January
30, 2000
Mark 1:21-28 (CEV)
Jesus and his disciples went to the town of Capernaum. Then on
the next Sabbath he went into the Jewish meeting place and started
teaching. Everyone was amazed at his teaching. He taught with
authority, and not like the teachers of the Law of Moses. Suddenly
a man with an evil spirit in him entered the meeting place and
yelled, "Jesus of Nazareth, what do you want with us? Have
you come to destroy us? I know who your are! You are God's Holy
One.
Jesus told the evil spirit, "Be quiet and come out of the
man!" The spirit shook him. Then it gave a loud shout and
left.
Everyone was completely surprised and kept saying to each other,
"What is this? It must be some new kind of powerful teaching!
Even the evil spirits obey him." News about Jesus quickly
spread all over Galilee.
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1.
What gives authority? A tangential way of coming at that is through
the issue of time. Authority simultaneously connects with past
teachings, present realities, and future hopes. Mostly we work
on bringing the present into correlation with the past. The kind
of authority described here also works out of a vision of the
future breaking in upon the present. The future is to be the Realm
of GOD, where healing is accomplished. In this way we test not
only against that which has been revealed but against what needs
to be revealed. In this way we change the present to be in accord
with a new heaven and earth as differentiated from the visions
of a previous time.
2.
Cleansing from evil is never as easy as saying, "I wish I
were better." It is a life-wrenching task. It is a time equivalent
to the alcoholic who finally recognizes their alcoholism is in
charge of their life, not them self. We all have resistances.
Our Baptismal ritual begins with two deep questions about this:
A. "Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject
the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin?"
B. "Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to
resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they
present themselves?"
Our intention to reject evil needs freedom and power to fulfill
it.
3.
Indeed! What kind of teaching is this? It is not an easy teaching.
It is life-transformative. It moves us from what has been to what
will be. We find ourselves moved to a new way of thinking and
living that operates in a way entirely different than the way
most of the world works. We become surprising people. So go ahead,
surprise someone by living out of the future, not the past --
living out of the way you understand GOD prefers for you, not
what others want from you in controlling ways.