it is done is interesting.  Jesus chooses, at the demon’s request, to be cast into a herd of swine.  I wonder why the poor pigs were allowed to suffer such a fate.  We must realize that the Jewish laws of Leviticus and Deuteronomy considered the swine an “unclean” animal, unfit for human consumption.  What a better use for an “unclean” animal then an “unclean” spirit.

After the man has been cleansed, people came and saw him sitting there in his right mind.  They were afraid and begged Jesus to leave.  The man wants to go with Jesus, but Jesus told him that he needed to return to his family and tell everyone how much God has done for him to restore him.  Everyone was amazed.

The call I hear today is to tell the good news.  The swineherds told the good news in the city and the country, and the man proclaimed the good news in the Decapolis.  The good news is what wonderful things God does in order to restore things to the way they are supposed to be.  As hearers and responders to God’s wonderful works, we too are proclaimers of the good news so that others might come to believe and have faith.

Mark 3:7-19a (NRSV)

Jesus departed with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him; hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon. He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, 'You are the Son of God!' But he sternly ordered them not to make him known. He went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons.

So he appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

The presence of the boat stands out. What's the boat for? Jesus led his disciples to the sea and wanted a boat ready. However, there is no mention of the use of the boat. Mark moves along at his usual steady pace and tells us just enough to get the story.

Jesus is on the move. The way Mark tells it, he seems to be running from the great multitude following him. They are coming from everywhere. He has been healing and casting out demons everywhere he goes, so people try to touch him. The demons are even afraid of him. He went up a mountain (the mountain's presence is as strange as the boat) and took a select few with him. There he appoints the twelve.

This is definitely an account that was written after the fact. This is the first time we hear the word Apostles and about one of the twelve betraying Jesus. In fact, it almost seems that this is Mark's narrative attempt at foreshadowing, but it isn't very creative and leaves us with a bunch of questions.

I once had an issue in my ministry, and I will never forget the advice from my bishop. He said, "Ken, make disciples." He meant for me to share the load with trusted advisories to be more productive in ministry and the proclamation of the good news. So, I feel that the call today is to make disciples. Like Jesus, we need to share the load to reach the most for good. If I have twelve and my twelve each have twelve, it quickly becomes a highly manageable arrangement. However, it becomes harrowing if I try to lead all 144+ by myself.

Mark 1:29-45 (NRSV)

As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.  Now Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once.  He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.  That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons.  And the whole city was gathered around the door.  And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.  In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.  And Simon and his companions hunted for him.  When they found him, they said to him, 'Everyone is searching for you.'  He answered, 'Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.'  And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.  A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, 'If you choose, you can make me clean.'  Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, 'I do choose. Be made clean!'  Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.  After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, saying to him, 'See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.'  But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.

You’ve really got to love the Gospel according to Mark.  He gets it done in record pen-strokes.  The Greek is even more concise than the English.  The phrase that stands out today is “everyone is searching for you.”

This passage contains much of Jesus' actions as he traveled around healing and casting out demons.  Jesus is busy doing the “work” of the kingdom, showing the folks that are gathering what he has come to do in ways they can understand.  He is cleansing and restoring the world through his actions, and preaching a gospel of reconnection, restoration and peace.  Toward the end of the passage, when the leper is healed, he can’t contain himself.  The leper goes about spreading the word freely.

I discern that the call today is to “restore the world.”  If the Church is Christ’s body, and we are acting as Christ’s hands in the world, then we should be going about doing the work he has given us to do.  If we are to love our neighbor fully, then we act by restoring those on the fringes of society that are lost and forgotten.  We do this by reaching out and connecting, offering them a place of comfort and community, food and shelter.  When people are touched by Jesus, then they can’t contain themselves.  They go about proclaiming it freely in the streets!

Mark 1:14-28 (NRSV)

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.' As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, 'Follow me and I will make you fish for people.' And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him. 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.

In the context of all the information in this passage, I hear the word “called.” Jesus immediately calls James and his brother John, and they left their father Zebedee and followed him. It is interesting to me that the call narrative is in the middle of Jesus returning to Galilee, and then going into the synagogue to teach and perform an exorcism.

Keeping with the fast pace at which Mark tells us the good news, Jesus is on the move. He returns with a message of good news for the people, he secures some assistance in his mission, and then proceeds to teach in the synagogue. While he is in the synagogue, he encounters an unclean spirit that knows him. He calls out the unclean spirit, and amazes the crowd with the first miracle in the Gospel of Mark. Word about him spreads as quickly as Mark’s story unfolds.

There is an urgency to Mark’s telling of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He gets to the point and teaches in high context language, meaning that the hearers would be able to put together the story very easily in their situations. Mark uses language and forms of telling the story that his hearers would understand.

The call that I hear today is “follow.” When Jesus calls, the disciples follow to see where he leads. If we follow Jesus, especially through the scriptures, we see him do some amazing things. In the season of Lent, we follow Jesus through the desert that that we can experience a wilderness period of self examination and awareness. This lets us root up and deal with our demons and reminds us of our dependence on God.