The theme for this Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time is “ The Demon’s Recognition!”.  The texts are, from the Gospel of Mark:  “Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an unclean 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!”  And, from the Gospel of Matthew:  “Jesus said, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit . . .Blessed are those who mourn . . .Blessed are the meek . . .Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness . . .Blessed are the merciful . . .Blessed are the pure in heart . . .Blessed are the peacemakers . . .and blessed are those who are persecuted because of rightousness. ‘”  Let us pray . . .

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Today in our first text we are witnesses to Jesus’ very first teaching event in the very first Gospel ever recorded.  On this auspicious occasion we don’t know what Jesus taught or what he said—for all we are told is that he spoke as one who had authority—unlike the teachers of the Law.  But we are also witnesses to something greater still—for we have before us the “holy one of God” on the “holy day” (the Sabbath) in the holy place (the synagogue) coming face to face NOT with a holy person but rather with an un-whole one—a man possessed with a demon and thus the bearer of an unclean spirit! 

But here is the odd thing . . .don’t miss this . . .for it is not the great teachers of the law who recognize who and what Jesus is about!  It is not his newly gathered disciples who can clearly articulate by whose authority their teacher speaks.  No!  It is the one who is possessed with the demon, the one who has been tortured by an unclean spirit—who is the only one who fully recognizes and faithfully understands who this  Jesus of Nazareth truly is—the holy one of God; the holy one who can destroy all that alienates and all that annihilates; the holy one who can restore the marginalized and the mistreated and the maligned back into wholeness and health.  Here, Mark tells us, on the “holy day” (the Sabbath) in the “holy place” (the synagogue) the “holy one of God” (Jesus) has in fact come to destroy those demons that demean and denigrate our ability to live in holy and healthy community! 

And so the man is healed—he is restored to community—and the people are,  as the Greek puts it,  “ek-ples-som-ai” meaning literally “blown out of their minds!”

Now I must tell you that I too was “ek-ples-som-aied”—blown out of my mind—this week as I grappled with the nuances of this text.  For it suddenly dawned on me how very often I am ignorant—or more aptly put—IGNORE-ant of Jesus’ teachings in my everyday life.  It is not when my daily life is neatly rolling along that I fully recognize who Jesus is and what he is about!  No—instead it is when I am grappling and  wrestling with my own demons—when those demons come to the forefront of my daily life—that I begin to see and sense who Jesus truly is—what he is truly calling forth from me, what he is continually challenging me to undertake, what he is firmly asking me to let go of so it can come out of my life with “a loud cry”–thus allowing me to  participate, once more,  in whole and healthy  community!

So let me share with you this morning what some of those demons are for me.  This feels a bit  risky–and I must say it is more than frightening–but maybe through my own sharing you might recognize  similar demons in yourself:

I struggle with the demon of arrogance—those times when I replace the image of God with an individualized mirror that reflects only my wishes and my wants, only my preferences and my prejudices, those times when I am so damn sure that my position is correct and just and right that I forget about the common good of all and the common concerns of others, those times when I willfully accept the disguises and lies in which I hide myself from other people and from my responsibilities for my neighbors and for the world.  But it is here that this demon in my life recognizes Jesus and acknowledges his teachings–for Jesus says to me blessed am I when I am  poor in spirit, for with less of ME and MINE there is more room for God and others.

I struggle with the demon of keeping a “stiff upper lip”–wanting to be seen as brave and not  as brittle, wanting to hide my tears and my fears and my failures from my family and my friends and my faith community, wanting to deny that most days I carry a shredded heart and a lacerated soul, wanting to run from the fact that sometimes it all seems to be too much–too much violence and too much fear, too much of demands, and problems, and complaints, and cruelty.  But it is here that this demon in my life is cognizant of Jesus and acknowledges his teachings–for Jesus says to me blessed am I when I mourn, when I recognize and acknowledge that I have lost what is most dear to me, for only then can I be embraced by the One most dear to me–God and God’s abundant grace and abiding love.

I struggle with the demon of “over-achievement”–those times when I have chosen to impress rather than redress, those times when I have chosen to criticize rather than create, those times when I have welcomed cruelty and shunned kindness just so I could advance.  But it is here that this demon in my life is aware  of Jesus and acknowledges his teachings–for Jesus says to me blessed am I when I am meek, when I am content  with who I am and where I am, for it is at that moment, that very moment,  that I will find myself the proud owner of all that cannot be bought!

I struggle with the demon of “adhering to the norm”–those times when I wallow in my addiction to comfort and welcome the sedation of my conscience, those times when I would too easily offer up my little prayers and my carefully constructed creeds, those times when I willingly mistake my busy-ness for freedom and my security for God’s radical reign.  But it is here that this demon in my life recognizes Jesus and acknowledges his  teachings–for Jesus says to me blessed am I when I hunger and thirst for righteousness, when I work up a good appetite for God, for God’s radical meal will enable me to risk and dare, to react and dream!

I struggle with the demon of “revenge” and “retribution”–for how easily  I fiercely hold to raw grudges and repeated grievances, how quickly I want  pay-back for my pain and punishment for my hurts, how fervently I want to  settle old scores and rip open past scars! But it is here that this demon in my life is cognizant of Jesus and acknowledges his teachings–for Jesus says to me blessed am I when I am merciful, when I care–for at that moment of being "care-full,' I will find  myself cared for.

 I struggle with the demon of “dishonesty”–refusing to say I’m sorry when such a word is needed, refusing to bind up wounds when the hurt are all around me, refusing to pray, and to laugh, and to heal, refusing to love when it is hard and to dare when it is dangerous. But it is here that this demon in my life recognizes Jesus and acknowledges his  teachings–for Jesus says to me blessed am I when I am pure in heart, when I get my  inside world–my mind and my heart--put right–for  then, and only then,  will I be able to see God in the outside world around me.

I struggle with the demon of “inaction”–wanting to be a peace-keeper rather than a peacemaker, wanting to clamor for personal privilege while standing silent before public injustices, wanting to wait to say “I love you” while forgetting that time takes us all.   But it is here that this demon in my life is aware  of Jesus and acknowledges his teachings–for Jesus says to me blessed am I when I am a peace-maker, when I can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight–for that is when I  discover who I really are, and my place in God's family.

And I struggle with the demon of “non-commitment”–wanting to play it safe rather than being sorry, wanting to watch rather than act, wanting to  be neutral about God’s amazing grace while trivializing God’s abundant love–abandoning the struggles, refusing to see the challenges, and allowing the bitter to and the angry to kill the good news of the Gospel.  But it is here that this demon in my life recognizes Jesus’ and acknowledges his teachings–for Jesus says to me blessed am I when my commitment to God provokes persecution–for this  persecution will drive me even deeper into God's radical kingdom.

And so with all that said, my question for each of you here is this: As we are gathered here on this holy day (the Sabbath) in this holy place (the sanctuary) as we grapple with what it means to follow on the way of the holy One of God (Jesus the Chrsit), what demons are present in your own life, what demons need to come out of your daily living, so that you can return to whole and healthy community