“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.” Mark 1:21-28

“First events give insight into the larger themes and, particularly, a distinct understanding of Jesus’ mission and character in each of the Gospels. In Matthew, Jesus is a teacher and (new) lawgiver like Moses. In John, he creates unexpected and unimaginable abundance. In Luke, he is the one who releases those held captive, heals the ill and infirm, and proclaims good news to the poor and the Lord’s favor to all. And in Mark…he picks a fight with an unclean spirit. Mark’s Gospel, that is, starts with a confrontation. Whatever dramatic value beginning with a fight scene might initially promise, however, there is little doubt of who will win this showdown. The spirit protests Jesus’ very presence, and Jesus casts him away with a command as authoritative as it is succinct. And because of Jesus’ bold teaching and power over this spirit of oppression, his fame spreads quickly. Keeping in mind the importance of first events, we can read this scene as Mark’s signal that Jesus has come to oppose all the forces that keep the children of God from the abundant life God desires for all of us. And that message matters because it is still the case: God wants the most for us from this life and stands in opposition to anything that robs us of the joy and community and purpose for which we were created.” (First Things First, David Lose, …in the meantime website, January 26, 2015)

Jesus came to set the world ablaze with his radical teachings – love your enemies – turn the other cheek – you know, teachings that the people of his day had not heard before. Everyone who listened to the teachings of Jesus heard something that either fit with or upset their worldview: Blessed are you who are poor – blessed are you who are hungry – blessed are you who mourn – blessed are you when people hate you and revile you on account of the Son of Man – the first shall be last – take the seat at the back of the table, not at the front. But his teachings were and are “amazing” because they have the authority, a personal authority from G-d.

Maybe that is why the man with the unclean spirit came to the Synagogue that day. While many there struggle with the teachings of Jesus, the demon spirit knows that Jesus is the “Holy One of God” – because Jesus is G-d.

Look, we all have “unclean” spirits clinging to us – hanging onto us, or we to them. And these unclean spirits carry authority over us because we give them authority to take away our trust in G-d – taking away our ability to put complete faith in Jesus’ authority over our lives. And Jesus will appear to us again, and again, and again through the Word of G-d and the Sacraments: cleansing us through the waters of our baptisms – and nourishing us at the table.

My friends come to the table – you who mourn, you who feel reviled, you who feel unclean, unwanted, unloved – come.  Listen to Jesus Christ – your sins are forgiven – hear the words of the Lord that carry the power to heal and to love – be amazed at the inclusivity of his teaching – let is confound you, let it astound you – let it change your life – Come, be healed, and be made clean.

Pastor Dave

“Then he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine. Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my little boy dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way. As he was going down, his slaves met him and told him that his child was alive. So he asked them the hour when he began to recover, and they said to him, “Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him.” The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he himself believed, along with his whole household. Now this was the second sign that Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee.” John 4:46-54

“Driving along a country road, I ignored a Bridge Out sign and continued on. But in a few miles I came to a stop: The road was completely barricaded. So I turned around and retraced my route. That’s when I saw this sign on the back of the first: “It was, wasn’t it?”

“The word out of the play strips them for a moment naked and strips their teacher with them and to that extent Shakespeare turns preacher because stripping us naked is part of what preaching is all about, the tragic part.” (Buechner, Frederick. Listening to Your Life. HarperOne. Kindle Edition.)

Every once in a while I get myself in a position where I end up in a traffic jam because I have not paid attention to the warning signs. And by signs I am talking about actual physical signs. Signs are funny things — especially road signs. Since my wife works for PennDot, I must support the signage rules they utilize — realizing it is our fault that we are not paying attention.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus demonstrated signs of his divinity — turning the water into wine at the wedding at Cana, and in the above-mentioned text where he healed the son of the royal official — to name two. My question to you is this: how many signs of Jesus’ presence in your life do you miss? How many signs of your guardian angel’s presence in your life do you miss?

Sometimes the signs are right there in front of us – and like road signs, they strip us bare to the reality that we are not paying attention. We can be too distracted to see them, or too stubborn to believe them. The Kingdom of G-d, the presence of Jesus is all around us each and every day. Are we too busy to see them?

Pastor Dave