If I ask a group of people
why they attend worship, I guarantee that I will get a lot of different
answers. Some folks go to church to see their friends, and to be part of the
fellowship there. They value the moral support that they receive among a
Christian community. Others attend because “It’s the right thing to do.” For
these people, going to church is simply part and parcel of what they do as
Christians. Still others attend to learn about the Bible and about their faith.
Education is important to these folks. I’m glad to get any of these responses!
Fellowship and education are important
for Christians; and worship should be
a high priority in our faith lives. But there’s one reason that I don’t hear
very often; and I suspect that it’s the most important one of all. “I go to
church to become transformed into the person that God wants me to be.”
Do you think of worship as
transformation; or is it only an opportunity for fellowship and learning? Certainly
the people who heard Jesus teach in the synagogue experienced all three of
those things. The gospel of Mark (1:21-28) tells us about a Sabbath that took place right after Jesus
called his first disciples. While Jesus was in Capernaum, he taught in their
synagogue. Now, typical Jewish teaching at that time was to consider what the
scriptures might mean. And that’s a good thing to teach! We should all know,
for example, what St. Paul means when he says that we are saved by God’s grace.
But that kind of teaching emphasizes information.
And there’s nothing wrong with that. Let’s face it, most people could stand to
know a lot more about the Bible! But sooner or later, we’ll have all the
information that we need. The question then becomes, what do we do with all that information? And that
takes us into the realm of transformation.
When we are transformed, we don’t just learn facts that fill our brains; we
experience God’s power that can change our hearts and our lives! That’s what
the synagogue worshippers experienced that day when Jesus was their teacher. Mark
tells us that they were “amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one
who had authority.” These days, an authority is someone who has a lot of
information, someone who knows more than most people do. And those authorities
are a dime a dozen! There are authorities on church growth, personal finance,
psychology, art, and music. There are probably even authorities on authority! But
a real authority is not so much someone who knows a lot; it’s someone who has
the power to get things done!
Fred and I recently wanted to
reserve a rental property at the Jersey shore for our annual family vacation
there. We contacted a realtor who was very pleasant. He had all kinds of
information for us. But he couldn’t seem to get us a booking. After we had hit
our frustration level, we called another real estate agent. This second young
man was equally pleasant, and he knew just as much as the first realtor did. But
there was a big difference between the two of them. No more than 3 hours after
we talked with the second realtor, he had booked a condo for us, and we had the
rental agreement in our hands. Real authority isn’t just having lots of
knowledge; it’s being able to get things done.
In Jesus’ day, the highest authorities
in the Roman Empire were the emperor and the people he appointed. They could do
whatever they liked! But most people had very little authority; and the Jewish
community had almost none. They had to do what the Romans told them to do. When
Jewish leaders taught in the synagogues, they could talk about what the
scriptures said, but they didn’t have any power to change the lives of the
people who listened to them. But Jesus was different. He had that authority!
When Jesus taught in the synagogue that morning, he had the power to get
something done! Before the worshippers left the synagogue that morning, they
knew what that kind of power looked like! With just a few words, Jesus cast out
a demon from a possessed man. Only a few moments before, that man had been
making a ruckus during worship. Because Jesus had the authority of God – and
the power of God – that man was loosed from the power of the demon and set free
to live a life of peace! His life was changed forever. He was not just informed
by Jesus’ teaching; he was transformed.
Now, you may be thinking that
this is probably a quaint story from a time long ago when people thought that
demons were real. Most people don’t believe in demons today. We wonder whether
this unfortunate soul might have been suffering from a form of epilepsy, or
maybe from Tourette’s Syndrome, a mental disorder that causes its sufferers to
shriek and curse uncontrollably. And that might have been the case. Mark’s
gospel was, after all, written nearly 35 years after Jesus’ earthly life. This
story had been passed down in the Christian community over and over and over
again. Who knows what the facts of that healing really were? But this story is
true whether or not its history is exactly right. Its truth lies in the fact
that Jesus has the power – the authority – to transform our lives by his words
and by his actions.
It’s also true that we still
have plenty of demons around that bother us today. Now, we usually don’t call
them “demons.” But that’s what they are. They are conditions that take hold of
us and imprison us as surely as the possessed man in the synagogue was
imprisoned. Let me give you some examples of what I’m talking about, and see if
you don’t agree that they deserve the title “demons.” Addiction. That addiction
may be to alcohol, drugs, gambling, or the internet; but regardless of what the
particular addiction may be, addicts are controlled by a disease that dictates
their actions. Abuse. Victims of abuse, whether emotional or physical, are
caught in a web of behaviors that they did not want to learn, and that they do
not want to continue. But they don’t know any other response. And so they
frequently become abusers themselves. Depression. Depression isn’t just
“feeling blue;” it’s a disease that keeps its victims in pain and despair until
many of them end their own lives in desperation. If these don’t deserve to be
called “demons,” I’m not sure what does. And I’m sure that you can think of even
more. But the good news is that Jesus has authority over all of them. Of
course, Jesus is no longer here in the flesh to confront our demons face to face.
Today, Jesus gives others the authority to cast out these demons. Doctors and
nurses, psychologists and therapists, social workers and researchers – all
these folks are partners in Jesus’ work of casting out demons from those who
suffer from them.
But you may not be held
captive by any of these things. Do you
need to be transformed by Jesus? We all suffer from demons that may not be as
dramatic as these big ones, but that are every bit as powerful. Some demons are
very familiar to us. Do you recognize any on this list? Grief. Fear. Resentment. Prejudice. Anger. A negative self-image. Maybe one of these demons is
working in your life right now. The good news is that Jesus has the authority
to cast out all of these demons, too, and to transform us into the free people
that God wants us to be! That’s what Jesus is all about, according to Mark.
Jesus is the healer, the One who transforms our lives in ways that we can’t
even imagine! And here in worship is where that can begin. As we come together
as a community of faith, we hear about what Jesus has done in the past. That’s
important information. But we are also reminded that Jesus can do the same
things for us today. Jesus can change our lives for the better! And that’s
transformation.
Did you realize that you can
be a part of that? As we open ourselves to Jesus’ transforming authority, we
are able to help to transform others! What do you think we’re doing when we listen
compassionately to a friend, or take action on the part of someone who is
oppressed, or share what we have with those in need? We’re sharing in Jesus’
authority, his ability to change things for the better, and helping to expand
the Kingdom of God right here where we live! Heaven doesn’t start after we die.
It starts here, in this life; and we are sharing in it when we help to cast out
the demons who are keeping people captive! So when we gather with our community
of faith, whether it’s on Sunday morning for worship, or on Tuesday evening for
Bible study, or on Wednesday morning to join in the Mites’ fellowship, or in the
fall to make peanut brittle, I hope that you don’t come expecting to just hear
information. I hope that you come expecting transformation. And I hope that you
come expecting to help Jesus transform others, too! Because that’s what the
Kingdom of God is all about.
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