Calling Out Unclean Spirits The First Presbyterian Church in Springfield Rev. James K. Poinsett, Pastor January 29, 2012 Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

1Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. 2Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them. 3Full of honor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever. 4He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds; the LORD is gracious and merciful. 5He provides food for those who fear him; he is ever mindful of his covenant. 6He has shown his people the power of his works, in giving them the heritage of the nations. 7The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy. 8They are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness. 9He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name. 10The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever. Psalm 111 (NRSV)

21They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. 22They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24and 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.” 25But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27They 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.” 28At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee. Mark 1:21-28 (NRSV)

If it is January, it must be low-grade horror movie season. And what makes for a better horror movie than an exorcism? Exorcisms seem provide an endless source of material for Hollywood. Last January, an exorcism movie called “The Rite” earned some $30 million. And since “The Rite” cashed in last year, this year’s entry, “The Devil Inside” has made over $51 million since its release on January 6.

If horror movies are your thing, exorcism movies seem to have it all. There are bodies contorting into pretzels and climbing walls and flinging themselves across rooms. There is all manner of blood-curling cursing in languages familiar and foreign. And, of course, there is the obligatory convulsing, head spinning, and vomiting. These movies are usually shocking only in their stupidity. “Making you puke for all the wrong reasons,” says Peter Travers, film critic for Rolling Stone magazine.

And each January, if you are a pastor, these movies always bring up the same dreaded questions. Is there really such thing as devils? Are people really possessed by demons? Have you ever done an exorcism?

I usually respond with some bumbling kind of explanation that Presbyterians are not usually in the practice of casting out demons. Or, I tell them that Protestant pastors are not really given that kind of power to heal. Then I make some feeble book recommendation, which seems to be the only real power that comes with this job.

So perhaps you might understand my discomfort with our scripture reading this morning. Mark tells us the story of Jesus casting out an unclean spirit – exorcising a demon. According to Mark, this is the first major act of Jesus’ ministry. Chronologically, this story immediately follows Jesus’ baptism, his announcement that the “kingdom of God is at hand,” and his calling of the first disciples.

We find Jesus going into the synagogue to teach. There a man “with an unclean spirit” interrupts to challenge Jesus as one who has come “to destroy.” Then Jesus calls the spirit out of the man. And all who are present are amazed at Jesus’ authority.

Of the 18 miracles recorded in Mark, 13 have to do with healing, and four of the 13 are exorcisms. I don’t know about you, but if there is one kind of biblical story I have a hard time relating to, it’s got to be stories like this. Miracles stories are hard enough in our modern, scientific age. But at least we have experience with longing for healing or a desire to feed those who are hungry. But what about demon possession and exorcisms? This is simply beyond most of our experience and imagination, or if we do have any imagination about exorcism, it’s been unhelpfully shaped by movies like “The Rite” or “The Devil Inside.”

For many of us it is hard to understand what the Scriptures mean by unclean spirits and demons. It is easy for us to brush them off as mental illness or some sort of epilepsy. It is easy to project our modern understanding of the causes and remedies of illness, both physical and emotional, upon these stories.

But the worldview of the people in Mark’s time was quite different. Divine intervention into human life was a common belief. “Unclean spirit” was a common expression that denotes demon possession, and is understood to contrast with God’s clean and holy nature. So unlike our Hollywood-fed images of demons causing heads to spin, Mark and his readers understood demons and demon possession more broadly – as those forces that are diametrically opposed to God’s will.

And that is what makes Jesus’ exorcism here so powerful. Jesus, baptized with the Holy Spirit, now comes to proclaim and demonstrate the kingdom of God on earth. Jesus does this by very publically opposing the forces of evil, which would rob the children of God of all that God hope and intends for them.

Jesus has broken the hold of the unclean spirit that enslaved this man. Jesus will continue to do this for others throughout his ministry. And I believe that Jesus is still in the business of freeing people from those powers, which seek to rob people of all God intends for them.

If we look at the story this way, perhaps the idea of unclean spirits is not quite as foreign as we originally thought. What might our list modern unclean spirits or demons that possess us include? Are there not behaviors exhibited today that qualify as being possessed by unclean spirits? What are those things we do that curse, rather than bless, such as anger, jealousy, and envy? Who here hasn’t on occasion been possessed by anger at a colleague of family member that has led you to say and do things you regret? Are there those among us that have been possessed by jealousy and envy that lead you to use your resources in way you regret?

And that’s just the beginning. Some unclean spirits are even greater and more damaging: addictions to alcohol, drugs, gambling, which tear down so many lives. Or maybe it’s a hidden but pervasive prejudice that keeps people captive, causing them to sow hate instead of love. And of course, there are the society approved unclean spirits that possess people: workaholism, affluenza, and greed.

The list could go on and on. But the good news is this: whether in the first century world of a healing in a synagogue or in our gathering of worship today, the reign and rule of God’s power and authority has come in Jesus Christ. “The Holy One of God” breaks into our world of unclean spirits to free us to live in his authority to exorcize the powers of this age.

Mark tells us that Jesus’ disciples were astounded and amazed by Jesus’ teaching. For Jesus taught as one having authority. They do not focus on demons, or on what the demons have to say, or how Jesus effectively exorcises them. They are amazed by this new teacher who has the power to call out unclean spirits.

Notice, Mark never records what Jesus is teaching. Yes, Jesus is a teacher. But in Mark, the emphasis is on what the teacher does, more than on any carefully worded sermon. The authority is not only in the teaching, but in the action. The term “authority” is understood in the strong sense of the “divine power.” This divine power is the same power that Jesus will transmit to the disciples to send them to preach and cast out demons (see Mark 3:14-15). And, indeed, Chapter 6 tells us that the disciples were sent out in pairs and cast out many demons and cured the sick (see Mark 6:12-13).

Friends, as Christ’s disciples, I dare to say that is our calling too. Remember the affirmation of our baptismal vows a few weeks ago? In the third and fourth vows, we pledged to be Christ’s disciples. And in the very first vow, we pledge, “to trust in God’s gracious mercy, to turn from the ways of sin, and to renounce evil and its power in the world.” We agree to renounce evil and all that is opposed to God’s will.

In our baptism, through God’s Holy Spirit, we are called to cast out the unclean spirits in our world. We are to use the authority given in God’s gracious mercy to speak a word that quiets the illnesses and afflictions, addictions and struggles that possess people today. We are to proclaim the reign of God with not only words, but with action. We are to continue Christ’s business freeing people from the demons and unclean spirits, believing that God’s desire is for whole people with whole lives, free from such afflictions.

Is it as dramatic as the story from Mark? Actually, sometimes it is.

Along with several of you, I attended the Christmas party at Holy Temple. The place was crammed with children sharing a meal and playing games. The highlight of the day was watching Paula Nolte play Mrs. Claus and hand out presents to all the kids.

While watching Paula do that, I got a chance to speak with Wallace, who is the son of the former minister at Holy Temple. Wallace started telling me about the challenges the children had living in that neighborhood. He told me about the poverty that surrounded them, the drug dealers on the corner who were actively trying to recruit young kids to work for them. He described corrosive effects of drugs and guns and violence had on the area.

But he also shared with me the ways in which Holy Temple was providing a safe harbor for the kids involved. How he arranged an understanding with the drug dealers to leave the Holy Temple children alone. “Sometimes the only way is to believe that Jesus will help you to take evil head on and to push it as far back as you can,” Wallace told me. “A lot of prayer, and a lot of work, and support from people like your church helps us do that.” Even the unclean spirits obey.

Jesus calls us to exorcise demons – in every form they take. As disciples, we are called to use the authority given by Christ to challenge the unclean spirits of today and the systems and structures that allow for such demons and evil to exist.

When we work with groups like Holy Temple, Urban Resource Development, and the Germantown Crisis Ministry, we are calling out the unclean spirits that tear down rather than build up. When we host Interfaith Hospitality Network or work with Philabundance, we are calling out the evil spirits that disparage rather than encourage. When we work with the Graterford Prison, we are calling out the evil spirits that sow hate rather than promote love. When we open our doors to AA, we are calling out the evil spirits that curse rather than bless. When we venture down to Logan Circle to share communion and coffee with homeless women and men, we are calling out the evil spirits that seek to split us apart rather than draw us together.

God is present and acts in the world to silence the demons. God is at work in our words and in our actions to liberate people from unclean spirits in astonishing and amazing ways. There are no convulsing bodies or spinning heads. But there is healing: brokenness repaired, hope restored, dignity gained, freedom given, lives transformed and new life created. Even the demons say, “I know who you are, you are disciples of the Holy One of God!” Amen.