Readings:
- Deuteronomy 18.15-20
Psalm 95.1-2,6-7,7-9 Response: “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” - 1 Corinthians 7.32-35
- Mark 1.21-28
Reflections on the Gospel Reading
In today’s gospel Jesus addresses our assembly, our gathering, our synagogue. He wants to transform us from being Christians in name only to a vital congregation that proclaims him truly as “Jesus of Nazareth, the Holy One of God.”
To recognize this challenge we need to listen very carefully to the gospel reading and try to understand it in its first century setting. For example, when we hear that “Jesus entered the synagogue” on the Sabbath, what does that mean?
We know that in the first century there were no characteristic synagogue buildings in Judea, Galilee, or Perea, with the possible exception of a few prayer chapels in Herodian palaces. This was due to the centralization of sacrifice and worship in the Jerusalem Temple. It was more than a century later that the synagogue as a building “began to emerge as a central feature of Jewish communal life in Palestine.” (Meyers 1992, 6.255a)
However, Mark might not have known this. Synagogue buildings set aside for prayer and worship were common in the diaspora (Jewish settlements outside of the Land of Israel) at the time of Jesus’ ministry. Mark, who very likely never set foot in the Land of Israel (Achtemeier 1992, 4.542b-543a), might well have projected those synagogue buildings into his account of Jesus’ ministry. Luke certainly did. (Compare Luke 4.16-30 to Mark 6.1-6 and Matthew 13.53-58.)
In today’s reading, then, it is important to concentrate on the dynamics of a synagogue assembly that are central to the point Mark is making, not on the building itself.
We also need to see this Sunday’s passage in the outline of Mark’s Gospel. Unlike Matthew and Luke, Mark does not have an infancy narrative to serve as an overture to introduce the main themes of his Gospel. Instead, after telling about the ministry of John the Baptist, the baptism of Jesus, and the call of the first disciples, Mark constructs a typical Sabbath day in the ministry of Jesus: an exorcism (today’s gospel reading), the cure of Simon’s mother-in-law, and then, after sundown, many healings along with other exorcisms (next Sunday’s gospel reading).
This story about Jesus’ first Sabbath is Mark’s overture. Mark uses this typical day to introduce many themes that recur in the rest of his Gospel. For example, he refers to Jesus’ teaching “with authority” that is authenticated by Jesus’ power over the spirit world and by his many healings. Mark describes the different reception given to Jesus’ message – rejection by the leaders but joyful reception by the common people. Mark also introduces the notion of service (diakonia) and the theme of secrecy about Jesus’ true identity.
In today’s reading Jesus, accompanied by his four new disciples, joins a Sabbath assembly in the village of Capernaum on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Previously, Jesus had left Nazareth to follow John the Baptist. After John’s arrest Capernaum became Jesus’ center of operations.
The Sabbath commandment enjoined rest, not worship. However, since the destruction of the first Temple and the exile to Babylon in the sixth century B.C.E., the Sabbath became an occasion for study of the Scriptures and for meetings that were not possible during the working days of the week. This was a good place for Jesus to find an audience for his proclamation: “This is the time of fulfillment. The reign of God is at hand. Change your way of thinking, and trust in the good news.” (Mark 1.15 [my translation])
The initial astonishment of Jesus’ Galilean audience is both ambiguous and ironic. The Greek word for “astonish” has overtones of surprise, shock, and even outrage. Could this be the return of prophecy after so many centuries? On the other hand, who does this woodworker from Nazareth think he is? Who is he to give us a fresh interpretation of the Scriptures? Does he think he is better than the scribes who have spent years studying these texts?
Speaking through the man in the assembly, an unclean spirit articulates feelings of rejection (“What have you to do with us….?”) and fears about the consequences of this disturbing new teaching (“You have come to destroy us, haven’t you?”). He challenges Jesus by name and title: “Jesus of Nazareth” and “The Holy One of God.”
In the ancient times people took the spirit world for granted, both in the literal sense of intermediate beings between God and humans and in the figurative sense of one’s spirit as the source of effective authority. In the popular mind one of the ways to control a spirit was to name it, thus depriving the spirit of its power. By naming Jesus and adding his title, the man with the unclean spirit was attempting to exorcise Jesus, to remove his destructive power from the Sabbath assembly!
To have a man with an unclean spirit serve as the spokesperson for the Israelite assembly’s attitude toward “the Holy One of God” is not a flattering portrayal. It foreshadows the rest of Mark’s Gospel. In the early part of the Gospel Jesus frequents the synagogue assemblies, but later on he abandons them and addresses the crowds directly.
This probably reflects the situation some forty years later when Mark was writing his Gospel. Israelite members of the Jesus Movement and their Gentile converts were increasingly alienated from fellow Israelites who did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah. Today’s Gospel reading quite probably reflects the increasingly polemic relationship between the two groups. The very term “synagogue” (Greek: synagoge) became identified with the assemblies of Israelites who were not part of the Jesus Movement, while the Jesus Movement adopted another Greek term for their assemblies, namely “church” (Greek: ekklesia). Note how Mark refers to “their synagogue” in Mk 1.23, seemingly distancing it from the Christian church. (See also Mk 1.39 and Matthew 12.9, 13.54.)
Why is Jesus’ proclamation of the reign of God so unsettling and divisive? Why do Jesus’ enemies perceive it as destructive and counter it with plans to destroy him? (Mark 3.6, 11.18) Conversely, why does the proclamation of the reign of God strike us today as rather bland? Perhaps we can learn from a later passage in Mark’s Gospel where Jesus’ own disciples face a challenge similar to what the Capernaum assembly had to deal with.
In Mark 8.27-38 Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” and they reply John the Baptist, Elijah, or one of the prophets. When Jesus asks the disciples, “Who do you [plural] say that I am.” Peter speaks up for the group and tells Jesus: “You are the Messiah.”
When Jesus continues with the disturbing teaching that “the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again,” it becomes evident that Peter’s understanding of the title “Messiah” leaves much to be desired. Peter immediately catches the implications of Jesus’ saying about the Son of Man or the Human One. Following Jesus means rejection from mainstream society, suffering, and even death. Could it be true that Jesus had come to destroy all of their expectations? Like the man with the unclean spirit, Peter picked up on the feelings of the other disciples and of the crowd accompanying Jesus. He proceeded to articulate them forcefully. He took Jesus on.
Mark tells us that Peter actually rebuked Jesus. Jesus’ word destroyed Peter’s illusions of a Messiah who would lead the Israelites to triumph over their enemies. In turn, Jesus rebuked Peter and called him Satan! Like the man in today’s gospel, Peter’s initial proclamation of Jesus as Messiah was under the power of an unclean spirit. In order to become Jesus’ follower once again (“Get behind me….”), Peter had to be converted, to change his mind, and to realize the true meaning of “Messiah.”
He [Jesus] called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. (Mark 8.34-35 NRSV)
What about our synagogue, our assembly gathered here today to listen to the word of God in Jesus Christ? Do we pride ourselves on being Christians, the largest religious group in the world? Do we feel that we are somehow superior to people who belong to other religions or who profess no religion at all? Do we look forward to some special reward for professing our Christianity?
When we realize that God’s disturbing word is calling us to lives of service, does it destroy our world? How do we react to Jesus’ word when he says: “Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be the slave of all.”? (Mark 10.43-44) When Jesus calls us to share our wealth with the poor, to help resolve conflicts, to forgive one another, and to care for the hungry, the sick, and the imprisoned, are we tempted to challenge him that this is not what Christianity is all about? Do we need to exorcise the “unclean spirit” in our midst that fails to recognize the authority of Jesus’ word and tries to control his name?
In today’s gospel reading Jesus’ rebuke turns the whole situation around. His word of power changes amazement from scandal to awe. It transforms the fearful and hostile assembly into a group of evangelists who spread his fame “everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.”
May the power of Jesus’ word transform our worshipping assembly as it did the synagogue assembly at Capernaum.
In preparing these reflections, in addition to the biblical texts, I consulted the following works:
Achtemeier 1992 – Paul J. Achtemeier, “Mark, Gospel of” in David Noel Freedman, Editor-in-Chief, The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Six Volumes (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 4.541b-557b,
Brueggemann et al. 1993 – Walter Brueggemann, Charles B. Cousar, Beverly R. Gaventa, James D. Newsome, Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV, Year B. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993), pp. 125-133.
Donahue & Harrington 2002 – John R. Donahue, S.J. and Daniel J. Harrington, S.J., The Gospel of Mark (Collegeville [MN]: Liturgical Press, 2002), pp. 78-84.
Fuller 1984 – Reginald H. Fuller, Preaching the Lectionary. The Word of God for the Church Today (Collegeville [MN]: Liturgical Press, 1984), pp. 296-297.
Fuller & Westberg 2006 – Reginald H. Fuller and Daniel Westberg, Preaching the Lectionary: The Word of God for the Church Today, Third Edition (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2006), pp. 298-301.
Malina & Rohrbaugh 2003 – Bruce J. Malina and Richard L. Rohrbaugh, Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels, Second Edition (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2003), pp. 149-150.
Metzger 1994 – Bruce M. Metzger, A textual Commentary on the Greek New Testiment, Second Edition (Stuttgart: German Bible Society, 1994), p.64.
Meyers 1992 – Eric M. Meyers, “Synagogue” in David Noel Freedman, Editor-in-Chief, The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Six Volumes (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 6.251b-260a.
NRSV – New Revised Standard Version – Bruce M. Metzger and Roland E. Murphy, Editors, The New Oxford Annotated Bible [with the Apocrypha] containing the Old and New Testaments. New Revised Standard Version. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994)
Pilch 1996 – John J. Pilch, The Cultural World of Jesus, Sunday by Sunday, Cycle B. A Liturgical Press Book (Collegeville [MN]: Liturgical Press, 1996), pp. 28-30.
Taylor 1959 – Vincent Taylor, The Gospel According to St. Mark: The Greek Text with Introduction, Notes, and Indexes (London: Macmillan & Co. LTD, 1959), pp. 122-124, 170-178.