This week’s gospel is from the first chapter of Mark’s gospel. Jesus is just starting out, but because Mark is an efficient story teller, a good deal has already happened. Jesus encounters his forerunner, John the Baptist, is baptized and hears a voice from heaven affirming his identity and his role. He went to the wilderness and was tempted. He returned and began to call his disciples to follow. Now, Jesus has gone into the synagogue at Capernaum and teaches. Here, he performs his first miracle, casting out an unclean spirit.
The whole notion of authority catches my mind. The people remark that Jesus taught them “as one having authority, not as the scribes,” and I have always wondered about that contrast. Were the scribes just using the teachings of others, reciting what various rabbis taught rather than their own insights? Were the scribes uncertain or unclear in what they taught? Did they confuse or bore the listeners? Whatever the shortcomings of the scribes, Jesus taught with authority, in ways that astounded the people.
The man with the unclean spirit was there in the synagogue. When Jesus casts out the unclean spirit, he does more than just silence the unwelcome voice. By casting out the spirit, Jesus is returns the man’s life. Jesus restores the man to his community, to his family, to himself.
Healing. Restoration. A new beginning. This is authority at its best. Authority to dismiss what is evil and broken. Here and throughout the gospels, Jesus used his authority in service of other people; the less powerful, ones who are easily dismissed or cast aside and then forgotten. Authority used not for himself, but in service of others.
I am grateful that this is the first miracle Mark tells. I find hope and comfort as Jesus transforms this man’s misery and isolation and restores him to his life. His authority is not limited to the teachings of the prophets and the church leaders, but to the most painful and challenging forces in our lives. The story is just beginning, and much lies ahead for Jesus and his followers, including us. This is a good way to begin.
Peace,