A MERE WORD     Audio

 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?  I know who you are, the Holy One of God?  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent and come out of him.’” - Mark 1:24-25

 I’ve never seen an evil spirit, unclean spirit  or demon. Some people say they have, and I have no reason to doubt them.  I’m just saying that I have never laid eyes on one. But I will tell you what I have seen, in others and in myself.  I have seen and experienced people possessed.  Possession is being taken over by an evil force that has one goal in mind – to reduce and isolate you from others, and enslave you so that your life is no longer your own, and you become the antithesis of love.  (repeat)

I have known people possessed by the evil spirit of guilt; people who simply cannot forgive themselves for something they've done, or an embarrassment or humiliation. As a result they withdrew from their circle of friends, their church, from active participation with others, isolated from the communities that have the power to bring them healing, comfort and support.

I've known people possessed by the evil spirit of denial; denial that keeps the compulsive addictive person from admitting that their life is out of control.  Family life is suffering; work is suffering; finances are suffering; but yet, there is no admission and acknowledgment – only denial.

I've seen people possessed by the evil spirit of false pride; inflated pride that keeps them from coming to terms and seeking help for marriage problems, family problems or personal problems that they just can't work out all on their own, but are too proud to admit or ask for help.

I've known people in the grip of the evil spirit of anger and rage bottled-up. They walk around like pressure cookers ready to explode, and the slightest little trigger can set them off. It can lead to hurt, estrangement and even violence against their most treasured loved ones.

I've known people enticed by the evil spirit of materialism, power and security only to wake up one day, and though they may have a lot of everything, they feel bored, shallow, alone, and not at peace inside their skins.

I’ve known people possessed by the evil spirit of self-righteousness – of needing to be right so desperately they are willing to condescend against, minimize and reject others who might not share the same point of view.  

 I have known people possessed by fear, low self esteem, thirst for revenge, apathy, indifference, an unwillingness to forgive or unwillingness to grant forgiveness sought.  Pastors and ministry professionals are often in the line of fire, and sometimes we incur invisible, but yet so very real, emotional wounds that leave marks upon soul and psyche.  I know first-hand what’s it’s like to be wounded, and I know all about the subsequent arrival of the evil spirit of resentment and hurt, licking my wounds like a dog; simmering in the toxic stew of bitterness.  I know how it can consume me, possess me and take me over. 

What are your demons? What possesses you? What controls you? More importantly, what can set you free? In Luther's great hymn: "A Mighty Fortress," Luther speaks of the evil that would possess us: “No strength of ours can match his might, we would be lost rejected. But now a champion comes to fight whom God himself elected.   Though hordes of devils fill the land all threatening to devour us, we tremble not, unmoved we stand they cannot over power us. Let this world's tyrant rage, in battle we'll engage.  His might is doomed to fail.  God's judgment must prevail. One little word subdues him.”

ONE LITTLE WORD - a mere word!  So what word is it?  What's the magic word? A man makes his way before Jesus and confronts him. The way Mark tells it, it was the demon within the man that spoke to Jesus?  It's as if the demon flaunts himself before Jesus as if saying, "We know who you are, Jesus.  Have you come destroy us! Ha! Just try! We dare you!"

Surprise, surprise! A mere word subdued him, "Be silent and come out of him!" said Jesus. And it says, "The unclean spirit convulsed him, cried out and came out of him."

A mere word, spoken from the life and lips of Jesus, exorcized the spirit. Mark, the writer of this Gospel, wants us to know that in Jesus Christ there is empowerment to drive away those consuming and oppressive forces that desire to take us over and steal life away from us.

I believe every one of us struggles with our own unique set of demons, or evil spirits, or call them whatever you wish. So what are we to do?  Do I need to schedule exorcisms to drive out the evil spirits that possess us?  Perhaps that is a good idea, but probably way too over the top for Lutherans.    The Good News is that God in Jesus Christ has already performed an exorcism that is available to all humanity – the exorcism of the cross, if you will.  A mere word, spoken by our Lord, can begin a process that sets us free!  A mere word!  Again, what is the magic word?

On Wednesday I received a phone call, and I wasn’t in the office at the time.  Marian left me a note that said to return the call the next day.  I set the note next to my phone and intended to call the next morning.    Thursday morning I arrived at the office, and I had the call on my mind.  I sat down at my desk and the note was gone!  To make a long story short, I launched out on an intense and exhaustive search.  Finally, I concluded it must have gotten stuck to something, and I accidentally threw it away - the only problem being, by then, it would have been out in the dumpster.  

You say, “You didn’t!”  Oh, yes I did!  I got two ladders and headed for the dumpster.  I leaned one up against the outside and one down in it.  I climbed up, and over, and down in – and spent considerable time in the dumpster sifting through a small mountain of trash looking for the elusive note.  I thought I could do this without the humiliation of being seen - no such luck!  One of the pre-school teachers heard noises coming from inside the dumpster.   The next thing I knew a shocked face appeared over the edge and a surprised voice said, “Pastor, what are you doing?”

Unfortunately I never did find the note, and if it was one of you that called me on Wednesday, and I didn’t call back, please give me another chance.  As I foraged through the trash in the dumpster, it reminded me in a tangible, smelly, sticky, yucky, poignant way of how the Lord Jesus Christ ultimately defeats evil.  Jesus made himself vulnerable to the evil that gets inside of our lives, lives that can look so well arranged, innocent and shiny on the outside, but be possessed by some kind of unclean spirit on the inside.

The powerful word of exorcism that Jesus speaks from his cross was not without a huge cost to him.  Jesus absorbed all the trash, garbage and chaos that evil could throw at him on his cross – all the stuff that gets inside of us and can fill us up to the point of possession – and the next thing you know evil has won you over and achieved its goal:  to reduce, isolate, and enslave you so that your life is no longer your own, and you become the antithesis of love. 

In a mere word from the cross Jesus made available a power that can exorcise every demon, “Father, forgive them.”   The cross makes all the difference! Jesus was the one person that evil could not possess and win over – and it’s in and through him that empowerment, freedom and victory is ours through faith.  Jesus literally loved evil to death, and he speaks His word of love into our possessed souls in order to set us free – to love evil to death - and love us to new life! 

He speaks a WORD OF ENDEARING LOVE that can drive away that demon of low self-esteem and help us love and nurture ourselves in a positive and constructive way; a word that declares we are cherished and valued, so much so, that a man named Jesus died for us.

He speaks a WORD OF FORGIVING LOVE that can crush that demon of guilt and cause us to stand on our own two feet again to be received by our brothers and sisters in Christ.  That same forgiving word can empower us to ask for forgiveness for our offenses, and extend forgiveness to our offenders.

A WORD OF TRUSTING LOVE can give us the courage to acknowledge our helplessness in the face of the powers that would dominate us, and cause to put our hands in the hands of others who can help, thus beginning to rebuild our lives from the ground up one day at a time.

A WORD OF HONEST AND COURAGEOUS LOVE can exorcize the demon of denial and give us the strength and courage to admit we are out of control and to seek the help we need.

A WORD OF SERVING LOVE can help us see past our blindness when we become lured by the demons of wealth, power, materialism and indifference; a love that gives us a new vision of where joy and fulfillment are really found -- in the sharing and giving of ourselves -- not in hoarding and with-holding and turning our heads the other way.

One last thing: When the evil came out the man in our gospel it says, "…it convulsed him." Being set free is often a traumatic experience.  Our new found freedom, at first, might be frightening and difficult as we live no longer defined by the old oppressor.

Charles Swindoll writes, "I cannot find in scripture or in history a strong-willed individual whom God used greatly, until He allowed that individual to be shaken greatly."

Speaking for myself I have repeatedly experienced the power of Christ exorcising the demons that would possess me.   The only way I have ever known to go about it is to come before His cross, open up my life in honest confession of that which possesses me, and hear the word of freedom spoken to me again, “Father, forgive him.”

As I depart from the foot of the cross, I say a prayer that goes like this:  (pray with me) Lord, thank you for setting me free through the blood of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; grant me the strength to not be possessed by the Evil One; and when I am, the courage to come back to your cross to receive your grace and power again.   Amen.