Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, NY, January 31, 2021
Next week onto the field shall step two teams. The Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Each shall attempt to become supreme champions in the football arena. Both shall try every trick in the book to win. The gods of chance and misfortune shall play their part. Ultimately the team that makes the best plays shall win.
Back in Capernaum some 2000 years ago a different game was about to play out. On the one side are the defenders of religious tradition and orthodoxy. Their opposition comes in the form of a preacher, proclaiming that because the Kingdom of God had drawn near in His very person, things had to change.
Almost as soon as He opens His mouth comes an awareness that His teaching is coming from a different place than that of the Scribes. His presence and His message exude a freedom that the listeners had never encountered before. He is bubbling over. The plays He is making suggest a revolution.
Then comes one of those moments that sometime happens in a game. A crazy person gets onto the field. Don't you hate it when that happens? Some half-naked, placard waving individual feels that their cause is one that the rest of us really need to be informed about and it stops the whole game.
In 2012, during one of the highlights of the British sporting calendar, the historic traditional Oxford and Cambridge University Boat-Race, just as the boats were reaching the very last bend, the umpire noticed a man swimming in the River Thames directly in front of them and he had to stop the race. A representative of the Metropolitan Police noted: “They almost took his head off.” Historic Boat Race enthusiasts were just left thinking “Is nothing sacred?”
That morning in the synagogue the antagonist is described as 'a man with an unclean spirit'. Verse 24 '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.”
I am sure I do not have to tell those of you who are used to snoozing through the morning sermon that this is not what you want to hear during your morning meditation. Religion has its place. Preachers have their place. Crazy antagonists have their place. And never the twain shall meet!
Actually 'twain' only refers to two things colliding. If there are 'three' things colliding maybe it should be called a 'Thrain'. But as 'Thrain' is a character in Lord of the Rings, that makes no sense. 'What's going on here? I'm losing the script!' Which is precisely how the scribes, that morning were starting to feel about Jesus.
Why couldn't He play by the rules? Who let the crazy in? Who really were the crazies? Was it Him? Was it the deranged man? Was it us? There were some strange plays being made on that field that morning.
The religious authorities felt that the events that day were violating their sacred space. This kind of thing should not happen. Not in our synagogue. Not in our town. Who is in charge here?
Lest they had any doubt look at the next verses. “Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, "What is this? A new teaching-- with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."
This passage is not just about an individual finding healing. It is about 'Who has the authority?' It is a very threatening passage. When people start manifesting what appears to be evil, when there are crazies or antagonists about, when people start to redefine the game or make plays, we have never seen before, people are going to feel threatened.
Let us make it personal. Here is the challenge. Our lives are our sacred space. We do not want that space violated. We want to feel like we are in control. We do not want to even acknowledge that in our lives there may be dark places, there may be unsettling corners of unresolved traumas. If they even for a moment threaten to reveal themselves, we are going to shut them down, and not hear them or acknowledge them.
Jesus calls them out. Jesus exposes them. He confronts the demons. He names them. They really do not like it! "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." We put our lives under the scrutiny of divine holy light, and we know we are not going to like everything that is revealed. We want to lift our strengths, not our shortcomings. Our victories, not our defeats. Our good points, not our failings.
Pretending everything is OK does not work when it comes to God. In Matthew's gospel Jesus tells His followers "For nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.” (Matthew 10:26)
Has your computer ever had a virus? This is how viruses work. They exploit the vulnerabilities of the system. They find an area of compromise and worm their way in. Suddenly you get weird pop-ups appearing on your screen. Or worse still your whole system can be frozen up and everything on your computer, including your passwords and private information, end up in the hands of folk who you do not want anything to do with.
You can picture, what the Bible calls “sin,” as being a virus that attacks our personal system. Temptation sometimes gets the better of us. We tend to excuse it and say, 'I'm only human'. Jesus tells us, 'You are only human, and that's the problem. Human nature is very deceptive. To be delivered from something you must confront your inner demons, and that's why I'm calling them out!'
Ultimately that is the only strategy that can win the game. Until we allow God to deal with our vulnerabilities and heal the wounds we do not want to acknowledge, we live with them and they open us up to be exploited.
The first thing anybody with a problem must acknowledge is... they have a problem. Be it our diet, our finances, our temper, our impulsiveness, our avoiding something or our overindulging in something... I do not have to tell you what your vulnerabilities are... you know!
Jesus is the great playmaker. He wants our spiritual life to be strong. He wants us to know the joy of God's wholeness and healing. He calls out the demons, not to embarrass us or create a scene, but because He wants the personal sanctuaries of our lives to be free from all that would cheapen or destroy them.
There is a song that some churches I have served used to sing sometime around the Souperbowl. It was called “Drop Kick me Jesus.” Apparently former President Bill Clinton’s favorite country song. I do not even know what to comment about that, but I like it because it has this ‘prayer’ within it.
“Make me, oh, make me, Lord, more than I am, Make me a piece in Your master game plan, Free from the earthly temptation below, I've got the will, Lord, if You got the toe!”
Jesus certainly 'had the toe' back in Capernaum. He kicked the demons right out of the poor unfortunate guy who cried out for help in the middle of morning worship. Predictably, people did not like it.
Particularly those who sought to control everything and felt that they were the ones in charge. The demon cried out in anger 'I know who You are, the Holy One of God.' - a conclusion the teachers of the law and the scribes were certainly not willing to share!
Every time we involve ourselves in a time of reflection and prayer, a bible study, or a service of worship we are in a place to confront our personal demons and seek to be delivered from them The Lord's Prayer contains that simple phrase 'Deliver us from evil'; surely meaning both evil within and around our lives.
Every football, soccer, rugby, Lacrosse, basketball or other game, be it in a local school or some vast stadium, sees two teams battling it out on the field of play. One will win. One will... take second place. Life will go on. Every day of our life we face conflicts, both internal and external. Every day we are called to face structural evils, hunger, injustice, hatred.
God promises us to walk with us. Sometimes God may call out the demons. If that happens notice the results. We are called to a better place. We are called to a place of deeper peace. We become whole. We move forward.
The very thought of confronting demons and facing evil is not a comfortable one. Many of us really hate conflict. Yet change can never happen if things that hold us back and prevent us moving forward remain in place.
I recall a minister, coming to a church I attended, beginning their sermon with the phrase, “Good Morning. Are you all sitting comfortably?” The congregation settled into their seats. “That right there…” said the preacher, “Is the whole problem!”
While part of our calling is indeed to rest in the peace of God, we are also called to share that peace with those share our lives with. For that to happen it can mean asking uncomfortable questions, confronting evil, challenging long held assumptions and moving from complacency to deeper commitment.
Jesus remains the great playmaker. We follow His example. We seek to be sensitive to the leading of God’s Holy Spirit. And we take courage. For our God is a God who promises to be with us.
And to God’s name be all praise and glory. Amen.
The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.
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