As a society, we are obsessed with our external images. As Christians we should recognize that our energies need to focus on how we can allow Christ to shape and mold us into new beings.

The two texts focused on for this week approach the question of self image from two different but related perspectives. The text from Mark tells the story of an exorcism, a dramatic but not unbelievable or unheard of event in the first century A.D. Today we think that the type of demon exorcism Jesus practiced in Capernaum is no longer a part of our culture. In reality, however, we are all engaged in superhuman efforts daily to drive out demons from our modern lives. Only our methods have changed. The text from Corinthians features a particular demon we still fixate on - the god of food.

We are a nation …