Text: Mark 1:21-26
There is much debate on authority these days. Specifically, who has authority? We do not have to look much further than this past week’s gatherings in Slovakia, where people are protesting the use of authority by the majority party in Parliament. Also this past week, the International Court ruled that the Israeli government’s actions in Israel-Palestine are unjust and must stop. At the same time, the Israeli government has asserted that the International Court does not have the authority to make or enforce such a ruling. The question of who has authority covers just about every aspect of our world - political institutions, businesses, views on parenting and social issues. The question of who has authority is also debated within the Church as well. Does the Church have authority, especially with the decline of worship attendance and people affiliating with a particular religion? How does the Church reclaim its authority in the world, and how does the Church convince the world that God is in authority still?
Does God and the Church have authority?
As we consider our gospel text this morning, this is NOT the question that is being asked. The crowds who witness Jesus casting out the man’s unclean spirit ask, “What kind of teaching is this - and with authority?!” The question we should ask, based on this text is “What is God’s authority like? What kind of authority is it?” Today’s story asks us to consider that God’s authority comes in the form of Jesus coming near to a man with an unclean spirit and healing him. This is a shocking act of authority, because in Jesus’ day people who were unclean were banished to remain outside the community until they could prove to a priest that they were clean. Only then could they rejoin the community. Jesus instead comes near to the man, when no other person would dare do so. Jesus heals the man, restoring not just his spirit, but allowing him to rejoin the community. What kind of authority is God’s? Jesus’ actions tell us quite plainly, it is an authority rooted in LOVE. It is an authority to LOVE.
This raises another question: As followers of Jesus and as the Church, what kind of authority do we have?
This past week, I taught a class on how to intervene if someone is considering suicide. The goal of the course is to help people be aware of the signs of suicide, and to give them the skills to intervene and get the person to a safe place. For two days, the participants dedicated their time and energy to this topic. One of the participants came up to me after the training and asked, “Chaplain, I feel so exhausted after these past two days…is this normal?” I replied that it was - focusing on such a serious topic as suicide demands much of our minds, bodies, and spirits. He then said, “That makes sense. At the same time, I feel so fulfilled, because now I have the confidence of knowing I can help someone who is struggling. I can save their life.”
Later in the week, I met with a man who I had helped in 2016. He served in the United States military, and after repeated experiences to the horrors of war, he developed a severe case of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It was good to meet with him, because over the years, I wondered very much if he was healing and if he had the strength to stay alive. I am happy to report that he is healing. However, he will never be fully healed. He still has moments where his trauma torments him. I asked him what helps him thorugh those moments. He replied, “I’ve finally found a good therapist and mental health care that has been effective. I also pray a lot. One of my best prayers is to pray Psalm 46 over and over: Be still and know that I am God.”
I share these stories to highlight that the Church needs to talk more about mental health and issues like suicide. Mental health is not a sin, and it is not some curse a person bears as a punishment for their sin. It is a form of suffering, an affliction. Despite so many advances in mental health care, there is still much stigma in our society about mental illness and suicide. People with such struggles need someone to come near when society casts them away. They need compassion instead of condemnation. They need community rather than isolation. They need to know that like the man in the story, Jesus exercises such loving authority for their sake. What does it mean for those who struggle with their mental health and suicide to be loved? As followers of Christ and the Church, what is our role to speak of such things? What is our role in healing such people?
As we consider these questions this week, let us rejoice in the good news that in Christ, God comes near to us in our sufferings and afflictions and loves us. Let us rejoice in the good news that in Christ, we as the Church are gifted with the enduring authority to LOVE. Amen.