Began preaching in the book of Mark. The beginning of Jesus’ ministry is a good parallel for the beginning of the Christian faith in the weeks after Easter. It sets the tone for Jesus’ ministry.
This ministry
is marked by the sharing of the word, casting out demons and evil spirits,
healing the sick, and taking time away from the crowds to be spent in meditative
prayer His Father. The turning point of these passages is the driving power of
the Holy Spirit. It came down upon Jesus as His baptism. What is in it for us
as Christians? What are the gifts of the spirit? How do we discern what we have
in Jesus to do?
So, if I am doing
my job, the sermon should be an exposition of God’s Word to inspire worship in
the faithful. In response to a sermon, we share an Affirmation of Faith, usually
drawn from our Book of Confessions or Scripture. I draw on denominational
resources for that, to connect with other churches as they draw together their
own orders of worship. But I noticed that in our affirmation from the PCUSA’s “Brief
Statement of Faith”, it gave a more comprehensive list of what it is that Jesus
does among us, but did not specify the casting out of demons.
Not sure if
that was an editing choice for the affirmation or something that points to a ‘kinder,
gentler’ rendition of the faith. But it is difficult.
Finished a novel
where the father of the main character was called a coward. It was at the
beginning of the Second World War in Canada. This father mounted a campaign in
Quebec designed to keep Canada out of the war. He did not believe in violence
or that the nation, especially the French Canadian portion, should engage. In
the plot of the novel, he managed to delay the entry as the two cultures in
Canada negotiated things out.
To be against
THAT war in any circumstances was unpopular. To be politically active about it
was far worse. The gentleman does not enter the Army but joins the Red Cross
instead, seeking to help that way. Which he does until British and Canadian
troops liberate Bergen Belsen concentration camp, at which he is present. Where
he admits that he was wrong. That there is evil to be fought against.
Was watching
Daredevil, the Netflix adaptation now on Disney+. Matt Murdock was talking to
his priest, when he asked the priest if he believed in the devil. The priest
related a story of how he was in Rwanda during the genocide. Knew a good man in
a village who helped everyone. The militia were seeking to get one tribe to
murder the other, but they would not harm this good man. So the commander sent
soldiers to do it. They went, met the good man, heard the stories, and they did
not want to carry out the orders. So the commander himself came. Spoke to the
good man for hours in his home. Finally, the commander brought him out and
murdered him brutally in front of everyone. The point of the story? The priest
had seen the devil in that commander.
So, okay pastor, these stories are fiction. No, they are real enough, but told within a fictionalized setting. That is what good fiction does.
I want to
believe in a kinder, gentler world, one where the devil can be relegated to
myth or to the role of the boogyman. But I cannot. The world is not a kind,
gentle place. Evil exists, the devil is embodied in human beings. And what the
Bible tells us is that Jesus tossed demons and evil spirits out of people, AND
THAT THOSE BEINGS FEARED HIM. They feared for their very existence.
Jesus saves
us from our sin. I think it is good to be reminded exactly what He is saving us
from. And what the Spirit did for Him can be done for us.
Peter Hofstra
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