But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.…Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. (James 14-15; 21)
“The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, Destroy.” (Deuteronomy 33:27)
You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. (James 2:19)
“Doubt is a demon. But mutiny is death.”
Prop: bells (a string of little ones); incense (burning on altar or around sanctuary); red strings or red string bracelets; hex sign; rosaries; crosses; altar or table
Throughout history, every culture or society has had folk customs, talismans, and remedies to ward off evil. And I have some of them up front with me today. Let me show you some of them.
[Pick up the hex sign.]
Anyone know what this is? This is what’s called a “hex sign.” In German “a Hexe” is a witch. These signs were hung on barns to “protect” farms from evil spirits. In fact, my grandmother, an old Pennsylvania German woman with a deeply Christian faith, still owned what’s called in the PA-German tradition, a “pow-wow” book, a book of cabbalistic remedies and “spells” to ward off evil and disease.
For example, if you accidentally spilled salt, it would recall Judas’s spilling of salt and would represent treachery and lies. So to protect yourself from this “curse” of treachery, you would throw a pinch of salt over your left shoulder and therefore be protected in soul and spirit. The book also contained remedies for various illnesses, as healing of mind, body, and spirit were connected. The beautiful geometric designs posted upon buildings and barns, such as the one I have here, were said to vex evil spirits, so that the farm and the family’s livelihood –and also their minds and hearts-- would be protected from forces of evil.
Ancient Judaism also had such folk customs. In fact, the Sepher Refuot, which was known as the first medical book written in Hebrew, was a book of healing not only for the body but also for mind and spirit, and included actions and talismans in order to ward off evil from homes, from childbirth, and generally from body and soul. Even priests themselves practiced some of these ancient customs or superstitions. One example are these.
[Pick up the string of bells.]
In fact, we still see some of these in the Catholic tradition. Jewish priests would wear such bells on their robes, so that the noise would chase away evil and impure spirits from their own bodies and souls. This included those who brought unrest and diseases.
[Note the burning incense.]
Incense too would be said to chase away such unwanted and unclean spirits, as they would be uncomfortable with the sweet smells of prayer coming from synagogue and temple.
It was said of course that wherever and whenever one praised God, evil could not endure.
Even symbols in the Catholic tradition, such as rosaries and crosses have been used in a somewhat superstitious way. Originally symbols of faith and prayer, they evolved into types of talismans for many in order to ward off evil events and to protect the wearer.
For as long as humans have walked the earth, they have created such talismans to “ensure” their well-being against forces beyond their control.
For the question always asked was, “What spirit lives in you?”
But wait a minute. Let’s look at that question again.
Because in our culture, we’ve realized, even in our most advanced and most complex sciences, such as quantum physics and string theory, that, everything in our lives and in our world is composed of some kind of “spirit” or “energy,” as it is sometimes called.
Einstein himself maintained that matter and energy are both spirit.* For example, I can wave my hand in the air like this.
[Wave your hand in the air.]
And now I can touch this table.
[Touch the table.]
Einstein tells us that there is no essential difference between this air and this table, except that their molecules are vibrating at a difference pace. Because the table is vibrating much faster, it becomes more dense. But each is made up of energy, or what he called spirit. And what is bodily and material is simply a differently vibrating spirit.
Einstein thoroughly himself believed therefore that God is a Spirit “vastly superior” to humankind.
In 1930, Einstein composed a kind of creed entitled “What I Believe,” at the conclusion of which he wrote: “To sense that behind everything that can be experienced there is something that our minds cannot grasp, whose beauty and sublimity reaches us only indirectly: this is religiousness. In this sense...I am a devoutly religious man.” In response to a young girl who had asked him whether he believed in God, he wrote: “everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe—a Spirit vastly superior to that of man.” And during a talk at Union Theological Seminary on the relationship between religion and science, Einstein declared: “the situation may be expressed by an image: science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”**
Today, scientists believe that this spirit is made of waves of sound. This certainly brings interesting ideas to God’s creation in Genesis, as God literally “sings” the heavens and the earth into vibrating “spiritual” existence. “And the ‘Word’ became flesh and dwelled among us.”
In the Sweet family, there are three brothers, and one of them married an operatic singer: Sharon Sweet. When Sharon would sing an ultra-high note with her powerfully vibrating voice, she’s been known to break a glass. You’ve probably seen this sometime in your life either in person or online. Caruso could do this at will. Ella Fitzgerald did it in an old Memorex commercial.
Why can a note shatter glass?
How can the invisible be more powerful than the visible?
Well, scientists would say that when the frequency of Sharon’s voice matched the frequency of the glass, the glass shattered.
So I ask you: What frequency does your life resonate with? That of God’s voice? Or with something else? In other words, what spirit are you allowing yourself to live in tune with? Whose frequency does your life emulate? That of Jesus? Or that of something else?
Because when your life resonates with the voice of God, with the Holy Spirit of Jesus, you are the one whose “pride” will be broken and whose spirit will be healed. That’s called attunement. That’s also called atonement.
So when Jesus enters into the synagogue that day in Capernaum, he encounters a man with an “unclean spirit.” And listen to this. It doesn’t say the Greek word, “daemon.” But it says “pneuma akatharto.” A man whose spirit was unclean, meaning he was somehow not living within the Holy Spirit of God. But his spirit was influenced by something else. Something that made him perhaps angry, or jealous, or envious, or mean.
We know that when we look at the story of Saul. When Saul becomes jealous of David in I Samuel 16, the scriptures tell us, a bad or evil spirit came upon him, and he began to plot to kill David. He felt envious and mean and vengeful and he was not living in the Spirit of God. And for a while, David’s music calmed him. Listen to that….here’s the reality of what science now tells us about vibrations and spirit. The music that David played –likely hymns to the Lord—calmed Saul. But in the end, he allowed that spirit of vengefulness to overtake him.
So when Jesus comes to that synagogue….and I want you to listen to this….because it doesn’t say, Jesus came into the wilderness again, where we know he was tempted earlier by Satan. It doesn’t say, Jesus came into a den of demons. It doesn’t say, he entered into a place where people worshipped Baal or anything like that.
The scriptures tell us that Jesus came into THE SYNAGOGUE people!
Listen to this.
So Jesus isn’t encountering the unclean spirit in an evil place. Jesus isn’t encountering an unclean spirit in satan’s territory. Jesus isn’t encountering an unclean spirit in the person of an evil thief or murderer. With all of the places he goes to in his ministry, you might expect that, right? But no! He’s encountering this unclean spirit (this demon like spirit) in the synagogue!
In the synagogue! In their version of the church!
In the synagogue in Capernaum.
This is the place where people come to worship YHWH. It’s the place where you might expect people to be living and praising in the Spirit of God, right? It’s the last place you’d expect a demonic spirit.
But here in this synagogue, Jesus encounters something else –a man living in a different kind of spirit. And, like Saul, he was evidently having trouble getting rid of it on his own.
This is important. Because, when a bad spirit gets hold of you, when a rancid and rotten spirit overtakes you, you start to spew vengefulness or envy or hate or bias –and we’ve seen this in the last few weeks in Florida, didn’t we?—and I’ll tell you what --it’s awfully hard to get rid of it. It takes over your mind, your life, your actions. It consumes your soul.
And as soon, literally, as soon as that spirit detects that Jesus is in the room, it cowers in fear: “What do you want with us?” it asks. “Have you come to destroy us?”
“I know who you are.”
YOU are the holy One of God!!
And Jesus heals him.
Once again, God wins!
Jesus has the authority to restore God’s Spirit to one who is lost! And He has the power to choke out any other spirit in the room.
Because when Jesus is “in the house,” that house is God’s house!
What spirit is living in your life? In your heart? What spirit is living in this house of God?
And how do you know that God’s Holy Spirit is living in your life and in your church? How do you know that Jesus is present in this body of Christ?
Where Jesus is present, there is peace, there is praise, there is joy, there is love –not just in word, but in witness.
James, the brother of Jesus, reminds us, “You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.”
This is true in our scripture for today. Jesus has just come Nazareth where his own kinsfolk could not “recognize” him as the Messiah, the anointed Son of God. Here in the synagogue in Capernaum, we learn that the first to recognize who Jesus is –who He truly is—is not the priests, not the elders, not the faithful people of the synagogue in Capernaum.
It’s the demons! It’s the “unclean” spirit in this man who recognizes the power and the presence of Jesus. Only after that does his reputation spread far and wide, and people speak of his authority. They begin to be in awe of his anointing. It was the unclean spirit who “proclaimed” Jesus Lord!!
That should tell us something! Look, it’s not just the knowledge of who Jesus is that saves us. It’s not just even recognizing that Jesus is the holy Son of God with all of the power and presence of the One True God. It’s our loyalty to Jesus. It’s our commitment to living a life IN RELATIONSHIP with Jesus. It’s our agreement, our covenant, to walk with God, to praise God with our lives and in our synagogues and churches, that allows us to live “IN” the Spirit of the Most High God, to live in the Spirit of Jesus.
God deserves not just our acknowledgement but our fidelity! Not just our faith in His power….but our submission to His healing hands. As the shema says,
Sh'ma Yisra'eil Adonai Eloheinu Adonai echad.
Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.
In an undertone:
Barukh sheim k'vod malkhuto l'olam va'ed.
Blessed be the Name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever.
V'ahav'ta eit Adonai Elohekha b'khol l'vav'kha uv'khol naf'sh'kha uv'khol
m'odekha.
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your might.
V'hayu had'varim ha'eileh asher anokhi m'tzav'kha hayom al l'vavekha.
And these words that I command you today shall be in your heart.
V'shinan'tam l'vanekha v'dibar'ta bam
And you shall teach them diligently to your children, and you shall speak of them
b'shiv't'kha b'veitekha uv'lekh't'kha vaderekh uv'shakh'b'kha uv'kumekha
when you sit at home, and when you walk along the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up.
Uk'shar'tam l'ot al yadekha v'hayu l'totafot bein einekha.
And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes.
Ukh'tav'tam al m'zuzot beitekha uvish'arekha.
And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Some have said that doubt is your greatest foe. But we learn from Jesus today that it’s not doubt that leads to death. Even Jesus’ disciples doubted sometimes. But they allowed Jesus to lead them back into a place of faith. They could doubt their doubt because of their steadfast dedication to Him and to the precepts of God.
It’s not the spirit of doubt…but the spirit of mutiny that signals the presence of a spirit other than God! And the whispers of mutiny lead to death.
[Gesture to the talismans in the front.]
It’s not bells, or signs, or incense, or even the rosary that keep the spirit of sin and deceit away from our hearts and minds. It’s the Holy Spirit of Jesus Himself, present and powerful in our lives and in our churches, that is not only acknowledged but trusted and worshipped every hour of every day.
So in the spirit of hope and love, in the Holy Spirit of Christ that seeks to live within and among every one of us, let us come forward now to be blessed and anointed with a laying on of hands.
And I want you to say as you are blessed:
“May the Spirit of Christ be upon me in my life and in my living.”
Amen.
*For more information, see the works of Einstein; The Spiritual Essence of Religion and Science by Patrick Haley.
** http://www.strangenotions.com/einstein-god/
Based on the Story Lectionary
Major Text
Luke’s Witness to Jesus’ Exorcism of Unclean Spirit in Capernaum (4:31-37)
Minor Text
The Song of Moses: Our God Who Heals (Deuteronomy 32)
Elijah Heals the Son of the Widow at Zarapheth Who Challenges Him (1 Kings 17)
An Evil Spirit Torments Saul and He Tries to Kill David (1 Samuel 16:14-23; 18:6-16; 19:1-24)
The Prayer of Nabonitus (The Mad King) --(This Aramaic text belongs to the famous Dead Sea scrolls: four scraps of parchment from Cave 4, usually called 4Q242, copied from an older original in the second half of the first century BCE and belongs in the midst of Daniel)
Psalm 16: The Lord Will Not Abandon Me to the Realm of the Dead
Psalm 91: The Lord Will Rescue You
Psalm 106: They Turned from the Spirit of God
The Apocryphal Psalms (Aramaic Psalms Used as Incantation in Jewish Exorcisms)
Satan Accuses High Priest Joshua and the Lord Cleanses Him in Clothes of White (Zechariah 3)
The Lord Will Remove the Spirit of Impurity from the Land (Zechariah 13)
Mark’s Witness to Jesus’ Exorcism of Unclean Spirit in Capernaum (1:21-28)
Matthew’s Witness to Jesus’ Healing Power and Ministry in Galilee (12-17 {18-22} 23-25)
The Perils of Turning Away from God (James 1)
Mark’s Witness to Jesus’ Exorcism of Unclean Spirit in Capernaum
They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.
Luke’s Witness to Jesus’ Exorcism of Unclean Spirit in Capernaum
Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority. In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, “Go away! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him. All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority and power, he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.
Matthew’s Witness to Jesus’ Healing Power and Ministry in Galilee
When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.
The Prayer of Nabonidus (The Mad King)
Words of the prayer, said by Nabonidus, king of Babylonia, [the great] king, [when afflicted] with an ulcer on command of the most high God in Tem�
[ 'I, Nabonidus,] was afflicted [with an evil ulcer] for seven years, and far from [men] I [was driven, until I prayed to the most high God.] And an exorcist pardoned my sins. He was a Jew from [among the children of the exile of Judah, and said:] "Recount this in writing to glorify and exalt the name of [the most high God." Then I wrote this:] "When I was afflicted for seven years [by the most high God] with an evil ulcer during my stay at Tem�, I prayed [to] The gods of silver and gold, [bronze and iron,] wood, stone and lime, because [I thought and considered] them gods [..."']
Image Exegesis: Sparkle
“See to it, brothers, that none of you has a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God. But exhort one another daily, lest one be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” (Hebrews 13-14)
So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:21-25)
“What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” (The Widow of Zarapheth –1 Kings 17:18)
The story of Jesus’ encounter with an “unclean spirit” in the synagogue in Capernaum comes on the heels of his wilderness encounter with satan and in Luke his proclamation of his anointing at Nazareth. But this time, there is no challenge. Jesus is in charge, and the news of His authority spreads far and wide.
The metaphor of “unclean spirit” counters the “Holy One of God” in of all places, the synagogue, so that the place most expected to be housing the Holy Spirit of God is housing an unclean spirit who cowers from Jesus’ power and authority. In the encounter, Jesus’ anointing is demonstrated.
Not only was “healing” a bodily action, but it was also an action of mind and above all spirit. The relationship between sin and evil and turning away from God in trust of another “spirit” is evident in the story, as it echoes prior stories.
In the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarapheth, she asks Elijah, “What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?”
At that, Elijah heals the boy and raises him.
The widow is not “possessed” by a demon in the sense of our 21st century horror flicks. But she is not living “in” the Holy Spirit of the All Powerful God of the Hebrews. But after this encounter, she will be!
She replies: “Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth.” (11 Kings 17)
In the healing of her son, the widow is likewise healed of her “untrusting and foreign” spirit.
We also in this text, see the story of Saul, upon whom an evil spirit came to “trouble” him. The “troubling” was the result of his jealousy of David, but this jealousy and envy grew to mammoth proportions as it festered within him, so much so that he tried to kill David.
For a while, David was able to still his mind with the sounds of his harp (no doubt hymns to God). The music brought Saul back to his realization of his life and heart in the Lord. When the “troubling spirit” would come upon him, his relationship with God would be lost, and he would function in a way not pleasing to God.
We see a similar warning already in Genesis, as Cain’s anger begins to fester. He is warned that it will not come to any good. And indeed it doesn’t.
For the Jewish people, an “unclean” spirit was one not of God. It was a state of not walking in relationship with God, and not living according to God’s laws. When Jesus heals, he is the great “restorer” seen in the prophetic scriptures. He is restoring that person to right relationship with YHWH, in whom that person must trust and act accordingly.
While faith is necessary for healing, as seen in this scripture, and as James tells us, even the demons have faith! They recognize Jesus for who he is (actually the unclean spirit proclaims him first!)
But what is even more important than acknowledgment is the commitment to allowing the Holy Spirit of Jesus to live within you, and to living in God’s precepts.
Here the invisible (hidden) metaphor of covenant (and the writing upon the heart) comes through.
Another “hidden” metaphor is “breath.” The word for spirit and breath of God is the same: ruach. And the unclean spirit here is the ruach hattuma of the Hebrew scriptures, here represented in Greek in the Septuigint as the pneuma kathartos (impure spirit).
This implies that instead of one’s soul being infused and brought to life with the breath of God (the creative breath of life), it is instead harboring another kind of spirit (breath), which leads to death and decay –the breath of the tomb if you will. In fact, ancient Jewish people thought that these impure spirits came upon one from a graveyard or tomb, where they were said to hang about. Some thought they were spirits of the dead. In our world, any spirit that is not of God is not the life-giving health-giving Spirit that we need to make us restored, whole, healthy, and joyful in life and love.
In Hebrew/Jewish folklore (the first medical book which included incantations to ward off evil was the Sepher Rufuot), various talismans, including some psalms and other items would be used to ward off evil. Even Jewish priests would wear bells on their robes to keep evil away from mind and soul. However, it’s evident in this scripture that Jesus is telling us that only God can restore and keep evil from His people. Only God is the great restorer and healer. Living in the Holy Spirit of God is what prevents other “unclean spirits” from inhabiting your body and your life.*
Whether madness or false prophecy or disease or spitefulness or foul lewdness, all these were attributed to spirits that were “unclean.” And while “doubt” can be a demon, the more powerful “disloyalty” to God, and removing oneself from being in close relationship with God was what could damage irrevocably. This was the definition of sin –being without the “ruach” of God!
Demons (or unclean spirits) would “trouble” or cause harm to the individual and to those around him or her. They put you into a “foul” place, a place of dankness and darkness, rankness and funk. And they definitely put you into trouble with God.** In response to removing God from your soul, even for a moment, you become tainted (mixed literally is the word in Greek –the opposite of kathoros, which means clean or purged). To be cleansed then is to be rid of what taints and to be restored into and by the “ruach” of God.
As a “body,” the church, like the synagogue, can become tainted by the presence of an unclean spirit within a person or within the body itself. Troubled congregations, like trouble souls, are not peaceable places, but are plagued by unrest. When Isaiah says, the Lord is your restorer, we know that in Jesus, when Jesus is present, what is tainted by sin can be restored to wholeness, love, peace, and harmony.
Interesting in Matthew’s account is Jesus’ move to Capernaum, where he began healing many “demons” and teaching in synagogues. Why this move? In a sense, Capernaum becomes a metaphor too, in that Jesus sets up his ministry in upper Galilee “of the gentiles” where the lost tribes of Israel have been lost to God. But more than that, there may be something very personal in his move too.
Matthew tells us that Jesus moves from Nazareth to Capernaum just after John is arrested. Fearing Herod Antipas perhaps, who imprisoned his famous cousin, Jesus moves his primary residence away from his home town (of course his experience in Nazareth wouldn’t have helped), and to the fishing town of Capernaum on the northern shore of the Lake of Galilee. The town is right on the border to Philip’s Tetrarchy. Should “that fox” Herod turn on him, Jesus can easily slip into his brother’s territory.
Busy with his building projects, Herod Antipas spends most of his time in Sepphoris (only a couple of miles from Nazareth, a suburb of Sepphoris) and in his new city of Tiberias. In Jesus’ ministry, not once do we see him spending time in either of those places. He clearly is avoiding Herod, and unlike John who directly challenged the testy tetrarch, Jesus does not seem to come onto his radar, so much so, that at the time of his trial, Herod would pass him on, finding no crime in him.
Matthew also saws that Jesus “withdrew” to Galilee (to Capernaum). He didn’t just decide on a “lake view” home; he may have been in hiding.^
*For more information, see the Book of Wisdom by Solomon, vii20, in which he receives power from God over demons; see also the Jewish Virtual Library and the Jewish Encyclopedia. Demons were said to live in graveyards and in the “wilderness.”
**For example, even David is incited by satan to take a census in 1 Chronicles 21.
^Herod had divorced his Nabataean wife Malthrace (daughter of Aretes IV, King of the “desert”) to marry Herodias (wife of his half brother), an act that offended many Jews, including John the Baptist. Named Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, he spent most of his time Hellenizing the region. Interesting is also that Sepphoris was the location of the Jewish Sanhedrin, the high court of the Jews. After the Jewish revolt, Herod Antipas rebuilt Sepphoris and Livies ( in Perea) and founded Tiberias in 20 CE. 30 CE, John is imprisoned (also because he was a political threat, being that he was announcing a coming king). This would be another reason for Jesus to stay “under the radar.” John was put to death by Herod in 31 CE. John spent his time baptizing on the shore of the Jordan from Judea through Galilee. For more information on the geography of Jesus’ ministry, see “Archaeology and Jesus’ Ministry in Galilee” by Frank Wheeler (York College). Especially in the north, Jesus would have spoken many languages. Graffiti at the time, unearthed in archaeological digs, suggests Aramaic, Greek, Hebrew, Latin, and Syriac. See also Patheos. “Archeology of Jesus’ Baptism Beyond the Jordan.” October 2, 2015 and “Jesus Our Jewish Messiah” vol. 1 by Stephen Watkins.