“Unclean Spirits”

January 28, 2024
St. Andrew Church
Rev. Anne McAnelly

First Lesson:                                        Deuteronomy 18:15-20

¹⁵ The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet. ¹⁶ This is what you requested of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said: “If I hear the voice of the Lord my God any more, or ever again see this great fire, I will die.” ¹⁷ Then the Lord replied to me: “They are right in what they have said. ¹⁸ I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command. ¹⁹ Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable. ²⁰ But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak—that prophet shall die.”

Second Lesson:                                       Mark 1:21-28

²¹ They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. ²² They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. ²³ Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, ²⁴ and 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.” ²⁵ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” ²⁶ And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. ²⁷ 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.” ²⁸ At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

The story is told by an American seminary professor about working in Ethiopia and learning about their understanding of prophets. Theirs is quite different from ours, for we often think of Moses, Isaiah, and Jeremiah as prophets. We might even add Martin Luther King Jr. to our modern-day list. She writes, “But for my Ethiopian students, the question was a real and urgent one. There are many people who claim to be prophets in the Ethiopian churches, and those around them need to know whether they are trustworthy or not. One student, a middle-aged, wise pastor, said. that when he was young, a self-proclaimed prophet told him and a certain young woman that God wanted them to marry one another and that if they didn’t, they would die. “We looked at each other,” he went on, “and we said, ‘No, we’re not going to get married.’ We married other people and both of us are still alive.” The whole class laughed” (Working Preacher, Kathryn M. Schifferdecker). We just read about Moses promising a new prophet for the people to follow, for prophets are the ones who speak for God. We often wish we had our own prophet to tell us what God wants us to do in difficult situations. But that is not how God works. Yet prophets beg the question who speaks for God? How do we know what God wants for us?
Turning to Mark’s gospel, John was likened to the voice crying out in the wilderness, Jesus was baptized, while a voice came from heaven saying, “You are my Son, the beloved … ,” Jesus faced temptation in the wilderness, and called the first four disciples making them fishers of people. That all happened in 20 verses. Then immediately Jesus teaches in the synagogue and the question is raised, “Who speaks for God?” Listen …
Jesus’ very first public action is to teach in the synagogue on the sabbath. He is working within the Jewish structure but proclaiming astounding teachings. He is differentiated from the scribes, the regular teachers of the day, because “he taught them as one with authority.” This Greek word, authority, can also mean power. So what is at stake here is, “Who speaks for God?” Who has God’s authority, who teaches with God’s power? Right off the bat, Jesus is challenging the powers that be and teaching not new content per se, but teaches it with conviction, power and authority. This of course would raise the question of him being a prophet, could he be the one Moses promised?
To answer this question of power and authority, Mark turns to an unclean spirit, to demonstrate Jesus’ power. Surprisingly, the unclean spirit recognizes Jesus, cries out to him, and names him, “the Holy One of God.” Even at Jesus’ baptism we only hear a voice from heaven claiming him as “my Son.” The unclean spirit invokes God’s name and connects Jesus to God. He even knows Jesus’ purpose, asking, “Have you come to destroy us?” Power recognizing power!
What do we mean by an unclean spirit? The Greek here is best understood as a spirit which makes one unclean. This could be ceremonial, moral or spiritual defilement. Illness was often believed to be caused by unclean spirits, but we know better today. Yet we still have forces that wreak havoc on our lives. Mental illness can take over a person. Addiction destroys purpose and serenity, leaving one powerless. Abuse survivors hide parts of themselves to move through the world. Racial hatred dwells like an unclean spirit within our society.
Ponder for a moment the unclean spirits you have faced in your life. Things that have kept you from your best self. Forces that silenced your spiritual growth. An abusive relationship, crippling self-doubt, depressive episodes, economic fear, chronic physical illness, guilt from a regretted

action. Maybe a substance has more power in your life than you would like- alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes, or food. All of these can take up space in our heads rent free, much like an unclean spirit. All of these unclean spirits silence the voice of God in us. Crowd out the light of God with the darkness of evil.
Sugary food has been my unclean spirit, my addiction. Food has been a powerful force in my life. I have been 60 lbs. heavier and up and down on the scale. Thankfully, I have been recovering in a 12-step program for almost 3 7 years. The program helps to quiet that destructive food voice and replaced it with a spiritual connection to God.
Jesus did the same thing for the man possessed by an unclean spirit. He commands the spirit to leave, and it does. That feels so much like recovery, the freedom that comes when compulsion and crazy thoughts are replaced with spiritual healing. Yet so often we are silent about our unclean spirit, our struggles with dark forces, and we try to go it alone. We think admitting we have these dark parts is a sign of weakness or lack of faith. But it is not. We should cry out to Jesus, like the man did, and give the problem to Jesus. Jesus wants us to be in the light of God, free from addiction, chronic pain and grief. Free from unclean spirits!
Jesus frees the man by rebuking the unclean spirit, saying, “Be silent.” So appropriate. A big part of addiction is the obsession of the mind and the allergy of the body. That obsession feels like a drive, a need, a voice calling us to our substance, saying, “Just one drink,” “I will stop and get a snack,” “this problem is too big, I need a smoke.” So Jesus saying, “Be silent” is him quieting the compulsive voices in our heads. Or the self-defeating ones. Jesus is saying be silent to the urge to have a cigarette. Be silent to our negative self-thoughts. Be silent to the depressive forces, and maybe seek medical remedies.
Jesus used the same word her for be still as he did when quieting the storm. You recall, Jesus falls asleep in the boat, while the storm rages. When Jesus awakes, he commands the sea to “be still” “be silent” (Mark 4:39). So when that powerful dark force in your life rages, the one that swamps you and creates fear, call on Jesus to calm that part of you. Allow Jesus to create stillness in your life.

While I was at St. Simon Island off the coast of Georgia, I found this painted wooden plaque in the conference center gift shop. It depicts a calm lake surrounded by mountains and trees, with a boat floating on the placid water. The blue, white and brown hues match the colors in my new kitchen. It sits on my windowsill where I have my breakfast nook looking out onto my garden patio. Its simple message also spoke to me: Be Still.
So even when things are good, I am reminded to be still. Or when the storm whips up, invite Jesus to calm it with just a word. Or the drama of life pulls us off course, rest in the loving care of God. BE STILL!

I watched the powerful movie Origins this week. It is an adaptation of Isabel Wilkerson’s book on Caste. The communal unclean spirit that has repeatedly denied the humanity of others based on race or caste. Weaving the caste system in India, to the Nazi movement and our own slavery it shows the savage way we treat our fellows. Parts were difficult to watch, but I highly recommend the movie Origins.
There is a reason Jesus starts his ministry with this powerful moment. Jesus is the one uniquely authorized, commissioned, empowered to declare and institute the reign of God. He is the one who speaks for God in that moment and in our lives today. Through Jesus, we glimpse God’s power, God’s reign. We 4ear God’s voice that silences our dark voices. We know God’s love and care in the freedom from our unclean spirits. BE STILL! Amen.