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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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Here, in the opening chapter of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus has just invited his disciples to follow him. The first stop on their journey is a synagogue in Capernaum, where the Lord begins to teach.
Much like a cell phone ringing in the middle of a sermon, an anonymous man interrupts the Lord, crying out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?”
If I were the one preaching that day, I would’ve been taken aback. But the Lord doesn’t miss a beat. He muzzles the demon, casting him out of the tortured man just by the sound of his voice.
Meanwhile, the disciples must’ve been wondering what on earth just happened.
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Even in this early stage of their journey, they are beginning to learn some important lessons about Jesus, faith, and the world around them.
First, Christ has the power to do what he says. He not only preaches about Good News – the blind regaining their sight, captives being set free, the dead being raised – he also brings it.
Second, there is the real presence of evil in this world, which Jesus comes to disrupt. The fact that the demon protests Christ’s presence in the synagogue suggests that it had already been there – and it intended on staying – before being unexpectedly cast out.
Notice the spirit was not floating aimlessly like a cloud in the sky. It was embedded in a real human being. All of the evil spirits Christ binds come out of human beings, suggesting evil is not an impersonal force; it must take on flesh to have power.
The disciples themselves will be tested in this way as they fight against fear, temptation, and despair while following Jesus to the cross and beyond.
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Much like the man in the synagogue, we can all be weighed down by sin or impurity. And we can bring these destructive habits into holy places – our marriage, families, friendships, homes, and workplaces.
Christ comes not to judge or condemn us, but to cast these spirits out.
May we welcome the Lord today, who comes to set us free.
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Image credits: (1) FreePik (2) Friarmusings (3) Salem Tabernacle