“Seeing and Believing” 

“Be silent and come out of him!”  A pretty confusing command from Jesus to a man who is obviously deeply troubled.  Jesus is not prepared to announce the full force and intention of His ministry – but there he is, confronting the man’s unclean spirit.  He came that day to teach.  Jesus is taking the risk to teach in the temple on the Sabbath, just like the lofty teachers of his time. Mark tells us that everyone was astonished. The scripture tell us “he taught them as one having authority,” a swat to the scribes who preached and dominated by doctrine and control. After Jesus cares for the man, removing his unclean spirit, the members of the temple wonder, is this young man from Nazareth a prophet, an exorcist, a demon killer? Son of God was not on their list of options.

Historical references indicate that there was little attributed to new, exciting prophets in these times. Moses had lived some 1,500 years before this scene unfolds.  The time of the prophets was felt to be past. Still the people watched Jesus closely and carefully to see proof of his authority.

So Jesus comes upon this poor man besieged by demons.  We usually attribute symptoms like his to epilepsy or seizures, but Jesus saw that this was a demon of the mightiest design. Once Jesus calls the demon out, a voice from the man says to Jesus, “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.”  It’s the demon speaking, as it leaves the man’s body, recognizing Jesus and his Divinity.  “Be silent,” says Jesus to the Demon as it leaves the man. Analysis of this scripture suggests that Jesus did not yet want the attention this exorcism might bring to Him. In his current ministry, Jesus is more intent upon teaching in an everyday context rather than being known for extraordinary events.  But can you imagine what the people in the temple thought as they watched? What is this, they said, “a new teaching…a new authority?”

Some thought Jesus was an exorcist; some thought he was Moses or Elijah come back to life. Others just didn’t know what to think.  This was a new teaching, new evidence of some power – but who was this man from Nazareth who could call out demons? Now we know Jesus was there as the Son of God – his ministry had begun.  While he wasn’t quite ready to launch, the demon seems to have forced the call. The demon knew it was Jesus, but the others were not so sure. They all saw what happened, they all saw Jesus, and they were amazed. What might you have thought and said if you didn’t have the benefit of knowing the whole story of Jesus as we do now?

In His early ministry, many people were drawn to Jesus. Many took risks to join Him.. They saw His power, His divinity, and became His followers and disciples.  Along the way, many followers of Jesus lost their lives for their belief in Jesus as the Messiah.  It took courage to believe Jesus was the Messiah.

In the 1930s another demon, an opponent of goodness, hid within the hearts and minds of the people of Germany and Europe. Adolf Hitler crafted a diabolical plan for the destruction of the Jewish population under the guise of German nationalism.  WWII was the dreadful result of his demonic fanaticism. Hitler forced the hand of the greater world to rid Europe and Germany of his evil force.

On February 3, 1943, the troop ship US Dorchester was torpedoed 100 miles off the coast of Greenland by a German submarine. There were 926 men on board this luxury liner converted into a troop ship.  The chaos that ensued was devastating, according to one of the few survivors. There were four chaplains among the men on the Dorchester. One was a Jewish rabbi, one a Catholic priest, one a Methodist minister, and the other a minister from the Dutch Reformed Church. They did everything they could to calm and assist the frightened and seriously wounded men trying to get to the lifeboats before the ship sank.

The chaplains made a horrendous discovery.  There were not enough life jackets for all the men on board. In the midst of chaos, the four chaplains gave up their life jackets to other men, virtually ensuring their own deaths. The last anyone saw of the chaplains was the four men locked arm in arm, praying together as the ship went down, taking them and 672 men to their graves in the icy waters of the Atlantic. The bodies of the chaplains were never found. What was in the hearts and souls of these men to be so dedicated, even in the face of death? What did they believe about God’s Presence that allowed them the courage to put others first? Back in Jesus’ time, what did his followers see in Him that allowed them to risk their lives, and then lose them to the forces of evil that nailed Jesus on the Cross?

The Hebrew Bible offers us an answer to this question.  In the book of Jonah, Chapter 2, verses 5-7, Jonah says, “The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. To the roots of the mountains I sank down.  But you brought my life up from the pit, O Lord my God. When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple.”

In the midst of Jonah’s terror he returns to the God he knows, where his strength lies – in his faith in God. The four chaplains, all from different faith perspectives, did the same. Were the prayers of the rabbi close to the prayers of the Christians in their last breaths? Did Jesus of Nazareth, the Jew from the tough town, hold out His hands to all the chaplains, silencing the demons of death in the Atlantic to make their faith come alive even as they died? I take comfort in knowing that God knew these men and all the others on the US Dorchester that day.

Jesus’ miraculous action in the temple, calling out the unclean spirit, announces his extraordinary authority.  It was clear to the people that the Kingdom of God was at hand. The powers of evil were broken up. The kingdom cannot be separated from Jesus, who is the living Presence of God’s Power. Even the demon gets it, as he says, “have you come to destroy us?” in verse 24. The stunned amazement of the people at Jesus’ power did not mean that the people immediately believed in Him as the Messiah. In spite of what they saw, they had yet to learn that the kingdom of God would come in the form of a simple man from Nazareth.  We have the benefit of time and the strength of the inheritance of our Christian faith to help us believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God.

In the living Christ, we see how God knows us and lives among us. In fact, he looks just like us, present in human form. God has claimed us as God’s children.  God has given us Jesus and the Holy Spirit to enliven us and keep us emotionally connected. In truth, God has commissioned us as disciples, to do God’s work here on earth and in Dennis. Jesus calls the ordinary to do great things. Though in Mark’s gospel Jesus “taught” 16 times and is called “teacher” 11 times, Mark focuses less on the content of Jesus’ teaching and more on his actions among the people.  Jesus changed things, stepped on and over the power structure, and commissioned us to do great things in our lives.

So now it is up to us, individually and as a congregation here at Dennis Union Church. We have an inheritance to claim. It is the one impenetrable investment that can never be reduced by market fluctuations and speculative practices, leaving us broken and empty. As followers of Jesus in the midst of rapid economic and cultural change, we need courage to announce and spend our inheritance of hope, address our call to social concerns, and celebrate the freedom to worship God in word and sacrament.

Remember, it is Christ that gave us this inheritance. We see Him and know Him, not just from stories of his miracles, but from His physical presence in our lives. Theologian Paul Tillich calls this presence “God as our Ground of Being,” which he calls “the source of the courage to be.”  It’s up to us to move from being to doing by opening ourselves and our church community to transformation by the call of Jesus. Words are not enough.  We must continue to make things happen. We must rid ourselves of the insidious demon disguised as comfort that can stand between us and Jesus’ call.

In two weeks, Tony Robinson will join us to dialogue and discern how we choose to reveal and share our inheritance from Jesus with the community beyond our doors.  Dale has shared his vision of “personal faith and social responsibility.”  Our annual meeting is Saturday, February 21st. We need to discuss how we plan to steward our time, talent, and treasure to continue to be a living manifestation of Jesus disciples. The challenge is to be fully alive in Christ.

Like Jesus in his casting out of the demon, we must also step out and make something happen. We must determine how we’ll maintain our commitment to missions, social concerns, youth group, adult Christian education, women’s fellowship, men’s fellowship, our extraordinary music ministry and all the activities that demand our attention. Like Jesus, we are an active ministry, nothing held back.  The time is now.

One hundred years from now, will the congregational body of this church be amazed like those in the temple were at what we accomplished when we faced down the economic demons of our day? Good intentions are not enough. Our actions, in the name of Jesus Christ, will define our courage and our walk with Jesus. We see and know Jesus as the Son of God. Miracles are possible, and they will happen right before our very eyes.

Please pray with me:

Holy and gracious God, Jesus inspired and led in truth and love. He rose above the scribes and others who exerted power to lead. Open our eyes and hearts to see the dimensions of your love, and help us to bridge the gaps between us and your world. May the teachings of Jesus empower us to see fully the vision you hold before us.   

Amen