So what then are miracles? Clever magic tricks, a way to drum up supporters and disciples, real power to heal, feed and raise from the dead or a display of the authority of God? The Bible is peppered with miracles but nowhere more so than the examples described by the Gospel writers of those performed during the ministry of Jesus.
We hear of the first miracle performed as described in Mark's Gospel; an exorcism of a man possessed by an evil spirit. What point is Mark trying to make here? Jesus certainly had the power to heal but if we look at each element of this account we will discover that Jesus was more than a miracle worker.
Authority
Why were the people amazed at Jesus teaching? Surely they had heard many rabbis teaching at the local synagogue. Speaking on every syllable of every word in every sentence, paragraph and chapter of the Torah; what more could be said?
It was the custom of rabbis and teachers of the law to proclaim God's Law by citing what had been said before. When a rabbi spoke he would say, '...there is a teaching that ...' and would quote all the authorities on that subject. It was rare, by Jesus' time, that anything was added and they would certainly not give independent judgment.
It be would like coming to church each Sunday and hearing one of John Wesley's 44 published sermons. Fine, respected and revelatory as they are, if we heard them every week, we would soon find them stale and lacking in relevance to our lives and world today.
This is not how Jesus taught. He spoke by no other authority than his own. He spoke independently, giving no citation. He spoke with the decisiveness of God's own voice. The people had heard nothing like this before. It was the clear authority that captured the hearts of all who heard him.
But surely this was not enough to identify him as the Son of God. All of us could probably name several preachers or teachers who have amazed us. Those whose words have captivated us, held our attention with their insight and depth and changed us fundamentally.
It is here that Mark places the first miracle that he describes in his gospel. As always, he uses words economically to dramatic effect. Jesus' authority is without doubt, he taught with confidence and clout and evil spirits obeyed him. But there is something more to be discerned. Jesus doesn't just use his power. If that were so, we would be powerless to refuse God's commands. Authority exercised without love is tyranny and oppression.
Look were this type of authority has been employed in our world recently North Korea, Libya, Syria, Zimbabwe; to name a few. Places where there is slavish consent by the population to the tyranny of misused authority. Or looking closer to home, how many of us have suffered at the hands of a bully. Bullies who appear in many guises to humiliate, persecute, single out and destroy the lives of others or force others to accept their blinkered political philosophy or way of life.
Jesus demonstrated his authority through love throughout his ministry. There is no compulsion here just an all-embracing love that seeks the best for us and brings to us the fullness of life.
Power or Love
There is emphasis placed on the naming of Jesus in this story. The evil spirit, in an attempt to outsmart Jesus, named him and recognised him as being the one sent from God. He named Jesus and then accused him of coming to destroy us all. A trick of the devil and easily recognised by Jesus, who, not long before had been tempted by this self-same force in the wilderness.
What we often fail to recognise is that even the devil knows and believes in God. The powerful forces of evil, however we may experience or personify these, in tempting us will accuse us of working against God's wishes, trick us into believing that our own desires are the will of God, use the very fabric of the church to constrain and repress and will even quote from the Bible. The Devil knows the Bible from cover to cover and he is not just looking for loopholes!
We must face the facts that our faith has often caused as much damage as it has enlightened and healed. In our Gospel story the demon recognised Jesus more readily than his followers. But Jesus in his love for the man drove out the demon.
How often do our rule and structures and our behaviour conspire to restrain and repress those we should he seeking to liberate from their own wrongdoing. This might not be the demon expressed in the story. It might be the monstrosity of greed, hatred, injustice, hypocrisy, intolerance or spitefulness. The list of those sinful demons that seek to act as our jailer is endless.
As Christians, it is our power that limits us when we should be seeking to demonstrate God's love to help those least able to help themselves. How often do we offer, in what we say and what we do, the good news of God's love and life that help us to blossom rather than dry up and wither away.
We need to acknowledge that we have not always got it right when we look to the past. We have zealously committed acts of monstrous bullying in the name of God. Can we learn from this instead of endlessly repeating our errors?
Welcome
The first gift of Christ is healing. Here was a man on the edge of society. A man with an unclean spirit who shouted out. He knew no restraint. He was an embarrassment. Christ healed him and brought him back to those who loved him.
Just think how you react to the drunk on the bus, the person with mental health issues who speaks loudly and inappropriately in public or the person suffering from Tourette's Syndrome who shouts out obscenities without any compunction. Do we show love or do we turn away in embarrassment? It is to one of these that Jesus first showed compassion. Can we not do the same to all who are distant from God?
We must show that God's house is open to all; not just to the good for none of us are, not just to pious because few of us can live up to sainthood, not just to the powerful and wealthy because that is a hurdle to the kingdom, not just to the useful because we all have gifts and talents to offer, not just to the clever because we should all be fools for Christ. But, to all, without exception. We are all welcome! However difficult and discomforting it might be, that is how we too must aspire to respond.
Summary
It's not enough to know God and believe in Jesus Christ but we also need to be healed and changed. Just as the man possessed by the evil spirit recognised and believed in Jesus as the Holy One of God, it was only when he was healed and changed that he became whole once more.
In the same way that those who witnessed this demonstration of authority through love, both the new teaching and the healing, and spread the Word, so must we now speak up and speak out with the new-found authority of Christ's love within us of the good news of salvation through him and his kingdom begun on earth.
That would be a miracle!
Christ who first showed compassion,
when we encounter those
who would challenge our faith,
those on the edge,
those imprisoned by their passions,
help us to welcome them with your love.
Look were this type of authority has been employed in our world recently North Korea, Libya, Syria, Zimbabwe; to name a few. Places where there is slavish consent by the population to the tyranny of misused authority. Or looking closer to home, how many of us have suffered at the hands of a bully. Bullies who appear in many guises to humiliate, persecute, single out and destroy the lives of others or force others to accept their blinkered political philosophy or way of life.
Jesus demonstrated his authority through love throughout his ministry. There is no compulsion here just an all-embracing love that seeks the best for us and brings to us the fullness of life.
Power or Love
There is emphasis placed on the naming of Jesus in this story. The evil spirit, in an attempt to outsmart Jesus, named him and recognised him as being the one sent from God. He named Jesus and then accused him of coming to destroy us all. A trick of the devil and easily recognised by Jesus, who, not long before had been tempted by this self-same force in the wilderness.
What we often fail to recognise is that even the devil knows and believes in God. The powerful forces of evil, however we may experience or personify these, in tempting us will accuse us of working against God's wishes, trick us into believing that our own desires are the will of God, use the very fabric of the church to constrain and repress and will even quote from the Bible. The Devil knows the Bible from cover to cover and he is not just looking for loopholes!
We must face the facts that our faith has often caused as much damage as it has enlightened and healed. In our Gospel story the demon recognised Jesus more readily than his followers. But Jesus in his love for the man drove out the demon.
How often do our rule and structures and our behaviour conspire to restrain and repress those we should he seeking to liberate from their own wrongdoing. This might not be the demon expressed in the story. It might be the monstrosity of greed, hatred, injustice, hypocrisy, intolerance or spitefulness. The list of those sinful demons that seek to act as our jailer is endless.
As Christians, it is our power that limits us when we should be seeking to demonstrate God's love to help those least able to help themselves. How often do we offer, in what we say and what we do, the good news of God's love and life that help us to blossom rather than dry up and wither away.
We need to acknowledge that we have not always got it right when we look to the past. We have zealously committed acts of monstrous bullying in the name of God. Can we learn from this instead of endlessly repeating our errors?
Welcome
The first gift of Christ is healing. Here was a man on the edge of society. A man with an unclean spirit who shouted out. He knew no restraint. He was an embarrassment. Christ healed him and brought him back to those who loved him.
Just think how you react to the drunk on the bus, the person with mental health issues who speaks loudly and inappropriately in public or the person suffering from Tourette's Syndrome who shouts out obscenities without any compunction. Do we show love or do we turn away in embarrassment? It is to one of these that Jesus first showed compassion. Can we not do the same to all who are distant from God?
We must show that God's house is open to all; not just to the good for none of us are, not just to pious because few of us can live up to sainthood, not just to the powerful and wealthy because that is a hurdle to the kingdom, not just to the useful because we all have gifts and talents to offer, not just to the clever because we should all be fools for Christ. But, to all, without exception. We are all welcome! However difficult and discomforting it might be, that is how we too must aspire to respond.
Summary
It's not enough to know God and believe in Jesus Christ but we also need to be healed and changed. Just as the man possessed by the evil spirit recognised and believed in Jesus as the Holy One of God, it was only when he was healed and changed that he became whole once more.
In the same way that those who witnessed this demonstration of authority through love, both the new teaching and the healing, and spread the Word, so must we now speak up and speak out with the new-found authority of Christ's love within us of the good news of salvation through him and his kingdom begun on earth.
That would be a miracle!
Christ who first showed compassion,
when we encounter those
who would challenge our faith,
those on the edge, those imprisoned by their passions,
help us to welcome them with your love.
Endow us with the enthusiasm of your saints
to go out into the world,
to speak with the authority of your love,
to spread the good news of salvation
and life lived in all its fullness.
to go out into the world,
to speak with the authority of your love,
to spread the good news of salvation
and life lived in all its fullness.
Amen.
