Sermon:  "Teaching By Healing"
Date:   January 29, 2012
Minister:  The Rev. Susan Bjork

Lesson:  Mark 1:21-28

Compassionate God, may your healing Spirit be felt in this place and by all those in need of your peace.  Teach us to care in the ways that best serve.  Teach us also to receive the care of others and be receptive to your loving presence.  Amen.

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The story we heard this morning is the dramatic opening scene of Jesus’ public ministry in Mark.  Jesus has just called his first disciples and now he begins to take his message and mission into the public sphere. 

The primary purpose of today’s scripture lesson within the context of Mark’s gospel is to both illustrate and proclaim the authority of Jesus to embody God’s presence and reveal to the world that the Kingdom of God is at hand.  This is a major theme in the gospel of Mark.

In this story Jesus illustrates his own authority by teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath.  His first act of teaching is verbal but we aren’t told by the gospel writer what Jesus said.  Instead, we are told that the crowd in the synagogue who heard him were “astounded at his teaching” and that the teaching of Jesus was more authoritative than the teaching of the scribes. 

Now, this conflict with the scribes or this differentiation of Jesus from the scribes will carry on throughout the gospel, so you can understand why the gospel writer puts this up front.  It sets the stage for what will happen later on.

As Jesus is teaching, or perhaps just as he has finished, he is loudly interrupted by a “man with an unclean spirit.”

Interestingly enough, even though the crowd doesn’t seem to know exactly who Jesus is (though they are clearly impressed with him), Mark tells us that it is this unclean spirit who calls Jesus “the Holy One of God” and expresses fear that Jesus is the one who has the authority to cast out suffering, destroy evil, and otherwise liberate all people.

And of course, that is exactly what Jesus does next.  Jesus' second act of teaching in this story is an act of healing as he liberates this man from his affliction by rebuking and casting out this “unclean spirit.”  And again, all the people watching were amazed by this and express their awe at his authority, teaching, and ability.

Now, it should be noted that in the ancient, pre-scientific world in which this gospel was written, possession by unclean spirits, evil spirits, demons, or whatever we might call them, was often blamed for a whole host of physical and mental illnesses, personality disorders, irregular behavior, and also for marginalized peoples who were different and therefore misunderstood by their society.  So, I think we need to be a little careful with our interpretation here, as it is difficult to know very much about this man and what he may have been dealing with.

Nevertheless, in Mark’s gospel, this is Jesus’ first act of healing and it teaches not only the crowd in the synagogue, but all who hear or read this gospel, that Jesus is the Anointed One of God who both teaches and heals and has the authority to bring the good news of the Kingdom of God into the world through these acts of teaching and healing.

And this particular story focuses on healing as an act of liberation and Jesus is the liberator.

Which begs the question, what do we need to be liberated from?

We, as modern people with some scientific and medical knowledge, may or may not believe in a very literal understanding of possession by unclean spirits.  However, I think we ought to ponder the metaphor a little more and ask the question, what possesses us?

Have we ever been possessed by anger or resentment?  Have we ever felt trapped by self-doubt or unable to let go of someone else’s critique of us?  Do we need to be liberated from a chip on our shoulder or our own judgment of another?  Do we need liberation from our deepest fears?

What ails you?  How do you need to be healed?  From what do you need to be liberated?

Our answers to those questions may vary, but this story in Mark gives us hope by illustrating through Jesus’ own act of healing, that God liberates.

And I like this notion of healing-as-liberation because I’m afraid too often we talk about healing in only physical terms. 

And I’m not sure it is always helpful to read the biblical stories about miraculous healings and leave them at only the physical level because that may leave us feeling left out and discouraged, asking ourselves, “if God cared enough to physically heal them, why not me?” 

Instead, we ought to remember that these stories are almost always not only about physical healing, but about spiritual healing as well.

And we probably need to remind ourselves that Jesus himself did not escape physical suffering.  In fact, quite the opposite is true; Jesus endured great suffering in his life.  And because of that, I believe that God’s compassion for our experiences is beyond our understanding.

Another reason to think of healing as liberation is that our society sometimes makes inaccurate assumptions about who needs to be physically healed and how they ought to be healed. 

For example, does someone with a physical or developmental disability need to be physically healed or is true liberation experienced when they are accepted, welcomed, and affirmed for who they are?

And while I’m all for a healthy, active lifestyle, let’s face it, we live in a culture that is generally obsessed with being young and thin, wants us to always be energetic and extroverted, and expects us to be product-driven and task-oriented. 

How then are we perceived when we don’t fit this mold for one reason or another?

Unfortunately, I don’t think our society always does a very good job of affirming people for just being their authentic, whole, liberated selves. 

And, though I confess that I enjoy watching Project Runway as much as the next person, I am concerned that we as a culture have a very narrow and unhealthy understanding of physical beauty.

Did you know that a fashion designer recently critiqued host Heidi Klum’s capability to run the show, saying that she has always been too heavy and too busty to be a runway model?

Did you know that the average woman is 5’4” tall and weighs 140 pounds versus the average model who is 5’11” tall and weighs 117 pounds?

Did you know that according to recent studies 42% of girls ages 7-9 want to be thinner and over 80% of 10 year-olds are afraid of getting fat?

Did you know that over 50% of teen girls and 33% of teen boys use unhealthy strategies that may develop into eating disorders to try to control their weight, including purging or limiting food intake?

These are some of the things I ponder sometimes when I consider how to best do ministry with our young people.  And I’m concerned that our world doesn’t see people as whole and healthy unless they look and act a certain way.

But the truth is this: each and every one of you is a whole and beloved child of God, just as you are, right here in this moment.  Your differences are beautiful.  And even when you are dealing with illness, or worry, or grief, or something else that God already knows is on your heart, you are whole and you are loved. 

And God’s liberating Spirit is present to help all of us find release from that which binds us.

So what then, does true, spiritually-grounded, healing-as-liberation look like?

Well, for one, I think it looks like honesty, authenticity, and self-acceptance.

And if God is the liberator of all that binds us, how do we as individual Christians and as a community of faith partner with God in proclaiming liberation?

Well, I think affirmation, acceptance, and welcome of others is one way.

I think praying for those who are ill, dealing with loss, or walking through some other valley we may not even know about is another way.

I think listening to and validating another person’s experiences and emotions, whether they are mourning or relieved, fearful or hopeful, sad or joyous… that is another way.

I think those simple acts of compassion like chicken soup, a get well card, a phone call, or a visit is yet another way.

I think caring for those around us, including those whom we don’t know personally and those whom society has pushed to the margins is yet another way.

And I think that taking care of ourselves in the ways we need to so we can give our best to the world and accepting the care others bring to us are also important.

All of these things we do, and others too, work together to bring hope and healing into the world, even during the tough times.

In other words, part of being the church is to proclaim in word and deed that God’s liberating, healing, and compassionate Spirit is present here in our midst, embracing us just as we are, and accompanying us wherever we go on this life’s journey and into the next.

Amen.