Gloria Dei Lutheran Church

Mark 1:21-28

Grace and Peace to you from our risen savior, Jesus Christ.

Hello, it’s nice to see you! My name is Ashley, I serve as your new Deacon of Youth and Family Formation. I haven’t gotten a moment to thank you yet, for voting me in, welcoming me and my family to St. Paul and for installing me as a Deacon of your church. It feels like quite the honor to be invited to serve with Gloria Dei and while we still don’t have all our boxes unpacked, I have hit the ground running with teaching Confirmation, planning a new Sunday School for 7^th-12^th Grade youth and preaching, my fourth Sunday on the job. It’s been quite the whirlwind and every bit of it has made me thankful for the trust I have in God and in Jesus in leading me and my family to this place.

My husband Geoff has started his new job, after working by himself for almost two weeks to clear out our home in Bismarck as we moved to the Twin Cities. My daughter, Signe, is 6 years old and continued her Kindergarten trek, attending Groveland Park Elementary school nearby. It has been a good transition for her as she has been spoiled by time with grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. She even got to eat at the Barbie Café in the Mall of America! Something she really enjoyed that almost made her forget about missing all her friends from Bismarck.

As you get to know my family and as we adjust to our new life here at Gloria Dei and in St. Paul, we’ll get to learn new things about each other. I’ve already told the staff and youth of my great love for the TV show Friends. You didn’t see last week in the installation, but along with donuts and pizza, I am a big fan of Diet Mt. Dew, especially for the late youth overnights we’ll be hosting soon. And I do have one big pet peeve. I’m sure it won’t be an issue here but we all have those things, you know, the things that we just can’t help but be annoyed by. My pet peeve is three words people have said to me, often early in the morning, the words “are you crabby”?

I will hold myself back from sharing the ten-page rant I can speak on as to why this is not a nice thing to say to anyone and can only cause the seemingly “crabby” person to get even crabbier! That, and the words “you look tired” send me in a bit of a tizzy; when I hear the words “unclean spirit” and hear the hateful words the man in our gospel story shared in the synagogue, I feel this particular pet peeve sets a similar “unclean spirit” that comes over me and I cannot control!

I know I have Jesus in my heart and I can pray for forgiveness after I am upset, but it is during these times that I wish Jesus would appear, tap me on the shoulder and say the magic words He says in this scripture: “Be silent, come out of her!”. And my meanness, my stress and my bad reactions would all fade away, a big kind smile would plaster across my face and all would be well. No one would be accusing anyone of being crabby, anymore.

Do you think this is the reaction the man with the unclean spirit felt, after being thrown into convulsions and crying with a loud voice”? The unclean spirit left him and he sighed a big sigh of relief and went about his day, happy as a clam? This short story from the book of Mark shares the amazement the disciples felt as Jesus performed this miracle and that Jesus’ fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee. It does not mention if the man went on to continue listening to Jesus preaching, it doesn’t mention if the man was surprised he had come in and made an uproar or how he reacted after his unclean spirits left him.

This miracle from Jesus leaves the people amazed. They begin asking each other, “what is this? A new teaching – with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.” The people are left in wonder and news begins to spread all over Galilee.

But this “miracle” from Jesus isn’t the only piece of authority Jesus is showing within this passage from the book of Mark. The fact that Jesus is even preaching in the synagogue shows an authority many did not have at this time. People did not have authority or see authority in anyone unless they were in a successful position. The emperor has authority, the governor has authority, the scribes are the ones who are supposed to be the ones who have authority to interpret scripture… but your lowly disciples do not have authority, Jesus does not have authority, in the eyes of the law and the community. They especially do not have the authority to interpret the scripture as those that may have “the right” to do.

So, to see Jesus pronounce His authority in interpreting scripture and casting out demons was much more powerful then, than in the way we hear it now. Now we know that Jesus walked on water and healed the sick, this story doesn’t feel any more powerful than the many other healing stories we’ve heard before. But to recognize Jesus’ authority and the fact that his preaching is actually standing in contrast to that of the scribes and other leaders of that day shows us just how powerful this moment in time and Jesus’ ministry was.

Jesus held authority in this story; in His teaching and his casting out demons, how He led the disciples and spoke against the rulers of the time. Where does Jesus hold authority now? Does He hold it in this church? In our decisions and our leadership? Does He hold authority in your life? And as we see the way the bible is used in our governments, in those positions of authority, is that how Jesus would have wanted it?

Jesus is our comfort, our companion, our great listener, and our biggest support. But do we live our lives looking to Him in our big decisions or our little ones? We all have the schedules we must follow, the laws we cannot break and a structure in society we aren’t supposed to fight against; but where does Jesus lie within those schedules, those laws and those structures? And who do we choose to follow the lead He would like us to take?

Last week, our Assistant to the Bishop, Deacon Krista Lind, preached during my installation worships as Gloria Dei installed and celebrated me as your new Deacon of Youth and Family Formation. She spoke of the idea that by calling a Deacon to your staff leaves this church “set”; the Deacons here to do all the work for you! I am here to be your authority on all things children, youth and family ministry. She also quickly reminded the congregation that was not the case. Your leaders in the church, whom some may see as the “authority” are not here to do all the work, are not here to tell you exactly what to do and how to do it. Instead, as Jesus did, we are here to interpret the scripture, to lead by example and in such leading, inspire others to feel called to all Jesus is asking of us.

Jesus often says to his disciples and others, “don’t tell” after He performed His miracles. He doesn’t ask them to tell it to the world, to share his authority and gain a following. Why? Because his “authority” then would be viewed as a popular authority that presumes there is to be no suffering. It is not until the cross that the true authority of Jesus is recognized: an authority that faces suffering, suffers, dies, and then overcomes death with life.

As Jesus tries to keep His works silent-the miracles and the healings, what are the people left to believe? The hearsay and the gossip of the people? The worry and the fear from the “unclean spirits”?

We ask who has the authority in our lives, who are the words we listen to? Are we hearing the world from the words of CNN or Fox News? Facebook or Instagram? Media today receives lots of criticism for the perception that in sharing the news; communicating the news, they are also at times interpretning the news. And isn’t that our job? To be able to hear an unbiased report that we can interpret as good or bad?

But isn’t that what your preacher should do as well? Share the unbiased news of Jesus love and God’s power, given to us through the Holy Scriptures?

I spent four years attending Luther Seminary to receive my Masters of Arts Degree in Children, Youth and Family Ministry. I completed candidacy through the Western North Daktoa Synod of the ELCA, Gloria Dei will now by the fourth church where I will serve the children, youth, families and congregations… and I still feel the greatest authority I received of scripture was from the summers I spent working at Bible Camp. Where we could finish a game of hide and seek and then tell kids about how Jesus is active in our lives, even when we can’t physically see him. Where kids would stay up late talking and laughing in the dark when we, as counselors, were too tired to quiet them, but would hear their silly banter turn into deep conversations about God and what they were experiencing in their faith at that time.

The power of God, the love of God and the influence of God comes over us in profoundly different ways and at particular and necessary times. How many of us often forget that the really big thing we celebrate and recognize here is that Jesus is always in our midst and has the power and authority and compassion to transform lives? The one thing I have been able to say and feel as my family has performed this big, life-changing move, is that without the strong faith and belief that I have in God, I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through it. Without full trust in all He does for me, I don’t know how I would’ve accepted this call to Gloria Dei, how I would’ve packed up my mom van or gotten anything done in this scary, risky move. Without the trust and love from God, I would’ve been an absolute wreck.

Jesus isn’t rebuking away the unclean spirits in my life as quickly or obviously as I’d like him to, or as what happens in this scripture but He is working through us in extraordinary ways. He comes to us through authority figures. He comes to us in our bad days where our “unclean spirits” may take the reins and we can’t help but yell and complain. God comes to us in the ways we hear our news, plan our schedules and prepare for chaos.

God comes to us in the little things and hopefully when we listen just right, we hear Jesus rebuking the unclean spirits, preaching in ways that interpret the scripture as love and as empowerment. It is of our authority to hear the love spoken to us, accept it and share it with others and see the authority we have as Christians who can do good, be kind and love boldly, while also causing a little holy disruption when needed.