Epiphany 5
Preaching
Preaching Mark's Gospel
A Narrative Approach
We note again that this passage is one of four healing stories which inaugurate Jesus' ministry. Healing and exorcism play a role in Mark's Gospel that is far greater than either our customary summarizing of the themes of Mark's Gospel or our theologizing about the nature of Jesus' ministry. Healing and exorcism stories do not translate well into our modern or postmodern world. Rudolf Bultmann once tried to rid the Bible of these stories once and for all with his program of demythologizing. The fact is, however, that people do still get sick. The fact is that our lives are thwarted by powers and forces over which we seem to have no control. Let us, therefore, not let these stories die a premature death! There is probably more power in the simple re-telling of these stories than we can rationally realize!
Jesus' first healing in Capernaum (1:21-28) was the healing of a man with an unclean spirit. The first of the stories in this pericope is the healing of a woman, Simon's mother-in-law. This pattern replays itself in Mark 5 when Jesus goes to the other side of the sea into the country of the Gerasenes. Mark 5 relays the story of the healing of a man possessed by an unclean spirit followed by stories of the healing of a woman with a flow of blood and a girl who was at the point of death. This coupling of stories about men and women seems to be an intentional pattern in Mark.
Many healings are reported in these verses. We ought to remember that in the world view of Jesus' time illness was thought to be caused by some form of evil or evil spirit. Healing poses no problem for Jesus as yet. When he heals in the synagogue on the sabbath, however, plots to destroy him arise (Mark 3:1-6).
The theme of silence arises again in v. 34. Jesus would not permit those who know him, the demons, to speak about him. (See also 3:12.) Those who know Jesus are not allowed to speak. Others are not intended to know until his journey comes to an end. Jesus does finally begin to teach the disciples who he is. In Mark 8:31-32; 9:30-31; and 10:32-34 Jesus reveals to the disciples that his identity is bound up with his sufferings, passion and death at the hands of the chief priests and scribes. When the suffering is complete, when he has been buried in the tomb, then, after three days, he will rise again. Only then, at the end of the journey, will his full identity be known.
In Mark's telling of the story, therefore, it is only at the end that people will know who Jesus really is. The unnamed woman at Simon's house in Bethany seems to know! She pours an alabaster jar of ointment over his head. Jesus interprets her action as anointing for his burial. This wonderful and important story of the unnamed woman is omitted in the lectionary cycle. It only appears on the Sunday of the Passion as part of the lengthy text: Mark 14:1„15:47.
So a woman knows who Jesus is. So does a man, an unlikely man, a Roman Centurion: 15:39. Mark turns expectations upside down with these stories of those who know. The disciples surely don't know. The women at the tomb flee in fear. But there is a woman with no name and a Roman Centurion who penetrate the mystery and bear witness for us. Strange models of faith these! One never knows just where faith is liable to burst into bloom. It would be important at some point in the Markan year to tell the stories of this woman and this man as paradigms of the faithful. There might be great comfort for our common folk in hearing of the very common ones who seem to be the first to know!
In 1:35-38 we have the first dispute between Jesus and his disciples. They have different agendas. The disciples want Jesus to return to yesterday's crowd. Jesus protests. He is on a journey, a journey the disciples cannot comprehend. He wills to move on to the next towns; his eye is on the future. We get a preview here of the disputes and misunderstandings between Jesus and his disciples that are present throughout Mark's Gospel.
Jesus does head for new towns throughout Galilee where he preaches and casts out demons. We come again to the matter of exorcism. Exorcisms are mentioned three times in Mark 1. (See Mark 1:25, 34, 39.) This topic recurs regularly throughout Mark's story. Jesus empowers his disciples to join him in the ministry of exorcism: 3:15; 6:7, 13. As indicated earlier, this ministry of Jesus in relation to demons is most assuredly part of the battle being waged by the in-breaking reign of God (which Jesus has announced, 1:15) and the principalities and powers of the present darkness.
In a story told in Mark 3:20-30 the scribes from Jerusalem challenge Jesus' authority to cast out demons. They are clearly aware that if Jesus has such power it would be a sign of his divine origin. They argue, therefore, that "ƒ He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons" (Mark 3:22). The Jerusalem scribes deem it important to challenge Jesus on this point. Everyone knows what is at stake here! The source of Jesus' authority and identity is at stake. Jesus defends his authority over evil spirits. "How can Satan cast out Satan?" he asks. "If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand" (Mark 3:23-24). This story is appointed for the Fourth Sunday of Pentecost.
In chapter 5:1-20 a story is told about a Gerasene demoniac. This story is not in the Markan lectionary cycle. Mark 7:24-30 tells of Jesus' encounter with a Greek woman, a Syrophoenician, whose daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit. This story is designated for the Seventeenth Sunday of Pentecost. It is the only story in Mark's Gospel where Jesus gets a theology lesson! The upshot of the story is that Jesus' power over unclean spirits is a power meant for Jews and Gentiles alike.
In Mark 9:14-29, a story not in the lectionary, Jesus casts out a dumb spirit. His "faithless disciples" had tried to exorcise this demon but they could not. The father of the boy with the dumb spirit takes his case to Jesus, saying, " 'ƒ if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us.' Jesus said to him, 'If you are able! „ All things can be done for the one who believes.' Immediately the father of the child cried out, 'I believe; help my unbelief' " (Mark 9:22-24). Jesus spoke a word (!) and the boy was healed.
In Mark 9:28-31 we hear the disciples complain to Jesus that they saw a man, obviously a man they did not know, casting out a demon in Jesus' name. The disciples forbade the man to continue his practice but Jesus said, "Do not stop him, for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me" (Mark 9:39). This story appears in the lectionary on the Twentieth Sunday of Pentecost.
One more story of Jesus and the powers of darkness might be that part of the story of his crucifixion where we hear that the sky turned black at midday (Mark 15:33). Is this Satan's last burst of darkness? Is this a symbol of Jesus' struggle with the Ruler of Darkness? Will the Son of God, who promised to bring God's reign of light and life, be snuffed out in darkness and death? We must turn to the story of Easter dawn in the next chapter, Mark 16:1-8, to discover that the light has truly shined in the darkness! The powers of darkness have been vanquished once and for all!
Homiletical Directions
In Mark's story it is the demons who seem to know who Jesus is. They are commanded to be silent. We would expect that the disciples would be those who know. They are silent except for Peter's confession which is quickly followed by a rebuke of Jesus (Mark 8:29, 33). There is a strange irony here that is further compounded by the fact that it is an unnamed woman and a Roman Centurion who do know Jesus' identity. This aspect of Mark's story ought to be addressed sometime during this Church Year. These stories could well be told in a way that would lead to the question of our knowing.
The stories in the first chapter of Mark display in a rather dramatic way the entrance of the One who has ripped open the heavens to dwell among us. "The time is fulfilled," Jesus says. "The kingdom of God has come near." Jesus then proceeds to engage in a series of acts of ministry, the center of which appears to be his exorcising activity. The kingdom of God comes and a battle with demons is engaged! This might be a good place in the lectionary year to bring these stories to light. Story One can tell the stories in this pericope with a glance back at last week's pericope to focus attention on the divine encounter with evil.
Stories Two and Three could be those other stories in the Gospel of Mark which are not in the Cycle B lectionary and which carry out this theme of Jesus' engagement with the powers. Mark 5:1-20 is the story of the Gerasene demoniac. At the heart of this story stands Jesus' word of proclamation: "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!" Tell this story in a way that features Jesus' word as a climax.
Mark 9:14-29 is the other story of Jesus' engagement with the powers that is not in the Cycle B lectionary. Again the story could be told in such a way that Jesus' proclamatory word is the focus: "You spirit that keeps this boy from speaking and hearing, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again!"
Story Four would move to the darkness at high noon on the day of Jesus' crucifixion: Mark 15:33-34. Jesus cries out in the midst of the darkness, wondering aloud if God, too, has forsaken him. The question becomes acute. Is this the time of fulfillment? Has the Kingdom of God really come near? Or has something gone terribly wrong?
The Easter story in Mark 16 is needed to enlighten this darkness. "He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him" (Mark 16:6). The author of the book of Colossians summarizes the meaning of the Jesus story in relation to the powers of evil in these words: "He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it" (Colossians 2:15). This can be turned into first person, present tense language as a climax of this sermon. The Jesus of these Markan stories finally says to us:
"I have disarmed the rulers and authorities of this time and place."
"I have made a public example of the powers of darkness."
"I have triumphed over all the forces of the night which seek to hold your lives in darkness."
"The time is fulfilled. I have brought the kingdom near for you. Live boldly in the light of Easter's new day." Amen.
Jesus' first healing in Capernaum (1:21-28) was the healing of a man with an unclean spirit. The first of the stories in this pericope is the healing of a woman, Simon's mother-in-law. This pattern replays itself in Mark 5 when Jesus goes to the other side of the sea into the country of the Gerasenes. Mark 5 relays the story of the healing of a man possessed by an unclean spirit followed by stories of the healing of a woman with a flow of blood and a girl who was at the point of death. This coupling of stories about men and women seems to be an intentional pattern in Mark.
Many healings are reported in these verses. We ought to remember that in the world view of Jesus' time illness was thought to be caused by some form of evil or evil spirit. Healing poses no problem for Jesus as yet. When he heals in the synagogue on the sabbath, however, plots to destroy him arise (Mark 3:1-6).
The theme of silence arises again in v. 34. Jesus would not permit those who know him, the demons, to speak about him. (See also 3:12.) Those who know Jesus are not allowed to speak. Others are not intended to know until his journey comes to an end. Jesus does finally begin to teach the disciples who he is. In Mark 8:31-32; 9:30-31; and 10:32-34 Jesus reveals to the disciples that his identity is bound up with his sufferings, passion and death at the hands of the chief priests and scribes. When the suffering is complete, when he has been buried in the tomb, then, after three days, he will rise again. Only then, at the end of the journey, will his full identity be known.
In Mark's telling of the story, therefore, it is only at the end that people will know who Jesus really is. The unnamed woman at Simon's house in Bethany seems to know! She pours an alabaster jar of ointment over his head. Jesus interprets her action as anointing for his burial. This wonderful and important story of the unnamed woman is omitted in the lectionary cycle. It only appears on the Sunday of the Passion as part of the lengthy text: Mark 14:1„15:47.
So a woman knows who Jesus is. So does a man, an unlikely man, a Roman Centurion: 15:39. Mark turns expectations upside down with these stories of those who know. The disciples surely don't know. The women at the tomb flee in fear. But there is a woman with no name and a Roman Centurion who penetrate the mystery and bear witness for us. Strange models of faith these! One never knows just where faith is liable to burst into bloom. It would be important at some point in the Markan year to tell the stories of this woman and this man as paradigms of the faithful. There might be great comfort for our common folk in hearing of the very common ones who seem to be the first to know!
In 1:35-38 we have the first dispute between Jesus and his disciples. They have different agendas. The disciples want Jesus to return to yesterday's crowd. Jesus protests. He is on a journey, a journey the disciples cannot comprehend. He wills to move on to the next towns; his eye is on the future. We get a preview here of the disputes and misunderstandings between Jesus and his disciples that are present throughout Mark's Gospel.
Jesus does head for new towns throughout Galilee where he preaches and casts out demons. We come again to the matter of exorcism. Exorcisms are mentioned three times in Mark 1. (See Mark 1:25, 34, 39.) This topic recurs regularly throughout Mark's story. Jesus empowers his disciples to join him in the ministry of exorcism: 3:15; 6:7, 13. As indicated earlier, this ministry of Jesus in relation to demons is most assuredly part of the battle being waged by the in-breaking reign of God (which Jesus has announced, 1:15) and the principalities and powers of the present darkness.
In a story told in Mark 3:20-30 the scribes from Jerusalem challenge Jesus' authority to cast out demons. They are clearly aware that if Jesus has such power it would be a sign of his divine origin. They argue, therefore, that "ƒ He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons" (Mark 3:22). The Jerusalem scribes deem it important to challenge Jesus on this point. Everyone knows what is at stake here! The source of Jesus' authority and identity is at stake. Jesus defends his authority over evil spirits. "How can Satan cast out Satan?" he asks. "If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand" (Mark 3:23-24). This story is appointed for the Fourth Sunday of Pentecost.
In chapter 5:1-20 a story is told about a Gerasene demoniac. This story is not in the Markan lectionary cycle. Mark 7:24-30 tells of Jesus' encounter with a Greek woman, a Syrophoenician, whose daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit. This story is designated for the Seventeenth Sunday of Pentecost. It is the only story in Mark's Gospel where Jesus gets a theology lesson! The upshot of the story is that Jesus' power over unclean spirits is a power meant for Jews and Gentiles alike.
In Mark 9:14-29, a story not in the lectionary, Jesus casts out a dumb spirit. His "faithless disciples" had tried to exorcise this demon but they could not. The father of the boy with the dumb spirit takes his case to Jesus, saying, " 'ƒ if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us.' Jesus said to him, 'If you are able! „ All things can be done for the one who believes.' Immediately the father of the child cried out, 'I believe; help my unbelief' " (Mark 9:22-24). Jesus spoke a word (!) and the boy was healed.
In Mark 9:28-31 we hear the disciples complain to Jesus that they saw a man, obviously a man they did not know, casting out a demon in Jesus' name. The disciples forbade the man to continue his practice but Jesus said, "Do not stop him, for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me" (Mark 9:39). This story appears in the lectionary on the Twentieth Sunday of Pentecost.
One more story of Jesus and the powers of darkness might be that part of the story of his crucifixion where we hear that the sky turned black at midday (Mark 15:33). Is this Satan's last burst of darkness? Is this a symbol of Jesus' struggle with the Ruler of Darkness? Will the Son of God, who promised to bring God's reign of light and life, be snuffed out in darkness and death? We must turn to the story of Easter dawn in the next chapter, Mark 16:1-8, to discover that the light has truly shined in the darkness! The powers of darkness have been vanquished once and for all!
Homiletical Directions
In Mark's story it is the demons who seem to know who Jesus is. They are commanded to be silent. We would expect that the disciples would be those who know. They are silent except for Peter's confession which is quickly followed by a rebuke of Jesus (Mark 8:29, 33). There is a strange irony here that is further compounded by the fact that it is an unnamed woman and a Roman Centurion who do know Jesus' identity. This aspect of Mark's story ought to be addressed sometime during this Church Year. These stories could well be told in a way that would lead to the question of our knowing.
The stories in the first chapter of Mark display in a rather dramatic way the entrance of the One who has ripped open the heavens to dwell among us. "The time is fulfilled," Jesus says. "The kingdom of God has come near." Jesus then proceeds to engage in a series of acts of ministry, the center of which appears to be his exorcising activity. The kingdom of God comes and a battle with demons is engaged! This might be a good place in the lectionary year to bring these stories to light. Story One can tell the stories in this pericope with a glance back at last week's pericope to focus attention on the divine encounter with evil.
Stories Two and Three could be those other stories in the Gospel of Mark which are not in the Cycle B lectionary and which carry out this theme of Jesus' engagement with the powers. Mark 5:1-20 is the story of the Gerasene demoniac. At the heart of this story stands Jesus' word of proclamation: "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!" Tell this story in a way that features Jesus' word as a climax.
Mark 9:14-29 is the other story of Jesus' engagement with the powers that is not in the Cycle B lectionary. Again the story could be told in such a way that Jesus' proclamatory word is the focus: "You spirit that keeps this boy from speaking and hearing, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again!"
Story Four would move to the darkness at high noon on the day of Jesus' crucifixion: Mark 15:33-34. Jesus cries out in the midst of the darkness, wondering aloud if God, too, has forsaken him. The question becomes acute. Is this the time of fulfillment? Has the Kingdom of God really come near? Or has something gone terribly wrong?
The Easter story in Mark 16 is needed to enlighten this darkness. "He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him" (Mark 16:6). The author of the book of Colossians summarizes the meaning of the Jesus story in relation to the powers of evil in these words: "He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it" (Colossians 2:15). This can be turned into first person, present tense language as a climax of this sermon. The Jesus of these Markan stories finally says to us:
"I have disarmed the rulers and authorities of this time and place."
"I have made a public example of the powers of darkness."
"I have triumphed over all the forces of the night which seek to hold your lives in darkness."
"The time is fulfilled. I have brought the kingdom near for you. Live boldly in the light of Easter's new day." Amen.
