A New Teaching... With Authority!

They were astounded at his teaching for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. It is still early on in Jesus' ministry but people are already recognizing something deeply compelling about him. He speaks with authority, or power as the Greek word exousia can also be translated. The root words are ex and ousia, which mean out of and being. So Jesus speaks from the depths of his being-with authority and power. I want to point out something in this passage that you will see often in Mark's gospel. The gospel writer uses a literary device called a sandwich. One story is sandwiched in the middle of another one-and we are intended to notice that and interpret them in relation to each other. Jesus is teaching with authority, then he casts out a demon, and then we hear again that people were amazed at his teaching with authority.

With that in mind, I want to look at two questions raised by this short excerpt from Mark:

1. What does it mean to speak with authority?

2. What does it mean to be possessed?

Authority is not a felicitous word for people of my generation-authority is usually backed by force or coercion, even in a democratic form of government. And of course, authority corrupts and absolute authority corrupts absolutely as Lord Acton said. But Jesus' authority comes from another source entirely. It is rooted in his relationship with God-his mountaintop experience of receiving the Holy Spirit in baptism, and his desert experience wrestling with temptation and for that matter, his whole relationship with God before then. His life and his ministry flow from the deepest place in his soul-the part that is created by God for God. People hearing him recognized instantly that here is someone who is living authentically according to his own deepest convictions, without reservation or conflict. He was living out what he really believed. He proclaims that the kingdom of God is near, he heals people, casts out demons and gives people hope. His words are powerful and have authority because he is living from the center of his being, where God lives.

Last week I attended a conference down at Trinity Institute on sustainability. I heard four wonderful speakers but one in particular really stood out. Her name was Majora Carter-she was from the South Bronx. She got out but went back when she was in graduate school. She started organizing her neighbors and her community against a solid waste treatment center. It took a couple of years, but they defeated it. Then she started a program that trains and employs people in green jobs. She took in all sorts of people-people coming out of jail, people with very few skills, people that the world tends to consider unemployable. These folks are learning how to rehabilitate wetlands, how to build green roofs. They've been working on cleaning up the waterfront in the Bronx. As Majora told her story, she radiated light and hope. She spoke with great power because she is living according to her deepest convictions-living out her faith in God. Her authority came from her authenticity and her life of service.

So, for us Christians, to speak with authority means to speak from the depths of our being, where God lives, and from a life of service that flows from that center.

Let's turn now to the second question-what does it mean to be possessed? In this post-modern age, most people no longer picture the world as being inhabited by evil spirits that can take possession of us. But in our baptismal covenant, we renounce Satan the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God, and we renounce the evil powers that corrupt and destroy the creatures of God. And that is not just ancient language that we keep because of tradition-it refers to something real.

On an individual level, I would name addiction as an example of an evil power that corrupts and destroys the creatures of God. Addiction saps a person's will to resist alcohol or drugs even though the substance they are addicted to is killing them. As the 12 steps acknowledge, they are powerless without intervention from a higher power. That is a kind of possession and so is depression. Depression, as a friend of mine put it, is a liar, filling your mind with negative and untrue thoughts about yourself, your situation and the world. And you can't really talk yourself out of it without help. When Jesus tells the demon to be silent and come out of the man, this is what I think of.

But there is also a collective form of possession. We can become captive to the various systems of which we are a part. For example, the global economic system in which we participate creates great wealth for some at the cost of suffering and deep poverty for others. Our rate of consumption of natural resources is not sustainable-with collapsing ecosystems and advancing climate change, life on earth is under tremendous threat.

Because we are inevitably a part of this system, it is hard to face the truth about it. And when we do, it is tempting to give in to fatalism, cynicism or despair. "The degradation of the environment has gone too far for us to stop it." "People are greedy and self-interested and will never change." "There are always winners and losers-that's just the way things are." "How can I change the global economy? I'm only one person."

I submit that this kind of negative thinking is demonic. It does not come from the depths of our being, where God lives. It has nothing to do with hope, serving others, or creating community. It is not the truth.

The truth is that even one person can make a difference.

The truth is that a group of people working together can make a big difference.

The truth is that God is the God of resurrection-even when we're dead, there is still hope. And we're still alive.

So the question for each of us is, whose voice is authoritative in our lives? Is it God's voice-calling us to live in hope, serving others and creating community? Is it the voice of the resurrected One for whom all things are possible? Or is it any number of other voices, leading us to believe that change isn't possible, or that we're alone, or any number of other untruths. Scripture tells us that we will know the truth and the truth will set us free. And we do know, don't we? When we encounter someone who is living from the center, serving others, offering hope, we know we have encountered the truth. I don't know if our new president will be able to solve the problems ahead of us and I don't agree with some of his policies, but I believe he got elected because he dared to offer hope, and the possibility of working together toward solutions-and I think people got excited because they know that hope is the truth and hopelessness is a lie. Now we will pray that he will lead by serving others, and forming community around him and living in hope. And let's pray for ourselves that we will hear God's voice from the center of our being and be empowered to be transformed and transform the world around us.