Our Pesky Superstitions
(Free Version)- Year B; Deuteronomy 18:15-20; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13; Mark 1:21-28
James Ensor (Belgian, 1860–1949), Christ Exorcising the Evil Spirit, 1921. Color lithograph from the portfolio Scènes de la vie du Christ (Scenes from the Life of Christ).
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This week, we continue in the season of Epiphany, a season of “glory,” of Jesus revealed for who he is to people from all different walks of life. At each step of the journey, we too, the hearers, are drawn in; our expectations and assumptions are challenged.
There are several themes that the lectionary compilers may have in mind as these readings are drawn together. At least two spring to mind. First, there is the theme of authority. Specifically: where does Jesus’ authority come from? How does God exercise God’s authority?
Second, and connected with the first, is the theme of trusting in God’s authority. If we trust God’s authority, what is our relationship to be with the other authorities in our world? How do we know what is true?
Our Old Testament reading (Deuteronomy 18:15-20) is part of Moses’ instructions to the people of God against the use of a variety of different kinds of magic: witchcraft, spells, potions, etc. In contrast to the pagan worship of the day, God’s people are not to consult these things to determine God’s will. These magical practices are ways of grasping for control, of attempting to shape the gods for what we want them to do and who we want them to be. God’s people are not called to control, but to dependency. God’s people are to trust God to raise up prophets, and they are to obey his voice.
As modern people, we may think that such instructions do not speak to us today. We are enlightened! We do not look for signs of God’s voice in animal entrails or sacrifice our children to the gods. But we still grasp for control. We still look to our investments for ultimate security, our reputations for validation and self-worth, and our political candidates for peace (to name just a few idols). At the end of the day, these things are all relationally hollow. They give a sense of control, but they are illusions. In the midst of all of our counterfeit worship, God still speaks to his people. We are invited to stop our scurrying and listen for his voice.
Our epistle reading (1 Corinthians 8:1-13) speaks to what would continue to be a major conflict in he early church: issues related to food. Should Christians eat meat that had previously sacrificed to idols? Or not? This is another reading that modern hearers may dismiss out of hand. How is this possibly speaking to the church today? But we are continually faced with questions of discernment, of how we relate to the world around us.
Some Christians retreat from society altogether; some Christians blend in with everyone else. Most are somewhere in-between. Paul does not give a clear answer on the issue of idol-meat and we are not always given clear answers on all issues that we will face. Discernment is a necessary part of the Christian life. Am I seeking to be formed in the way of Jesus in all that I do? Have my cultural affiliations become idols? And, in this way, are they counter-formative? Are they consistent to allegiance to Jesus Christ? Are they consistent with the love of Christ?
Part of the reason why the church is consistently divided is because we often value knowledge over love. We want to be right. We want to look down our noses on others who we think are wrong. This is true with some Bible-thumping fundamentalists, who reject all who disagree with their interpretation, as well as with some liberals who proclaim truth to power, but end up dehumanizing those who disagree with their position.
The Church at Corinth was separating themselves by social class. They didn’t do this overtly, but subtly. They convinced themselves it was over philosophy: are we free to eat this meat or not? But, it was deeper. How quick are we to judge others and to separate? Perhaps over personality differences, worship practices, etc. Love is what compels us to come to the table even in the mist of our differences. Paul draws the church’s attention back to love over knowledge.
In our gospel reading (Mark 1:21-28), the people are amazed because Jesus taught them as one who had authority. This is not a way of saying that Jesus had a forceful personality or was particularly confident. It means that Jesus went beyond appealing to the authority of Moses and the law, to interpreting the will of God.
His authority is revealed not only in his teaching, but in his expelling an impure spirit. Consistent with Moses’ commands in our Old Testament reading, Jesus does not use incantations, potions, or any other means of exorcism. His speaking carries the authority over the spirit. It is these kinds of things that reveal Jesus as the prophet who has God’s words in his mouth.
This whole event happens among the assembly at the synagogue. In freeing the man with the unclean spirit, Jesus reconciles him to the community. Jesus’ authority is always loving, always liberating, always reconciling.
May we lay down our means of controlling our lives and the world and listen for his voice, trusting his loving authority. May we embrace a glorious loss of control, knowing that God always desires our good. May we recognize the idols that try to suck us in and may we wrestle well. May we look out for our brothers and sisters who also struggle choosing to lay down our lives for them. May we always seek love before we seek knowledge. And may all of this lead us to the table to eat together.