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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.
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When I think of a sacred space, I think of this church. Our newly installed crucifix. This altar. This pulpit. The Saints and the Stations of the Cross that line the wall of our church.
Sacred spaces are filled with holy things that point us to God.
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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, this man doesn’t belong.
Or does he?
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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.
Perhaps he showed up in the synagogue that day hoping to be set free.
As soon as the Lord lays eyes on him, he says to the evil spirit holding him captive, “Quiet! Come out of him!”
Suddenly, the struggle is over. This man is set free.
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This is the first miracle that Jesus performs in Mark’s Gospel, amplifying the meaning of it. Perhaps Mark uses this man as an image for all of us.
Every person struggles with something – a particular sin, a lingering weakness, a wound in need of healing.
The best place to find what we’re looking for is here in the house of God, or in the grace-filled silence of prayer.
As the Lord later says, “I have come that they may have life in abundance.” Not only the man in the temple, but all who believe.
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Image credits: (1) Pantocrator, St. Catherine’s Monastery (2) Biblword.net (3) Pinterest