Good morning. It’s good to be back with you this morning. Last Sunday morning I was driving across the state in snowy, blowy, low 20’s temperature. Once I passed North Bend, it was pure white the entire way east, all the way to Spokane. White everywhere. Beautiful. It’s funny…if you’ve driven I-90 much you know that area around Vantage can be awfully brown and desert-like (and ugly). But put a few inches of snow on everything, and it is stunningly beautiful.

I stayed in Spokane for a couple of days to visit our son Nick there who’s in his first year of college. We had a great time together, and coincidentally managed to take in a Gonzaga basketball game! Nick and I had a great time.

Then Tuesday I drove another half hour east to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and met Steve Lympus, our former Associate Pastor. Steve and I had about two days of catching up, dissecting his ministry experience so far in West Yellowstone and becoming a dad for the first time, and discussed a couple books we had read together. We even snuck in some short and very cold hikes. Steve and Laura are well, and wanted me to send their love and greetings to all of you here at Bethany.

This is the third time (of many) that we will open the Gospel of Mark together.

This morning we’ll look at what appears to be a roughly a 24-hour span of time that we might entitle “A Day in the Life of Jesus.”

Reading: Mark 1:21-34

Yep, just an ordinary day in the life of Jesus. Right. He shows up in Capernaum, teaches in the synagogue, astounds those who hear him, is confronted by a man with an unclean spirit, performs an exorcism which astounds people even more, heals Simon Peter’s mother-in-law, heals many other people and casts out some demons and sums it all up by downplaying it and ordering the demons not to let his real identity out in public. I don’t know about your average day, but this is a pretty full day!

There is one word, though, that provides a key for this part of the story, and actually for the entire story of Mark up to this point: authority. Authority.

I don’t know what comes to mind for you with that word. In our everyday world, we use it in a variety of ways:

• Sometimes we use it to describe a definitive “expert.” “She is an authority on astro-physics.” She’s the best there is, the most knowledgable.
• Sometimes “authority” means a legal right. For example, we’ve found out that our neighbor Steve who pickets out front of the church most Sundays has no legal right to do so. We have the authority to have him removed. That hasn’t seemed like the best thing so far. We’re still hoping and praying he ends up inside here with us rather than barred from being out there.
• Often we use “authority” to describe someone who has a position that gives them a right or power to control or determine a course of action. The head of a school or department or a division or a court or a government or an army wields authority.

At Christmastime I went to see the movie American Gangster, based on a true story. (Note: very, very violent). Denzel Washington is a vicious gangster who controls large parts of NYC through violence, fear, drugs and bribery. Let me tell you, he wields authority. And then Russell Crowe is a detective, working with the Federal government, trying to bring the legal authority of the city to bear against the crime machine. The clash then is between these two competing authorities for control, for power.

So the way we ordinarily use “authority,” it can come from knowledge, from a legal right, from holding a position, or from being the biggest or strongest or most violent.

Jesus, we’re told throughout the Gospel of Mark, has authority. Now, what does that mean? Usually, we take our ideas about authority (like I just listed), and we say “If Jesus had authority, then it looked like that.” Authority is seen as the fixed absolute, the given, so if Jesus had authority, he must be like that. He must have the power of an army, be able to manipulate people, to coerce and get what he wants, to blast people out of the way.

But what if we went the other way? What if we looked at Jesus first to see what authority actually is?

We know from (week #1) the baptism scene at the river where Jesus’ authority comes from, it comes from God. Remember God’s voice?: “You are my Son, the Beloved. In you I am well-pleased.”

We know from the story last week, the calling of the disciples that Jesus could compel action. It was interesting to see in that story that Jesus only spoke one sentence, one sentence! “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” And four men left their livelihoods to follow him.

It struck me when I read it that there surely had to be something about Jesus; it wasn’t just the words, right?! I mean, c’mon. If I came to your office in the middle of the afternoon and said “Follow me,” I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t give your boss notice and fall in line! No, in this early part of Mark we learn about Jesus not so much by what he says but by who he is and what he does. Jesus embodies authority.

It’s the Sabbath, and Jesus enters the synagogue in Capernaum, at the northwestern corner of the Sea of Galilee. As is the custom, the leaders of the synagogue invite the traveling visitor to offer the lesson. So Jesus teaches. “And all were astounded (literally “knocked out”) at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.”

Notice something. We have no idea what Jesus taught, what the content of his teaching was. But when he taught they were bowled over, because he taught “with authority.” It wasn’t the teaching, but the Teacher. There was something about Jesus. Perhaps he stood out because he could explain the things of God without simply quoting other people or documents. That was mostly what the scribes did. Nothing wrong with scribes, they were learned Jewish Bible scholars. They were responsible for interpreting the law, for teaching students and for acting as judges.

But there was something diametrically different about Jesus. He didn’t just have authority, he embodied it. Part of what Jesus seemed able to do was to connect the fragments of people and move them to wholeness, like connecting peoples’ heads with their hearts. It was compelling. It drew people in, just as it had Simon and Andrew and James and John. Made them feel like the pieces of life could be whole.

As Jesus finishes his teaching, immediately (remember, this is Mark and there’s no messing around, no leisure) in the synagogue, right there on the Sabbath in the middle of worship, there’s a man with an unclean spirit. That’s a common way of saying: he had a demon. Whatever else might be going on with such things (and we could talk for a long time about it), inside the man was this brokenness, this fragmentation of the person that kept him from being who he was created to be.

The unclean spirit speaks to Jesus, knows Jesus’ name, knows where he’s from, knows his identity: the Holy One of God. And is afraid. “Have you come to destroy us?” Yes.

Jesus casts the spirit out, performs an exorcism. He doesn’t use any of the common techniques for this kind of work- no incantations, no supernatural power, no physical manipulation, no appeal to ancient deities. Just speaks, and it happens. And again, the people are amazed, talking about it. “What is this? A new teaching…with authority.” Authority that returned a fragmented man to wholeness. Liberated him from terrible bondage.

Immediately they go to Simon and Andrew’s house, where Simon’s mother-in-law is down with a fever, they were concerned, they told Jesus about it immediately. And Jesus comes and simply lifts her by the hand, and she gets up, healed. Restored to health, and she serves them.

(By the way, men, listen carefully: this is NOT a statement on a woman’s proper role as servant. “Serve” is the same word used for the angels “serving” Jesus in the desert, and for Jesus coming “to serve” as a ransom for many people. In fact, Peter’s m-in-law actually is just the first in a long line of women in Mark who get things right. It’s the men who mess things up!)

At sundown, as soon as the Jewish sabbath ends so it is now legal to travel, to carry things and people, the sick and demon-possessed are brought to Jesus in droves and he heals them and casts out evil spirits. More liberation, more restoration, more wholeness.

For you historians, we actually have all sorts of documents with fictional accounts of ancient Greek “wonder workers,” legends that sound sort of like Superman stories of miracle workers. Almost all of those accounts, when they deal with miracles, say “So and so seemed to do this miracle.” Or “this miracle seemed to happen.” No such ambivalence in Mark. It’s like he’s saying “Here’s what happened. Jesus did it. I’m just tellin’ ya!”

Finally, the story ends with Jesus telling the demons not to speak. It’s a mysterious characteristic of the book of Mark many times. At least 10-12 times, Jesus tells people “shhh…don’t mention this.” Scholars call it the “Messianic secret,” that Jesus doesn’t want his identity as Messiah out on the street yet. Why not?

There are lots of possibilities, and we’ll talk more about them later. But let me just mention three:

a) Jesus didn’t do miracles for public displays of grandeur but for the healing of people who were hurting.

b) In that culture, messiahship carried strong military connotations, a road Jesus is just not interested in going down.

c) The best explanation to me is that Jesus knows already that until he hangs on the cross, all speculations about him premature. It is paradoxically the weakness of the cross that is Jesus’ most defining moment and the moment in which his authority is most truly exhibited - for liberation, for restoration, for redemption, to make people whole. All of our worldly definitions of “authority” are stood on their ear: Jesus is not coercing, not dominating, not crushing, not controlling. He comes with a far different authority.

And to be honest, most of the time we don’t get it. Now I’m going to date myself.

You remember Jesus Christ Superstar, the “rock opera” from the 70’s? Actually, it’s had something of a rebirth recently, so maybe I’m not dating myself.

Anyway, there is a point in Jesus Christ Superstar where Jesus is ready to ride into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. One of the Zealots interested in Jesus’ political and military possibilities pulls Jesus aside and says “you ride on ahead of us, and you’ll get the power and the glory for ever and ever.”

And Jesus turns to him and sings/says “Neither you Simon nor the 50,000…nor the Romans nor the Jews…nor Judas nor the Twelve nor the priests nor the scribes nor doomed Jerusalem itself…understand what power is. Understand what glory is. Understand at all.”

The authority of Jesus is different than we thought. It’s power working to make things whole. And what if? What if that authority, that power was unleashed on this earth, our earth? What if something crazy happened and God sent his Holy Spirit, what if in the Spirit God decided to give that Jesus Authority to the people of God, what if Jesus actually said: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Now you go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” You go and be a city on a hill. You go and bless the whole world.

What if God’s plan was that we would exercise this kind of authority, not the world’s authority but Jesus’ authority? Liberation, restoration, wholeness. And of course, it’s exactly what God has done.

It would change everything, wouldn’t it? In small things and large.

• Those of you who are parents would need to think about parenting not to exercise power or coerce behavior, but for the wholeness of our kids.
• Those who are married would need to think about not trying to negotiate for power, but looking for liberation, restoration, wholeness in your spouse.
• Those in the workplace would have to exercise authority in ways that sought to make people whole.

A lot of Christians are spending a lot of time right now working on Christian political muscle and power blocks, garnering votes and candidates, trying to marshall some power and authority in our culture. But what kind of authority?

What if instead of striving to regain the authority to return some generic version of prayer back into public schools, Christians were regularly walking around and around and around and around our schools, praying for students, teachers, safety? For wholeness? What an impact.

What if as a nation we used our international authority, including our military and economic resources, not for control…but in ways that sought wholeness, healing, liberation?

What if instead of spending time and resource fighting for the authority to post the 10 commandments in front of the courthouse in a small town, Christians spent more time in foster-parenting kids, in taking in teenagers at risk?

We have some longtime friends who are a bit older than us and who have finished raising their own children. They just welcomed 12-year old triplets into their home, kids that needed a family. Can you imagine the amount of work, of energy?! But what a move toward wholeness and healing.

What kind of authority did Jesus have, and pass onto us to exercise? Authority for liberation, restoration, wholeness. What would happen if that was our concern? Well…what happened when Jesus exercised authority? Mark tells us in verse 33: “The whole city gathered around Jesus’ door.” The whole city gathered around Jesus’ door. Let us pray.

We’re going to close with a song and saying the Apostles Creed. But I have a very short story I want to tell you. On Friday we had a memorial service here at Bethany for Ian Buchan. Ian was 76, and a remarkable, remarkable person. Ian’s wife Moira is here this morning. Honestly, the service felt like very holy ground.

In late October, I went and had coffee with Ian and Moira at their condominium on lower Queen Anne. We had a great time, an honest time because Ian knew that he was very sick and probably had just a few months to live.

At the end of the time I said “Why don’t we pray together,” and they are clearly folks used to praying. So I prayed first, and then Ian prayed. I think he said something like “Lord, thanks for this day. Thanks that we can be together.” And then he said, “Lord, I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth…and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord….”

And friends, Ian prayed through every word, every phrase of the entire Apostles Creed. I don’t mean he recited it, I mean he prayed it. And when he got do the end, he said “Lord, I believe this. Let me be known for this.”

I think Ian changed forever how I will say the Apostles’ Creed. I want to invite you to stand with me and not just say, but pray the Apostles’ Creed, joining with the church of Jesus Christ down through many centuries.

The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth,
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
he descended into hell;
the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost;
the holy catholic Church;
the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body;
and the life everlasting.

Amen.