The woman ran up to me in a hall of the hospital, gave a quick hug, stepped back and excitedly said, “I finally feel like I am free. I finally have a life of my own!”
By outward appearances, she looked no more remarkable than any other hospital employee. She wore scrubs and sneakers. But, the fact that she was there at all was a testament to the freedom that Jesus Christ is able to provide.
In last week’s story of Jesus’ call to the disciples, where the disciples leave their nets (and yes, even a father) in order to follow Jesus, we learn that freedom in Jesus Christ sometimes means leaving something or even someone behind. But, this woman needed so much more than simply turning around and walking away from something that was holding her back in life. She had been infested with an unclean spirit. It was a spirit that went everywhere she went and robbed her of joy by whispering things like, “You aren’t good enough.” “You aren’t smart enough.” “You will fail.”
Sometimes the unclean voices infesting her head were those of her parents from years before who made it clear that they never believed in her. “You just are not the type of person who is going to make a big difference in the world,” her parents told her to her face. Who does that? That is evil.
Other days, the unclean voice in her head was that of her abusive husband who regularly screamed in a drunken state, “You can’t do anything right can you?” She put a fork the wrong direction in the dishwasher to deserve that one.
This unclean spirit of empty self-worth left her in a place in life where, when her husband left her for another woman, she did not even know how to do the simplest of things like writing a check. She was a grown woman who did not know how to pump gas. The unclean spirit had rendered her helpless.
This woman needed something much more than simply leaving something behind in order to find freedom in Jesus Christ. She needed an exorcism. She needed these insidious voices of helplessness, spawned by evil, to be replaced with words of hope found in the kingdom of God.
In the movies we see unclean spirits depicted as demons flying around that infest anyone walking along the sidewalk. But, in the ancient world it was thought that demons and unclean spirits did not come and possess you, rather you took possession of them. What I mean by that is that there is always some weakness, some crack in your character that invites evil in. Without that crack, evil can do nothing.
But, I dare you to just try to seal up all the cracks. Good luck. The human state is one of sealing a crack by stealing the putty from another. We are constantly cracked and broken, and we constantly invite unclean spirits into our lives whether we like to or not.
The
scriptures tell us, however, that Jesus, the Son of God, was impervious to the
taunting of evil. Remember, Jesus was
once tested in the desert by the evil one, and no crack opened in his character;
no invitation for evil to enter was issued.
Rather than having a weakness that lets evil in, in this reading from Mark we see that Jesus has the ability and authority to cast evil out. He is able to take a state of being unclean and infested with evil voices, and cast it away so that the kingdom of God might take its place.
You want to see it happening? Right in the beginning of Mark we read that “a man with an unclean spirit,” cried out. He shouts, “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!”
I want you to take just a moment to slow down and appreciate what just happened. Right in this story you hear the same breath of God, the Holy Spirit that hovered over the formless void at the outset of creation, the very voice that spoke life into being, breathing out of Jesus Christ. And just as that breath of God made order out of a chaotic universe in the beginning of time, that same breath rings out through Jesus’ voice causing the inner demons to be silenced and cast away. Jesus has powerful words.
And we, like those in the synagogue that day, are amazed at the power of Jesus to cast away all that is unclean and festering inside.
So, finding freedom in Jesus has something to do with trusting that he can cast out everything inside us that is unclean. And, trust is the right word here. We trust Jesus to speak these saving words because, let us be honest, we all have cracks in our character that invite the unclean spirits in.
The woman I talked to in the hospital, earlier in her life, could not have possibly seen the gift that God had created her to be. Thus, the unclean spirits, the thoughts of worthlessness, came rushing in.
Others of us have an unforgiving spirit. And, that evil spirit which refuses to forgive invites evil thoughts and actions that we would never want to see in our own children, yet it exists within.
How about those of us who are insecure within ourselves, so we invite the need to put down the accomplishments of others, or invite the need to elevate the failures of others so that we feel better about ourselves?
How about the crack in character that invited us to focus only on ourselves? “You are important.” “You should focus on you.” Granted, sometimes those who forget themselves totally for the sake of others need to hear these words. But, evil is insidious and with hearing these words we can forget that a whole world of other people is out there; a world of people filled with their own struggles and needs. The voices convince me that me, myself, and I are all that is important. It is a wide crack that allows all sorts of evil to overtake all we do. After-all, when we do not care, no one is cared for.
And, please never forget the evil that can enter in through those who claim to be religious and good. How many unbelievers have you talked to who have been outcast by their churches, and hurt by a lack of Christ-like grace.
As an honest student of the Bible, I just want to point out that this scene with this man suffering unclean spirits happens within a house of faith. The author of Mark is not being obtuse here. He is very obviously pointing out that some of the deepest sources of infection by unclean spirits can come right from the community that is supposed to be a place of healing and refuge and freedom.
“You don’t have enough money,” the glance says.
“You smell terrible,” the face portrays.
“You don’t wear the right clothes,” the condemnation is whispered.
“You aren’t a good enough person for us,” the cold shoulder states.
“We don’t appreciate your ideas,” the ignoring says clearly.
“You don’t act Christian,” the admonition clearly rings out.
These are not the words of Jesus Christ. These are not words of saving grace. These are not words that clear the way to eternal life. These are not words that make straight a path for God.
These are all words of unclean spirits that easily enter into the cracks of our insecurities. They claim that we are trapped by our shortcomings. In fact, they condemn our shortcomings rather than redeem them. They are unclean spirits; but Jesus comes into the walls of faith, with divine authority to cast all of them out.
And, cast them out he does! That is good news! But, before we go there, read your Bible close and notice that Jesus’ first action is to silence them. He silences the unclean spirits that hound our thoughts. He silences the unclean spirits that hold us hostage and cause us to falter and fail.
“You aren’t good enough. You aren’t smart en…..”
“Be silent,” Jesus says, with authority.
The gift of silence from Jesus is a great thing. It allows us to see and recognize the evil and unclean voices for what they are: evil and unclean. Silence allows us the space to hear something new and life giving…”thy kingdom come.”
The first time that the woman talked to me, she was in tears about the hopelessness of her life. She did not know what to do with her life or even how to do it once her husband had left. I told her that Jesus desired that she be set free. After a long silence the woman asked, “Can you please teach me how to write a check?”
That simple request was the first step in becoming the person that God created her to be. Somehow, that simple request allowed Jesus Christ to set her on a course toward a new life in the medical field.
Christ’s gift of silence allowed her to clear the clutter from her mind and see the unclean spirit. The gift of silence allowed her to hope that the voices feeding her helplessness could be cast away. After that, she would finally be free to do something and to be someone. And, the silence allowed her the courage to reach out in the direction of hope. “Can you please teach me how to write a check?” The question was proof that Jesus Christ had begun to set her free from the unclean voices.
And, Jesus Christ has set you free. “Be silent!” he commands the unclean voices that haunt you. “Come out,” he commands the unclean spirits that taint your thoughts.
You do not need to take possession of those voices. You do not need to let them into your life. You do not need to allow their words to affect you. After-all, you have been cleansed by Jesus Christ and are free to have a soul that is clean and open to the grace of the kingdom of God.
In Jesus Christ, we are set free from our demons.
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