demon possession – A Preacher’s Ponderings

More demons

Fifth Sunday after Epiphany; 4 February 2024; Epiphany 5B (RCL); Isaiah 40:21-31; Psalm 147:1-12, 21c; 1 Corinthians 9:16-23; Mark 1:29-39.

The first actual healing (not exorcism) in Mark’s Gospel is the healing of Simon’s mother-in-law. It is four sentences long. Mark relates it almost as a throw-away — no theological reflection on the episode; just, oh, by the way. We may cringe at the ending, that she immediately began to serve them, but I think Mark is making the point that she was re-integrated into her proper place and honor within the community of Simon’s household. We never even learn her name.

Idols and demons

Fourth Sunday after Epiphany; 28 January 2024; Epiphany 4B (RCL); Deuteronomy 18:15-20; Psalm 111; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13; Mark 1:21-28.

Burton Mack points out that Jesus’ first public act in Mark’s Gospel is the exorcism of a demon from a man in the synagogue. This sets up the struggle between Jesus and the synagogue at the very outset of the Gospel, and shows Jesus as a man of power, more effective than the power of the synagogue. This might have been good for propaganda in the ancient world, but tragic ever since.