Lectionary Scripture - Mark 1:21-28 (NRSV)
They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and 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." But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, "What is this? A new teaching--with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him." At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
Reflection on the Scripture:
Did you know that Jesus’ first public act of ministry involved demon exorcism? Yep, that’s right. Jesus was in someone’s home one day where synagogue (i.e. house church) was being held that day and some guy comes in off the street and clearly he’s beside himself. In fact, he’s not himself at all. The voice or thing possessing the man is so disruptive and disturbing that Jesus heals him with a few simple words of, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And with some convulsing and crying out, the man is freed and he returns to himself. Do you ever wish you had such power over your own demons? I wish I did and would want nothing less for everyone else.
In a Zen Buddhism daily calendar that my wife got me for Christmas this year, one of the readings this past week is from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It reads, “The man who masters himself is delivered from the force that binds all creatures.” Or to express the statement more inclusively, I would re-phrase to say, “The person who masters herself or himself is delivered from the force that binds all creatures.” One of those areas of mastery for most any person is finding one’s voice. In that regard, there are so many people and things tamping down our voices and taking them over and telling us how we ought to be or not be that it’s simply crazy-making. For most of us, if we stop and are truly honest, can any of us say that we truly know ourselves, or know our voice, apart from an institution or person(s) we’ve been attached to for years or perhaps our whole lifetime?
Take for example what happened today. My wife and I met up with my elderly mother to celebrate her 80th birthday over lunch at her retirement center. At one point during lunch, my mother mentioned that a friend of hers had asked with concern about how I was doing since leaving membership, ordained ministry, and employment with the Community of Christ. To my mother’s credit, she said, “Well, I really think you ought to ask Brad. I know he’d love to talk with you. All I can tell you is what I’ve observed. And what I see is that he’s happier, far more relaxed, and much freer in his thinking and voice. You really ought to give him a call.” Not long after that, my mother asked, “Now you’re going to bring me communion next Sunday, right?”
My mother’s request took me back for a moment as I found myself “possessed” by old institutional thinking in which I thought, “Man, I better not do that or I could find myself damned to hell.” But then I realized that rather than submitting to this form of possession and dismissing my voice, I had to exorcise that crazy demon and step up to the plate and new way of being human and new way of believing as God envisioned and communicated to me last May (see posting titled “My Recent Journey, My God Encounter”). It’s then that I found myself rather amused and thinking how interesting it is that a human religious institution tells others that I no longer have authority to minister and I’m about to go along with it. That is, until I hear my own mother saying in so many words that my walk with God carries more than sufficient authority to administer Christian communion to her. So I ask you, who am I to believe? Do I believe the institution or do I believe the woman who brought me into this world, nurtured me into the soul I am, and encouraged me to always follow God’s Spirit no matter where it leads? I bet you can answer the question for me.
The Community of Christ worship resource for this week says that Jesus spoke from and with personal authority. It also says that Jesus used the resources and context of his day to teach a new way of being human. Additionally, it notes that reconciliation and healing are at the core of good health and then asks what demons possess you and what is Jesus saying to you today. Well, after today, I think Jesus is telling me to own my personal authority and speak with a voice that reflects that authority and isn’t controlled by an institution of anyone else’s voice. Reconciling myself to that is very healing and if my mother (a retired psychiatric nurse) is any judge of things, than I am in better health than I have been in a very long time.
Furthermore, it’s amazing how useful blogging is in terms of the resources and context of the day for getting out the message God wants me to share – a message that calls for you and me to establish a church universally free of the encumbrances of the world so that apostles like you (i.e. “messengers”) can prepare that beloved world for the Divine One’s coming – a coming that will be nothing less than the just and peaceable reign of God. Only an unencumbered people living an unencumbered faith will be able to make it happen. What demons must you silence and exorcise for that to happen?
Brad Shumate, M.S., M.A., LMHC
Free of Encumbrance
Vancouver, Washington
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