Who Is The Disrupter Here?
Capernaum by the Sea was a fishing village in 1st Century Israel. Of interest are the ruins of two ancient synagogues: one very small, barely able to hold a minyan – 10 adults needed to worship; one larger, but still not all that big, perhaps able to accommodate 50-100 or so adults.
One thing we learn from this episode in Mark 1: 21-28 is that Jesus and his new companions, Simon, Andrew, James and John, regularly attended synagogue on the Sabbath. That is, Jesus is very much a traditional Jewish young man who is fluent in teaching and following Torah in his life. Indeed, when he enters, he joins with at least ten people already there in discussing the Torah portion to be read that Shabbat. People are immediately astonished at the authority with which he knows Torah – another sign that Jesus was an observant Jew. People say he seems to know Torah even better than the Scribes – the scholars of interpreting the texts.
Just prior to this story, Mark Jesus proclaims that a new reign of God is at hand, has come near, and to repent and accept this Good News. Suddenly, there is a commotion. A man with an unclean spirit cries out to Jesus, “What is all this to you and to me, Jesus of Nazareth? You came to destroy us! I know you. I know who you are: the Holy One of God!” Jesus scolds him and tells him to be quiet and “come out of him.” Making a lot of noise and commotion, the unclean spirit departs. Can we imagine what the rest of the assembly in the synagogue are to make of this disruption of their weekly teaching and worship? If people were astonished before, now they are truly astounded! “What is this?” they say. “A new teaching! With authority! Even to the unclean spirits he gives orders and they obey.” And suddenly, Bang! His fame began to spread throughout the region surrounding Galilee.
This story is often interpreted as not only a rebuke of the unclean spirit, but a rebuke of the Scribes and Jews in general. And of course, nothing could be further from the truth. And yet, there are dimensions of the story that are, well, odd.
For instance, the word translated as “Nazareth” is netzer – which can refer to Jesus’s geographical home village. But more often it means “root,” or “shoot,” as in Isaiah 11: 1-2: “A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. Jesse of course was the father of David, the shepherd king. Calling Jesus Netzer would astonish everyone as it seems to announce Jesus as a new David! [i]Just as our first lesson in Deuteronomy infers that Jesus is the new prophet like Moses! [ii] Yowser! Could this kid from the region of Galilee, considered a land of country bumpkins by the authorities in Jerusalem way down south, be all of this rolled into one?
And what about this unclean spirit? This means the man in the synagogue is unclean for ritual purposes in the Temple not necessarily ill, mentally or physically. Nearly everyone is unclean most of the time, and would have to observe cleansing rituals, not unlike John’s baptism, to be made ready to enter the Temple. Unclean spirits, however, were believed to lead people astray to magic, war, conflict and bloodshed. That is, this man is not a sinner, nor does he have Covid or the Flu, but is in danger of being led down a path contrary to Torah which urges love of God and love of neighbor. Strangely, people tried to perform exorcisms or magic to drive out such unclean spirits and demons. But not Jesus. Jesus needs only his Word to command the departure. This signals that his Word is similar to the very Word of God who at creation speaks a command, “Light!” And there is light. This is Truly a sign that God is with this Jesus Netzer from Nazareth, west of Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee. Can we begin to see just how Mark, in a few short sentences, connects Jesus to the history and traditions of Israel? And as a “new authority” on Torah. This does seem to foreshadow a collision course with the religious and political authorities in Jerusalem as the story unfolds.
But that’s not all. Do we notice how odd it is that this unclean spirit is the only one present that day in Capernaum who knows Jesus is “the Holy One of God”? Jesus knows. Jesus found out at his baptism by John, in which the words, presumed to be the Word of God, proclaimed, “You are my Beloved Son; I am well pleased with you.” Only Jesus and Mark’s audience know this. And yet, the unclean spirit knows this too. This is true of other unclean spirits in Mark as well. Do we notice how odd it is that unclean spirits agree with God about who Jesus is? [iii]
But that is still not all. Southwest of Capernaum, along the shoreline of the Sea, near the city of Tiberius there are some hot springs. Hot springs believed to have healing properties. One can see the springs from Capernaum. We know that people from all over the ancient world, not just Israel, but gentiles and Jews alike would come and pay money to take advantage of these healing springs. Presumably, these springs could also make one ritually clean to head down to Jerusalem and make sacrifices in the Temple. While at the springs, no doubt people would find lodging in Tiberius, and restaurants, and no doubt entertainment venues as well. That is, the local economy was fueled by the alleged healing and cleansing properties of these hot springs.
Along comes a young man, who needs but speak the Word, and voila, free healthcare for all – especially for most of the people of the land who did not have the means to take advantage of the natural resource of these hot springs. It surely could not have gone unnoticed by many that whatever and whoever this Jesus character is, he is potentially bad news for the local economy should he continue this behavior of his. It is not surprising this news would travel quickly, as the story in Mark takes Jesus to Jerusalem where the religious and civil authorities would also be concerned.
Mark, in just a few sentences, signals that Jesus’s mission on behalf of God’s kingdom is to have deep social, religious and economic consequences. Who is the greater disrupter here in Capernaum? The man with the unclean spirit? Or, Jesus the Netzer, the shoot from the stump of Jesse, the new David and the new Moses all rolled into one?
This story, then, hinges not on the dismissal of the unclean spirit, but oddly, the spirit’s question to Jesus: What is all this to you and to me? Inviting us to ask, “What is all this to Jesus and to us?” In every time and place, the Church has had to answer this question. Sometimes the Church has responded in faithfully following Jesus with people like Paul, Dorothy Day and Martin King leading the way. And in other times, the Church has acted tragically. We need only think of times like the crusades, the Inquisition, and the Church’s promulgation and support of anti-Semitism. It seems that this text means to ask us as community of Christ: How are we meant to read the signs of our time, and respond faithfully in following Jesus?
Born in Spain, Teresa of Avila (1515–1582) entered a Carmelite convent when she was eighteen, and later earned a reputation as a mystic, reformer, and writer who experienced divine visions. Here is her answer to the question from the unclean spirit:
Christ Has No Body
Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he
looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the
feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but
yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he
looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but
yours.
Amen.
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