Saturday, week three: Legion (Devotions for Lent from the Gospel of Mark)

It’s possible to have a spirit so unclean that it completely destroys every possibility of community and relationship, even with oneself. The man Jesus encounters in the country of the Gerasenes has such a spirit. 

He breaks every shackle and chain meant to bind him. When anyone approaches, even when they are at a great distance, he screams at them. He’s not even good for himself. He wanders naked among the tombs, hitting himself with stones so that his entire body is bruised. People have given up on him. He’s left alone in the graveyard.

That’s where Jesus finds him, in a Gentile graveyard, like one half dead. Jesus steps out of his boat and from a distance, as usual, the man begins screaming.

Jesus responds in a very strange way. “What’s your name?” he asks.
“Legion.”

Legion. Not the name of an unclean spirit, or a demon. 

Legion. The official name of the entire Roman army.  A unit of 1,500 men. Or 2,000. Or 5,000. Legionaries worshipped the goddess Disciplina, whose virtues were severity, frugality, and loyalty. Legionaries beat one another, sometimes to death for breaks in loyalty or desertion.

What is one man against a force so mighty?

“What is your name?” That’s all Jesus says. Then the Legion begins begging. They beg to be released into a herd of swine. Jesus grants their request and they go tumbling into the sea. And the man? He gets dressed. People are freaked out and plead with Jesus to leave them. 

Jesus doesn’t stay long in that Gentile territory. The man begs to follow him, but Jesus turns him loose to proclaim the good news amongst those outside Jewish life, and he gets back in his boat to go home. If Jesus were to ask the question now, he’d get a different answer. 

“What’s your name?”
“Witness.”

Text for the day:

Mark 5:1-20

Things to think about:

Jesus heals people by learning their names. He restores them to their true selves.

Things to do:

Take some time today to listen to someone.

Jesus Christ, call me by name.

Tuesday, week one: The exorcisms begin (Devotions for Lent from the Gospel of Mark)

These fishermen may have dropped their nets and followed Jesus, but they didn’t stray far from home. The newly formed band of five (Jesus, Simon and his brother Andrew, James and his brother John) goes to Capernaum, Peter’s hometown, very close to the Sea of Galilee. When the Sabbath comes, they go into the synagogue to study scripture with the local men. These guys are Jewish; on the Sabbath, they do Jewish things.

Jewish men in the first century only study scripture if they are in a group of 12 or more, so the synagogue is at least that full. There, in that study circle, Jesus smells a rat. And the rat smells him.

There is a man with an unclean spirit right there in the place of study and worship, and he confronts Jesus. “What have you to do with us, Jesus, of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” The man knows where Jesus is from, recognizes his power even though that power has not been demonstrated, and calls Jesus by a divine title. The man with the unclean spirit knows more than we do, and perhaps even more than Jesus’ new followers.

Jesus’ response? He orders the unclean spirit to shut up. He doesn’t want the spirit to talk about him. To ensure the unclean spirit stays quiet, Jesus orders it to come out of the man. If you want a spirit to be quiet, take away its voice.

Jesus impresses everyone. He is not like every other teacher, commenting and expounding on the words in scripture. He actually does something. He backs his teaching with authoritative action, and his action is aligned with the teachings in scripture.

Mark then says, “Immediately, what had happened concerning him spread through the whole region of Galilee.” Immediacy and wholeness, these are two major themes with Mark. For now, it’s sufficient to remember that people know a good thing when they see it. People have been yearning for the right thing to come along, and when it does, they recognize it instantly and latch onto it whole heartedly.

Text for the day:

Mark 1:21-28

Things to think about:

In 16 chapters, Mark uses the word “immediately” 42 times.

For his first deed of power, Jesus expels an unclean spirit.

Things to do:

Consider the ways your spirit of worship and study might also be unclean.

Jesus, exorcist of the whole world, cast out what is unclean in me.