Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time, cycle B

MARK 1:21-28
MARK DOES NOT USE THE WORD FOR DEMON OR DEVIL IN THIS GOSPEL. HE REFERS TO “UNCLEAN SPIRITS”. SOMETIMES WE IMAGINE THAT THESE ARE DEMONS OR DEVILS, AND WE MAY INVOLUNTARILY SMILE AS WE THINK OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IN DEMONS, OR WE MAY FEEL GRATEFUL THAT THEY AREN'T ALL AROUND US ANY MORE – BUT WHATEVER WE THINK, WE ALL BELIEVE THAT THE DAYS OF BEING POSSESSED BY UNCLEAN SPIRITS ARE OVER. BUT LET'S LOOK AT UNCLEAN SPIRITS FOR A MINUTE. IN MARK'S GOSPEL, THEY POSSESS HUMANS AND ANIMALS – CONSIDER THE PIGS THAT ABSORBED THE SPIRITS WHICH JESUS DROVE OUT. THERE IS A DANGER THAT THEY MIGHT RETURN TO THE PERSON FROM WHOM THEY HAVE BEEN EXPELLED, BRINGING EVEN STRONGER UNCLEAN SPIRITS WITH THEM.
SO TODAY WE MEET AN UNCLEAN SPIRIT, WHO SAYS, WITH THE VOCAL CHORDS AND TONGUE OF THE MAN POSSESSED, “WHAT HAVE YOU TO DO WITH US, JESUS OF NAZARETH? HAVE YOU COME TO DESTROY US?”
DO YOU EVER FEEL LIKE THAT UNCLEAN SPIRIT? SOMETIMES I DO. MAYBE I HAVE AN UNCLEAN SPIRIT. MAYBE IT ISN'T SOMETHING WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT BECAUSE IT HAPPENED 2000 YEARS AGO.
BECAUSE THERE ARE TIMES WHEN I EXPRESS THE SAME SENTIMENTS. WHAT HAVE YOU TO DO WITH ME, JESUS OF NAZARETH? I KNOW YOU, I KNOW WHAT YOU WANT OF ME, I KNOW YOU CALL ME TO CHANGE MY LIFE, TO SERVE MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS, TO DEVELOP A DEEPER RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU. I KNOW YOU WANT ME TO LAY UP TREASURE IN HEAVEN, WHERE IT REALLY MATTERS. YOU DEMAND A LOT FROM ME, JESUS. YOU EVEN TELL ME THAT IF I FOLLOW YOU THE WAY YOU WANT TO BE FOLLOWED, I WILL BE PERSECUTED, AND MAYBE EVEN PUT TO DEATH.
WHAT HAVE YOU TO DO WITH ME, JESUS OF NAZARETH? WOULDN'T IT BE WONDERFUL, MY UNCLEAN SPIRIT TELLS ME, IF I DID NOT HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS, BUT COULD JUST GO ON ABOUT MY ORDINARY BUSINESS. SOMETIMES I EVEN ENVY THOSE WHO DON'T BELIEVE, OR THOSE WHO CLAIM TO BELIEVE BUT SOMEHOW THE BELIEFS BASICALLY CONFIRM WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO DO ANYWAY. IF I COULD ONLY CONVINCE MYSELF THAT WHAT I WANT TO DO IS WHAT JESUS WANTS ME TO DO. IF I COULD ONLY REALLY BELIEVE THAT THERE WAS NO NEED TO CHANGE MYSELF, NO NEED TO DO ANYTHING DIFFERENT. I GIVE MONEY AND TIME TO THE CHURCH AND TO CHARITY; I TRY TO BE THE BEST PHYSICIAN I CAN BE, I TRY TO BE KIND AND LOVING TO MY FAMILY AND TO EVERYONE I MEET. BUT JESUS WON'T LEAVE ME ALONE, NO MATTER WHAT I GIVE, HE JUST WANTS MORE. HE WANTS THAT LITTLE CORE THAT I CALL “ME”, THAT BIT OF ME THAT WANTS TO BE LEFT ALONE, TO CURL UP WITH A GOOD BOOK AND A DRINK, THE PART OF ME THAT LOOKS OUT FOR NUMBER ONE; THE PART OF ME THAT WOULD LIKE TO NEVER HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT MONEY AGAIN, THE PART OF ME THAT NEVER WANTS TO EXPERIENCE ILL HEALTH, NEVER WANTS TO DIE, EVEN IF IT MEANS HEAVEN. JESUS OF NAZARETH, HAVE YOU COME TO DESTROY ME?
BUT THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT JESUS COMES TO DO. HE WANTS TO DESTROY THAT PART THAT RESISTS HIM, THE PART THAT WANTS TO BE LEFT ALONE. HE WANTS TO RIP IT OUT OF US AND FILL IT WITH HIMSELF. AND THAT IS GOING TO BE PAINFUL, I'M SURE, WHICH IS WHY I DREAD IT, WHY I WANT TO PUT IT OFF. WHEN IT HAPPENS, WHEN THE UNCLEAN SPIRIT LEAVES ME, IT WILL HURT!
THERE IS AN UNCLEAN SPIRIT IN ALL OF US, A SPIRIT THAT CRIES OUT, “LEAVE ME ALONE, JESUS! LET ME KEEP WHAT IS MINE; ISN'T IT ENOUGH THAT I GO TO MASS ON SUNDAY, THAT I LIVE A GOOD LIFE, THAT I KEEP THE TEN COMMANDMENTS? BUT JESUS WANTS TO DESTROY THE PART OF YOU, THE PART OF ME, THAT WANTS TO KEEP HIM AWAY, THAT WANTS TO EXCLUDE HIM.
SOME OF YOU MAY REMEMBER THE EPIC “LORD OF THE RING.” YOU MAY HAVE READ IT, AS I DID, OR YOU MAY HAVE SEEN THE MOVIES BASED ON THE BOOK. IN THE STORY, THERE IS A RING WHICH GIVES ITS WEARER SUPERNATURAL POWERS, INCLUDING THE POWER OF INVISIBILITY. THE ONLY PROBLEM IS THAT WHEN THE POWER IS USED, THERE ARE CHANGES THAT TAKE PLACE IN THE PERSON, CHANGES FOR THE WORSE. THE WEARER BECOMES SELFISH, VIEWS OTHERS WITH SUSPICION, BEGINS TO PULL AWAY FROM OTHERS. AND WHILE THIS IS APPARENT TO THE HERO OF THE EPIC, THERE IS A CREATURE NAMED GOLEM WHO REPRESENTS THE VERY END OF THE CHANGE THE RING BRINGS ABOUT IN A PERSON. GOLEM IS SMALL, DRIED UP, UGLY, AND ENTIRELY CENTERED ON KEEPING THE RING, TO THE POINT WHERE HIS LIFE MEANS NOTHING WITHOUT IT.
THE RING IS THE UNCLEAN SPIRIT IN EACH OF US, THAT JESUS WANTS TO DRIVE OUT.
FOR SOME OF US, THIS WILL TAKE OUR WHOLE LIVES, BUT I THINK ALL OF US CAN SEE THAT AS LONG AS WE HAVE THIS UNCLEAN SPIRIT, WE CAN'T BECOME FULLY UNITED WITH JESUS. BUT HOW CAN WE TELL THAT IT IS BEING DRIVEN OUT? MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHAT TO WE NEED TO HAVE HAPPEN IF WE ARE TO HAVE THE SPIRIT DRIVEN OUT OF US?
FIRST, WE HAVE TO IDENTIFY THE UNCLEAN SPIRIT; WE HAVE TO LOCATE WITHIN OURSELVES THAT WHICH WE SIMPLY WON'T GIVE UP. WHAT IS IT ABOUT ME THAT LOSING WOULD SEEM TO THREATEN MY VERY IDENTITY? ITS NOT HARD TO DISCOVER. IDENTIFY ALL YOUR HABITS, EVERYTHING THAT SPRINGS FROM YOU WHEN YOU ARE OFF GUARD, OR TIRED. LOOK AT THE KINDS OF REACTIONS YOU HAVE TO OTHER PEOPLE – ESPECIALLY THOSE IN YOUR OWN HOUSEHOLD. LOOK AT THOSE THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF THAT YOU HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT CHANGING FOR THE LAST TWENTY YEARS, BUT HAVE NEVER REALLY TRIED TO CHANGE. SOMEWHERE IN THERE, YOU WILL DISCOVER YOUR UNCLEAN SPIRIT, THE SPIRIT THAT OCCUPIES IN YOURSELF WHAT YOU NOW THINK IS YOUR PRECIOUS CENTER, BUT WHICH JESUS DESIRES TO FILL UP. IF YOU GO THROUGH THIS REFLECTIVE PROCESS, IF YOU BEGIN TO SEE HOW YOUR UNCLEAN SPIRIT HOLDS YOU DOWN, THAT IS A BEGINNING, THAT CAN BE TAKEN TO JESUS, AND INSTEAD OF SAYING “WHAT HAVE YOU TO DO WITH ME? HAVE YOU COME TO DESTROY ME?” YOU MAY EVEN HAVE THE COURAGE TO SAY, “REMOVE IT FROM ME, LORD, EVEN IF THERE WILL BE PAIN, EVEN IF IT MEANS LOSING WHAT I THINK IS THE VERY CENTER OF MY BEING. BECAUSE ONLY THEN CAN I HOPE TO REALLY BE UNITED WITH YOU, AND YOU YOURSELF HAVE PROMISED THAT YOU AND THE FATHER WILL COME TO DWELL WITH ME; YOU YOURSELF HAVE PROMISED THAT ONLY BY UNION WITH YOU CAN I TRANSCEND MY ORDINARY LIFE; ONLY THEN CAN I ENTER ETERNITY.