They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, “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!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee. ************************************************ As 2018 begins, we have been discussing how we take this year to get to know each other better and develop relationships within our congregation. For the past several years, our church has undertaken and executed a major endeavor, and though they were positive endeavors, they have also been energy and time consuming. During that time, our church has also experienced a large turnover in population. We look very different than we did 6 years ago. So it is a great time to take a break, hang out in our own backyard for a year; play together, pray together, share our stories, our journeys, and learn to trust each other. So instead of another year of “doing” we are going to practice “being” and because this is not how the world, much less the church, normally operates, we may need some help with the basics. And so last week we talked about backyard basic #1: believe, today we look at basic #2- Breathe. "Breathe" may seem like a simple enough basic to adopt. We do it involuntarily, after all. It is what happens as long as we live, every moment that we live, whether we like it or not. When we try to stop it, in fact, we can't, well, without a major headache and usually some gasping. But our breath is a very big indicator of our state of being. For instance when we are anxious or nervous, our breathing usually mimics that feeling, when we are tired it seems, we can't get enough air and take long labored breaths, when we are working out our breath becomes shorter and hopefully more efficient. When we have done too much or pushed too hard, we often say we are "out of breath" or when we have been shocked we need to "catch our breath."
In Hebrew, the word for breath is Ruach. Ruach also means 'spirit' and 'wind.' In Greek, the word is 'pnuema.' In the Hebrew Scriptures, our Old testament, the word Ruach appears 389 times! From the spirit, breath, wind, or God moving over the face of the waters, to the Pslam Rev. Sue read to us this morning... when God gives us Ruach... breath, spirit,... we are created... Even the Hebrew word for God, YHWH, contains no vowels... if you try to say it phonetically; it is literally, the sound of your own breath. (Which, as no small aside is pretty cool, right? When we breathe in and out, we are literally pronouncing the name of God... talk about the spirit interceding with sighs too deep for words!")
In the New Testament, pnuema- breath, spirit, appears 385 times! This spirit, breath, that God gives to us, that is the spirit of God, never leaves us, no matter what we do...
What does all of this have to do with today's scripture? Stay with me... Today, we pick up Jesus at the beginning of his ministry. He’s rounded up a band of disciples and has put together his ministry team. And I’m thinking that this must be about the time the disciples start to ask questions about the person they have left everything to follow. 'Who is this guy really?' 'Where exactly are we going?' 'Where are we going to sleep tonight?,' Or even something simpler, like, 'when’s lunch?' But it is the Sabbath, so Jesus takes his team to the temple. And Jesus begins to preach.
Frederick Buechner says that the most hopeful part of the church service is the moment the preacher walks to the pulpit and pulls the little chain on the lectern. It’s in that moment that the congregation waits for a word from God… maybe, there might be a word for them today.
While that may or may not have been true when Jesus got up to preach that morning, the 'hearers were amazed'- and they were saying, “Isn’t he fantastic! He brings the scriptures to life. He knows what he’s talking about- not like the scribes- but someone who really knows this stuff- with authority!” And it goes on like that for who knows how long, until someone in the tenth row, behind the lady with the big hat, starts heckling! It was someone, the text says, with an unclean spirit. Now, I know that over the years, we have had a tendency to make this person, and this spirit, and in fact this whole story, look like a scene straight out of the exorcist: The man’s head doing a 360 like Linda Blair with crossed eyes and spitting out gallons of pea soup... the lady in the hat starts screaming, hands flying in the air...
But that’s not what we see here… instead we see just a person in church, with an unclean spirit.
What is an "unclean spirit?" Some have said that perhaps it was a demon. The scientifically minded tend to say it was some sort of medical condition; kind of like epilepsy, that had the man convulsing as he was being healed. Some, say that the man was possessed by some sort of a deviant behavior- (I hate that one) ...something that held a grip on his life- that he was possessed by the kind of things we don’t like to talk about in church- something evil that was waiting inside- like a predator. In fact, when we think of it this way, it’s really easy to take the leap and just demonize the whole person, and everyone like them! . Spirit, in this sentence, is actually a form of the word, Pneuma- but with an adjective added-akathartos- meaning un-cleansed ceremonially, un-pure in thought and life."(1) That's a little different, than thinking of this person as some sort of monster who got in to church that morning who managed to sneak in past the ushers, though we prefer to think that most of the time. This person, instead, could just as easily been one of the regulars- one of the congregants... one of those waiting in the silence of hope as the lectern lamp chain was pulled… Could this person, perhaps, have been the one to have heard some word, some spoken truth that would deliver him? Could Jesus, perhaps, have touched the place deep inside- a part of him, a part of his spirit, something… unclean?
...And the unclean spirit takes a big breath, and shouts out from behind the woman with the big hat… “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?”
“What do you want with US!” he shouts, with us... us... all the parts of ourselves that we don't know what to do with, all the pieces of our being that are tied in knots, the parts of our spirits that are . broken, and fragile, and needy. The parts of us that we hide from everyone else, but clutch on to as who we are... dirty... tainted, ceremonially un-pure. The thoughts that rage inside our heads, the judgments of others, of ourselves, of you... The places in here that I've been taught are unacceptable, and despised... Jesus, what do you want with us... have you come to destroy us? ...and from the spirit of God, still present and living in his own breath, cries out in recognition and perhaps, hope, "I know who you are- the holy one of God..." And exhales, "YHWH"
And the crowd holds it's breath...
Now the text says, Jesus rebukes-in the Greek, exposes, corrects, and strikes- "Be Quiet, come out of him!" And there are crazy struggles that follow, and loud sounds and groans, and convulsions... and he is left spent on the sanctuary floor...
And I love this! Because the parts of us that we are so sure are unfixable, unacceptable, and try so hard to keep hidden, are no secret to Jesus... They don't fluster Christ, or surprise God when we cry out... and no kidding, we don't want to let go of them, much as we say we do... they are our tried and true- they are our absolutes- I can't give up believing I am a screw up because I don't know any other way to be... If I let go of beliving I am unacceptable, I won't know who I am... I love this, because this person is completely undone by the power of Christ... Jesus exposes, corrects and strikes these misconceptions from this spirit, and washes, cleanses, purifies everything they thought about themselves... everything now has to be relearned, everything about themselves and about who they are in God's eyes has been exposed, corrected, and stricken.... no wonder they are exhausted...
In fact, while the un-clean person lying there out of breath, and the crowd collectively holds it's breath, Jesus of everyone in this story, is the only one who just keeps breathing... Of course- because that spirit, unclean as it appears, whether to this person or to the rest of the congregation, is not unacceptable to Christ... this spirit still breathes the ruach of God- the breath of life that is creation; that creates and moves and breathes in each of us and makes us who we are... that spirit is never unclean to Christ...
Come back to our backyard... within each of us also is the breath and spirit of God. And whether you find yourself in the crowd today, or whether you find yourself in the 10th row behind the lady with the big hat, each of us have the opportunity to cry out, and allow our spirits to be touched by Christ. And sure, you might be thinking, I wish I could do that, but no way- I can't allow myself to be so vulnerable- I'm not comfortable being so wide open before God- then listen... that's ok too. Your spirit, the holy spirit within you, cries out to God from wherever you are, with every breath you take... YHWH! With each inhale and exhale, each sob, each laugh, your spirit opens itself...YHWH! And God answers, and cleanses, and heals... God is already with you... knows everything about you... and loves you exactly as you are .
Recognizing the spirit breath in each other- breathing (1) https://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/akathartos.html