Category: Meditations

Meditation 221

Mark 1: 29-39

This passage begins with the story of Jesus healing Simon’s mother-in-law, and then moves on to tell of Simon’s home becoming a health care centre for the community. At sundown on the evening of the day that Simon’s mother-in-law was healed, all who were sick or possessed with demons were brought to Jesus. There was such a crowd of people gathered around Simon’s home that Mark tells us the whole city was gathered around the door. Can you imagine what it must have been like for those people? For all of their lives they had learned to live with chronic illness, handicaps and possession by evil spirits, and now there was someone in town who could heal these conditions. For parents who had a child with a withered limb, for a farmer who had a pronounced limp that slowed him in his work, for a woman whose broken arm had never healed properly so she could not grind the grain, for the paralyzed and those who were suffering possession, there was hope that this new teacher would heal. And so, the people of Capernaum crowded in front of Simon’s home to be healed by Jesus.

Jesus was probably late getting to bed that night after he healed so many people, and we are told that he rose early and went to a deserted place to pray. Jesus had put in a full day the day before, and he knew that the new day would also be busy. Jesus was fully human, and as such we know how he might have felt on that day. He would be happy to have helped the people who came to be healed, he may have been thankful for the hospitality shown by Simon’s family and excited at the way his ministry was beginning. His body was probably also very tired. He had been “on” for a full day. Anyone who has experience as a teacher, a presenter, an entertainer or a preacher knows that being the one who brings a message is tiring. I am sure it is the same for those who work in the health care field. You want to do the work, but still, it tires you. The day after Jesus had healed many people, he went off by himself to pray. His body may have tempted him to try to sleep some more, and that would have looked after the weariness of his body, but Jesus knew that his spirit needed tending as well. Jesus was spending time with God in prayer to be ready for another day of ministry.

A friend brought my attention to the words that Simon says to Jesus when Simon finds Jesus alone and praying. He says “everyone is searching for you.” It is likely that the people were searching for Jesus, so that he would heal them of their illness and woes. They knew that Jesus had what they needed, and they were searching. This is true for people today. Often, we may not know what it is that we need from Jesus, but still, we know that Jesus has what we need. People speak of offering prayers in times of stress, and we know that God hears those prayers. It may be the specific request for healing or help is not granted as the petitioner hopes, still we know that God hears the prayers of people and gives grace as it is needed. Those us who have met Jesus can show him to others as we interact with our world. I believe that everyone is searching for God, they just don’t know yet that God is the one who will fulfill their lives in bigger ways than they can imagine. Through our prayers and actions, we may be one of the ways that God touches the lives of others. Like Jesus, we need to spend time with God in prayer to be complete.

Meditation 216

Mark 1:21-28

In Mark’s gospel the first act of power that Jesus performs is the casting out of an evil spirit. Jesus has gone to the synagogue in Capernaum on the Sabbath. He gets the attention of the congregation because he teaches with authority. After he has taught the people in the synagogue, one of those in attendance, who has an unclean spirit starts to heckle Jesus. He asks if Jesus has come to destroy and then he calls him the holy one of God. In response to this identification Jesus tells the unclean spirit to be silent and come out of the man. There is no surprise in Jesus telling the unclean spirit to be silent, he does not want this spirit to name him, because the one doing the naming has more authority than the one being named. For example, when Adam was invited to name the animals, he was given authority over them. (Genesis 2: 19-20. i.e., in giving people dominion over the earth God gave us the responsibility to care for the earth, not the right to dominate it and pollute it, but that is another mediation for another day)

Jesus has made it clear that he is not under the authority of the unclean spirit. He is the one who is bringing the kingdom of God near and his ministry will be unlike the ministries of those who came before him. When the unclean spirit calls Jesus the holy one of god, he is likening him to Elisha who was called the same name in 2 Kings 4:9. This name is not capitalized in the Greek, although many translators capitalize it in English. The holy one of God is one who belongs to God, and who is pure and separated out from the world. In this case it is not a Messianic title. This title identifies Jesus as both holy, and unlike the unclean spirit who identifies him. When Jesus casts out the unclean spirt Jesus is showing his authority.

In an article I read today by Osvaldo Vena I was reminded that there are many kinds of things we need to cast out of our lives, and many things that can control us in a bad way. We can be motivated by prejudice, greed, addiction, terrorism, or war, to name a few. The process by which was cast out these influences will probably be longer than the process Jesus used to cast out the unclean spirit on that day in Capernaum. Our main weapon in reclaiming identity as those who are led by God is prayer. Prayer is “that “intensely personal struggle within each disciple, and among us collectively, to resist the despair and distractions that cause us to practice unbelief, to abandon or avoid the way of Jesus.”3 In other words, it is the struggle to believe that change can really happen. A better world is possible.” (Osvaldo Vena. Working Preacher)

Maybe one of the spirits that threatens us the most these days is despair. We can worry about the future, about the fate of loved ones, about the way that our churches will continue to witness to Jesus, about our health, and about the economy. And if we should happen to have an optimistic thought, there are words from politicians broadcast on the news to balance hopeful thoughts. In the face of the pessimism that we hear daily, the greater truth is that Jesus is the holy one of God, who is pure and separated out from the world. We also know the greatest truth, that Jesus is The Holy One of God, the Messiah, who has brought the Kingdom of God near, and who has authority over all. When we come to Jesus in prayer, we will be strengthened to be rid of the unholy elements that want to control our lives.