Churches With Heart

Moody First United Methodist

Mark 1:21-28

They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are–the Holy One of God!” “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching–and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.” News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.

Carpenter, Cooper, Glenn, Grissom, Schirra, Shepard, & Slayton. Some of you, like me, may have been watching with anticipation for the announcement that would finally come on April 9, 1959. These seven men, all military pilots, began the process along with 501 others. The process would reduce the 508 to 7 who would be called for the first time “astronauts.” As these men eventually orbited the earth, I would look at my watch and say, “They are over Texas.”

It was on July 20th, 1969, that many of us heard the words. I think it was Buss Aldrin who said during the Apollo 11 mission, “Houston, Tranquility base here. The eagle has landed.” It was Neil Armstrong who first stepped on the moon with the words, “One small step for man. One giant leap for mankind.” For the first time, man walked on the moon.
Two years later, on July 26, 1971, I witnessed the launch of Apollo 15, the 4th mission to land men on the moon. I watched, felt, and heard that lift-off. It made me fill so small. It would be the most ambitious of the Apollo missions yet. Three EVA’s, that’s extra-vehicular-activity (moon walks), that would last 10 hours and 36 minutes.

The space program would grow. The astronaut core would grow while remaining the very best of the best in their field. The space program became so common that IF we watched a flight crew head for their “space ship,” we would think of them going to the office for another day’s work. We were no longer astonished and amazed.

Yesterday we were returned to reality. Seven incredibly gifted people died as the Space Shuttle Columbia broke into pieces and plummeted to earth. Rick Husband, William McCool, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Michael Anderson, Laurel Clark and Ilan Ramon gave their lives for something for which they had a great passion.

During the many years of the space program our nation has done unbelievable things. Going out of the earth’s atmosphere, orbiting the earth, landing on the moon, reusable spacecraft that return to earth and go again. Science has been advanced in ways we don’t even notice. Our lives have been shaped by the technology born out of this program that is beyond imagination. What we have accomplished would make one believe that we are the masters of our fate and the captains of our souls.

D. Greg Ebie described it so eloquently in a sermon he called, Who Is In the Spotlight?

On Christmas Day 1968, the three astronauts of Apollo 8 circled the dark side of the moon and headed for home. [This was the first time man had orbited the moon.] Suddenly, over the horizon of the moon rose the blue and white Earth garlanded by the glistening light of the sun against the black void of space. Those sophisticated men, trained in science and technology, did not utter Einstein’s name. They did not even go to the poets, the lyricists, or the dramatists. Only one thing could capture the awe-inspiring thrill of this magnificent observation. Billions heard the voice from outer space as the astronaut read it: “In the beginning God”–the only concept worthy enough to describe that unspeakable awe, unutterable in any other way. “In the beginning God created”–the invasive, the inescapable sense of the infinite and the eternal. Endnote

Mark is still in the first chapter of his Gospel when he shares the story of Jesus’ first miracle. Unlike John’s gospel were the first miracle is turning water into wine, Mark wastes no time getting to the point. Jesus is not the obedient son of Mary. Jesus is the authoritative, powerful son of God. Jesus is one who is even recognized by evil spirits. Jesus is the one who can heal as well as teach with authority.

It is interesting to me that in John’s Gospel it is the second miracle of Jesus that is a healing. A royal official asks Jesus in Cana to heal his son who is near death in Capernaum. Capernaum, Jesus is in the synagogue in Capernaum when Mark reports his teaching with the authority of the author. It is in Capernaum where a boy is healed by Jesus as he stays in Cana.

What did Jesus say about this second healing in Capernaum? He said, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe.” John favors the use of that word “signs” to mean miracles. Signs point the way to something beyond themselves. The miracles point to one who saves. For Jesus the miracles were not an end. They were a means to an end. They were used by Jesus that even WE might believe. Jesus is not so much concerned about our healing as about our believing. Jesus is concerned about separating us from the evil that surrounds us and is within us.

David Frum, a Jew and former speech writer for President Bush recently published a book focusing on the character and faith of our President. He tells of a meeting in the Oval office with 3 Christians, 1 Jew, and 1 Muslim. He asked them to pray for him. He said:

“You know, I had a drinking problem. Right now I should be in a bar in Texas, not in the Oval Office. There is only one reason that I am in the Oval Office and not in a bar. I found faith. I found God. I am here because of the power of prayer.” Endnote

President Bush offered these words of hope yesterday following the shuttle tragedy, “In the words of the prophet Isaiah, ‘Lift your eyes and look to the heavens who created all these. He who brings out the starry hosts one by one and calls them, each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.’” (Is. 40:26)

“The same creator who names the stars also knows the names of the seven souls we mourn today. The crew of the shuttle Columbia did not return safely to earth, yet we can pray that all are safely home.” Mark wants us to know in this gospel-in this story of exorcism-that Jesus came teaching and healing to bring us hope and to bring us safely home.

Jesus could have chosen any kind of miracle to authenticate his authority, but chooses an exorcism for it symbolic value. In this Gospel, Jesus came to defeat evil and to bring us safely home. Endnote

Mark says those in the synagogue were “astounded, amazed, astonished” by Jesus. Halford Luccock asks us, “Are we sufficiently astonished at Jesus’ teaching? Has it become so familiar, have we taken it so much for granted, that we no longer really see it in amazement.” Endnote

The Psalmist tells us that fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. (Psalm 111:10)