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Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany January 29, 2006 Mark 1:21-28 The Chiastic form of the Mark 1:21-28: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Worship—Jesus on the move. Jesus Teaching with Authority (astonishment). Cry—man with an unclean spirit. An Encounter with the Holy One of God. Cry—unclean spirit. Jesus Teaching with Authority (amazement) Evangelism—Jesus on the move. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Jesus’ movement. First, he comes into the synagogue. He enters with his disciples (for worship Then, at the end, “his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.” Hopefully this is what happens here at Pella Lutheran Church also: at least that is our prayer; that Christ joins us here for our worship, and when it is all said and done, the Holy Spirit will move among us and reach out to people in the surrounding region of Sidney through us. 2. Jesus teaching with authority (vss. 22 and 27). Again, hopefully this is what happens here today. The people recognized in Jesus a teaching which was so sound…so true…that they were amazed and astonished. Hopefully, you will encounter this truth for yourself. 3. Crying of a man/unclean spirit. Before we get to the center of the Chiasm, the meat of the Gospel reading, we see that it is surrounded by the cry of a man with an unclean spirit…I think this literary device speaks for itself. There is something considered disruptive or painful to an unclean spirit. 4. And finally we get to an Encounter with the Holy one of God (24/25). In the center of this ancient scripture reading is a conversation. Perhaps you know someone who is having a similar conversation asking, “What does Jesus of Nazareth have to do with me?”… And then another question…this one is almost an accusation…”Have you come to destroy us?”… Notice Jesus’ response…he doesn’t answer with words…rather, he casts out the unclean spirit. Listening to God—“Think about everything that has happened.” Brothers and sisters, there is a very important message (if you read between the lines, literally). It seems to me that Jesus answer to the question is not yes or no, but “yes and no.” We do not always understand that sometimes in order to be cleansed, we first need to be destroyed (Just like cleaning your closet). This, is the power of Death and resurrection that Jesus brings into our lives through baptism. Brothers and sisters, God (in a sense) is actually out to destroy you! For, he wants to cleanse you, change you, and make you into something other than what you already are. And this knew someone is still you, but getting there is as beyond your control as the future itself. And only God knows what that future of yours looks like. And this is what we find in Jesus Christ, and in our baptism into Christ’s family…the promise of a future…a future where we are no longer are removed from God by the sins that distract us.
May you encounter
today the Holy One of God.
Joshua W. Magyar, Pella Lutheran Church 418 W. Main Street Sidney, MT 59270
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