Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and 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." But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!"

-Mark 1:23-25

In Mark's gospel, almost no one recognizes Jesus for who he is. Once he's hanging on the cross, a Roman centurion says, "Truly this man was God's Son!" (Mark 15:39). But until that point, no human being gets it. Through most of the gospel, the ones to recognize Jesus are the 'unclean spirits.' They know who he is, and they fear him. Then, Jesus rebukes them, and they're gone.

We're left with The Big Question: what does this have to do with me? I'm going to hazard a guess that most of you in the Wesley Foundation don't think of demons and unclean spirits on a regular basis. So how does this story from Mark's gospel speak to us in our life of faith, here in Tempe in 2006?

Well, what do we know about this spirit? We know that if a person were believed to have an unclean spirit, they would have been treated differently, and perhaps isolated. An unclean spirit would keep a person from participating in the community. An unclean spirit would drive a person out of their mind, leaving them unable to think clearly and to speak for themselves.

What really strikes me about the unclean spirit in this story is its fear. It sees Jesus coming. It knows who Jesus is, and it reacts with great fear: 'have you come to destroy us?' This unclean spirit -- whatever it is -- knows that Jesus will not accept it. Jesus will not allow it to continue to torment this individual. Throughout Mark’s gospel, Jesus takes time to cast out unclean spirits, and to heal those with diseases (like leprosy) that force people into lives of marginalization and isolation.

This tells me that Jesus wants individuals to be healthy and whole in every way possible: mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually. Jesus wants individuals to be able to have meaningful connections with other people in the community. Jesus wants to see each person participating in the kingdom of God, and he will use his power to get rid of anything that makes it hard for us to do that. Jesus isn't just flaunting his powers; he's doing what he can to restore us to be the people that God intended us to be.

After several years of ministry, I have made a rather curious observation. When I ask people, "how is God at work in your life?," they don't know how to respond. People often are unsure of where to point to God's grace. But when I ask about the parts of people's lives that need grace, that need change and healing and restoration, I get a long list. We can recognize the ways that we're broken, and this is often far easier than recognizing the ways that God is putting the pieces back together.

Here's my hypothesis: just like it's the unclean spirits (and not the people) who recognize Jesus, it's often the brokenness in us that knows that Jesus wants something very different. But it's also that part of us that reacts with fear: you don't want me to change, do you? (Imagine our pettiness, our lack of confidence, our impatience speaking: "Have you come to destroy us?") William Sloane Coffin, who served as chaplain at Yale, once noted that it's a lot easier to feel guilty than responsible. Sometimes, we'd rather feel badly about part of ourselves than actually do the work of changing. But in the end, taking part in the Kingdom of God means letting go of the brokenness. Sharing in the Christian faith means daring to believe that God can help us, forgive us, strengthen us, and cast out the parts of us that keep us from God and other people. It takes our whole lives, but it's what we're called to do.

One of my seminary professors, Thomas Troeger, wrote a wonderful hymn about all of this. I'd like to share it with you.

"Silence, frenzied, unclean spirit!" called God's healing Holy One.
"Cease your ranting! Flesh can't bear it; flee as night before the sun."
At Christ's words the demon trembled, from its victim madly rushed,
while the crowd that was assembled stood in wonder, stunned and hushed.

Lord, the demons still are thriving in the gray cells of the mind:
tyrant voices, shrill and driving, twisted thoughts that grip and bind,
doubts that stir the heart to panic, fears distorting reason's sight,
guilt that makes our loving frantic, dreams that cloud the soul with fright.

Silence, Lord, the unclean spirit in our mind and in our heart;
speak your word that when we hear it, all our demons shall depart.
Clear our thought and calm our feeling; still the fractured, warring soul.
By the power of your healing make us faithful, true, and whole.

-Thomas H. Troeger, 1984

May God's wholeness be at work in all of you. May it drive out the fears and brokenness that makes it hard to find grace from God, love with one another, and peace within yourselves.