***
Gospel: Mark 1: 21-28
Jesus came to Capernaum with his followers,
and on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught.
The people were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.
In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit;
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!”
Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!”
The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.
All were amazed and asked one another,
“What is this?
A new teaching with authority.
He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.”
His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
When I think of a sacred space, I think of this church. This altar. This pulpit. The Saints and the Stations of the Cross that line our walls.
Sacred spaces are filled with holy things that point us to God.
***
In today’s Gospel, there’s a man with an unclean spirit present in the synagogue. The synagogue is a holy place, so why is he there?
Surely, he doesn’t belong.
Or does he?
***
I imagine him to be a conflicted man, both a sinner and a believer – a man who knew he was under the power of something stronger than himself.
Maybe he showed up in the synagogue that day hoping to be set free.
***
This becomes the first miracle that Jesus performs in Mark’s Gospel, giving this man an added meaning.
Perhaps Mark uses him as an image for all of us.
Like that man in the synagogue, at times aren’t we all possessed by something, or under the influence of something stronger than ourselves?
***
Think of the person who gives into a particular temptation over and over again; the person who cannot find the grace to forgive; the person who harbors jealous or judgmental thoughts about others.
Occasionally, we all need the healing grace of Jesus.
The best place to find it is either where that man was – in the house of God – or in the grace-filled silence of prayer.
***
***
Image credits: (1) Limbourg Brothers, Jesus Casts Out an Unclean Spirit (2) Lens of Faith Blog (3) Indian Catholic Matters