MK 1: 21-28 

Marginally Mark…Epiphany 4…Revised 2018 

Though often at odds with the 'official' church of His day - maybe to be true to God we will all need to be in that situation from time to time - Jesus is remarkably faithful in His grass roots worship. Part & parcel of His being of the earth, earthy, in church, & out in the margins of life. 

Here Jesus is teaching within the framework of His church when confronted by a person in the 'too hard' basket. Let’s not consign him there; instead, let’s call him ‘Ben’ (everyone deserves a name no matter which basket anyone puts them in!). The irony in this incident is that Ben - evil spirit, or not - discerns the God-ness of Jesus. Better than officialdom does!

For some reason I visualise a ‘selfie’ of Ben taken with Jesus. Not the usual ‘look at me’, often narcissistic, selfie! This time, one where Ben is pleading with Jesus, “I need help!” 

Perhaps some of the selfies we take of ourselves with another person are also pleas for help in their own way? 

We don’t have to understand Ben as possessed by an unclean spirit. We don’t need to think in 1st C. terms about sicknesses any more than we need to belong to the Flat Earth Society! Over-simplistic ‘brands’ of Christianity can promote not only misunderstandings, but distortions of faith, too, by clinging to the un-clingable. As Ben confronts Jesus here, in turn, Jesus, a 1st C. person with regard to His humanity,  confronts the darkness, the evil He sees in Ben. Cares enough about Ben to break out of religious straight-jackets others want to put on Him even when compassionate action is what’s really needed. Jesus is way out of line in the eyes of those who think they’re His religious superiors! (Joke!) Does it ever become time for us to step out of line as Jesus does to meet someone’s need? 

Are we prepared to confront evil any way we’re able to, in whatever shape it takes, on behalf of today’s Bens; those in its grip today? Or are we too afraid of someone or some-thing to step out of line? Jesus frees Ben from that dark side of himself - whatever it’s name, & whatever causes it -  that’s been holding him captive. Frees him to be that child of God we’re all born to be. Is something, anyone, holding us back? 

One lesson from Ben’s story is that becoming that child of God we’re born to be depends on recognising Jesus as the One who best expresses what it means to be like God, the Source of our Being. Ben’s calling Jesus ‘God’s Holy One’ acknowledges His God-Full-ness. Maybe he’s not so sure about those who run the church of his day! 

What kind of word is out in the wider world today about us & our Christian community? Can those out in the margins, as well as those closer in, recognise us as being like Jesus? And move on to recognise Jesus as being more ‘full of God’ than anyone before Him or since has ever been? If they can, knowledge of God & practising God-like-ness will spread as it does after our Ben incident.