“They were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes." – Mark 1:22

Mark tells us this about Jesus:  They were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority.”

Let us pray:
Startle us with your truth, O God, and open our hearts and our minds to the word you have for us this morning.  In the spirit of the One who still teaches with authority, Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Mark provides us with three pictures of Jesus:  as teacher, preacher and exorcist.  In today’s Gospel reading Mark shows us Jesus teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum and exorcising an unclean spirit from a man who were there in the synagogue.  Mark tells us:  “They were amazed as they kept on asking one another, what is this new teaching, with authority?”  A new authority – the authority of one who exorcises demons.  “Even the evil spirits obey him.”

When I was growing up the issue of authority was crystal clear:  you respected authority – the police, the government, the schoolteachers, the Pastor, grown-ups in general.  In our family, parental decisions were not questioned, at least not openly, and when either my sister or myself summoned the courage to ask why – “Why can’t I stay out late?” the answer was always the same, “Because I said so.”  End of discussion.

Over the years there has been a shift away from the traditional understanding of authority.  The Vietnam War, Watergate, a cultural revolution, a loss of certainty about the things and people we can count on.  All summed up in that famous slogan:  “Question Authority.”
Walter Brueggemann, a Biblical scholar and observer of the current scene, says that the logo of this new individualist – this new authority – is the Nike “Swoosh.”  “Life is for winners” it says.  It has become a universal symbol of success.

Now, an amazing thing is taking place.  In the very midst of our individualistic, materialistic, authority-less age, there is taking place a major renewal of interest in religion, in the things of the Spirit.  A news item in a recent issue of the Christian Century reports, and I quote:  “Young, educated New Yorkers are pouring into mainline churches and synagogues in such numbers that some ministers believe they are witnessing an awakening.”  For instance, St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in midtown Manhattan has grown from 220 to 560 members in the past five years – 100 have joined since 9/11.  Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church has grown to over 1,000 active members.  Its pastor says, “These educated young adults are tired of relativism and embarrassed by the 1990s.  Now they want to make sure their own children are properly grounded in scripture.”

This exciting growth is taking place all over the world, in . . . in congregations exactly like our own:  scripture oriented congregations of liberal denominations.  As Brueggemann says, “Churches are filling up with those whose faith was in the exchangeable commodities of the world, and who have lost faith in mammon and are seeking out God.”

There is something like a search for genuine authority going on and it focuses on the person of Jesus, exactly as it does in our gospel reading this morning.  “They were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority.”  It is for this reason, when Lent begins next month, at our Wednesday evening Vespers and discussion time we will center on the life of Jesus, for it is true that the closer you stand to Jesus, the nearer you are to one another.

Time and again, in our tradition, at our best – and this is important to understand – this is what we have said about the authority of the Bible.

It is not the words themselves, often taken out of context, which have authority, but the way Biblical words are interpreted in the light of the life and ministry of Jesus.  When Jesus Christ is our authority, then we don’t just sit around talking about faith, speculating about creeds and doctrines, idly wondering about how many angels can fit on a head of a pin.  No, when Jesus Christ is the authority of your life and of the life of your church, you roll up your sleeves and get to work in the struggle for justice and peace.

For after all, as Brueggemann says, “Our authority symbol is not the Nike ‘Swoosh,’ but the cross.”  Our gathering place is not the sports center, but the communion table.  Where Jesus Christ is our host. . .where each of us comes to say in words of our own:

On Jesus Christ the Rock I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.

They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath day came he entered the synagogue and taught.  They were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority.  People said, “What is this? A new authority?  He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”  After all, if an evil spirit can obey Jesus, surely we can learn to obey and to follow.

Here at this table we are nourished and sustained by bread and cup, empowered to live in the world this week as followers of Jesus Christ.  In the spirit of the One who came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, Jesus our brother, friend and Savior. Amen.

Scripture Reading
Mark 1: 21-28

They went to Capernaum; and when the Sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know what you are, the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.