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Looking Back – Looking Forward
 | Sunday 30th October 2005 All Souls Service - Bridget
I always think that this time of year is an ideal time to reflect on looking back and looking forward, because the softness of autumn is a time of peace, calm and tranquillity and is a good time to let the ebb and flow of life become part of that reflection and thought. All of you have experienced grief, and the difficulties, emotion and sheer exhaustion that go with it, a time of disorientation and numbness. We often fell we are in a cloud of unknowing, a time when God can often seem very distant even though He is in fact right in the middle of it all, carrying us – grieving with us, guiding us, strengthening us. It is that strength of God that helps us to come through the confusion of grief. Words by Alistair MacLean,
As the rain hides the stars, as
the autumn mist hides the hills,
happening of my lot hide the
shining of thy face from me.
Yet, if I hold Thy hand in the
darkness, it is enough.
Since I know that, though I
stumble in my going,
Thou dost not fall.
The past is very important because it has moulded us, we are shaped by it. The person we loved helped us to find ourselves, we grew in their love and forgiveness even in the difficult times. The memories comfort us when the days seem bleak and a little frightening.
Beech leaves are the very last to fall. A beech hedge clings to its leaves well into the winter, and they rattle as they become brittle in the winds of winter.
We have our own beech leaves that we cling to. The beech leaves are the frets, the uncertainties, the problems, that keep coming back and simply won’t go away.
Like the old beech leaves of autumn we have to let go before we can go forward. When the beech leaves fall, the new buds are already there, protected by the old. they have sheltered behind them, but now they are on their own, to winter and break into full leaf in the Spring.
Life does go on, but we learn from our experience it will never be exactly the same.. Look at the natural world, how it evolves all the time, never static. We have to grow into a different life, a life we often find we have strengths and abilities we never knew we had – the disciples of Jesus devastated by the sorrow of his death, were left utterly without hope, until they saw the empty tomb three days later, and saw and experienced the Risen Lord. Their lives changed – nothing was ever the same, but it was in Jesus and His strength that they went forward – they went out and turned the world upside down.
So today is a day of reflection with thanksgiving, joy and hope - a time to look positively at the days ahead.
AMEN
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The foolish bridesmaids
 | Sunday 6th November 2005 7th Sunday before Christmas - Ian
Keep awake for you know neither the day nor the hour
This morning’s Gospel passage is a very well know one. Its message is a very well known message. I was wondering what to say this morning - and - it struck me that within the account was something to do with constant preparedness. Not being caught out by ensuring that we are prepared.
The parable Jesus tells about the wise and foolish bridesmaids is meant to be a serious wake up call to his then followers - and by extension - his followers in this age - to be ready for his return. To be ready for tha Parousia. Matthew and mark write with urgency ---- it will happen before their generation has died out. Luke - stretches it out a bit. John’s approach is quite different - given that Matthew -and - Mark’s- and Luke’s - generations were dying out ---- his thinking was very different
Two thousand years after the Gospel was written - we are still waiting. But the point is not really that we are still waiting. The point is that although we are still in waiting - so far as we know - we are not to be complacent. We are to be constantly prepared
“Keep awake for you know neither the day nor the hour”
And - not only stay awake - but ensure recourses are always adequate for the job in hand. It is no use only having enough oil to last until midnight - it is sensible to have a reserve supply just in case. Because the day - nor - the hour are not known. An example of this from my own experience might come from flying.
The essential key to a safe flight is constant preparation - constant vigilance - constant improving a - and - updating of skills. Constantly practicing everything there is to practice. Always having a reserve - an alternative plan – options. Attention to detail - every bit of detail. The key is to be prepared enough at every point not to get caught out - or - if anything unexpected does happen - preparation - training experience - and - skill - give the best chance of a good outcome
All this is to move from [italic o n]point ‘a’ to point ‘b’ in safety - to make sure that man and machine arrive in one piece…….. But it is absolutely essential to be absolutely committed to preparation - practice - growth in skill - growth in confidence - and - never - ever - assume that all that there is to be learned has been learned. Arrogance - and - indifference kills. I hope I have not laboured that - but - I was trying to make a serious point
We are moving from point ‘a’ to point ‘b’ in our faith life - our growth towards God. We don’t know when point ‘b’ will arrive. We don’t know if before we get to point ‘b’ we might become diverted ---- but --- it doesn’t matter
What matters is that we prepare - and - keep that preparation going throughout. Because - we do not know the day - or - the hour. Would any self respecting mountain climber just set off in a pair of jeans and trainers to climb a mountain?
He might. But - he is likely to fall foul of the weather - or conditions - any of the things he has not prepared for. But we can do that in Christian life - we will plan - and - prepare for all sorts of things - but most of us - me included - don’t place any priority on being constantly and totally prepared for the coming of God’s kingdom. It is almost as if we will do that - when it seems necessary - or - likely - we put it off until tomorrow
Sometimes when I visit families before a funeral it is quite evident that nothing has been discussed. I am - of course aware that sometimes because we don’t know the day nor the hour - that people are caught out. But the message is clear - the only way not to get caught out is to be ready. Things do happen - obviously they do - which do catch us out - even the most planned flight can go wrong
But the greater the state of awareness and preparedness - the greater chance of a favourable outcome. One - that can be walked away from - and - someone once said - any one you walk away from is a good one!
We have a baptism (we have baptisms) this morning. And the theme for today fits in very well because baptism is really the beginning of the Christian journey. It is a point ‘a’ - if you like. It is the first step on a journey - when a young life begins to develop and flourish into maturity and beyond. It is essential to plan - to be prepared - for everything in life - to give a solid grounding. The Christian life is no exception to that rule
The problem is the other stuff that gets in the way - along the way - the stuff that takes attention away from that journey - and - therefore means that the process of being prepared is stinted - or - halted - or - simply forgotten. Sick of waiting - time for a nap! -
The foolish bridesmaids of the parable - who fell asleep and have too little resources when the time comes. Another difficulty is that we don’t know what to expect - or - when to expect it. Most of us will be very aware of our unready state - or - failings - our - vulnerability - our weaknesses. All we can do is continue on the journey in preparation - there is nothing else e can do
Aiming to grow personally - and – spiritually. Aiming to grow towards being the people we were created to be - the - people God wants us to be.
Aiming to learn more about God. Aiming to learn more about the Gospel message. Aiming to apply that message to daily life - not - now and again - when the spirit inspires
But - always - because - actually that is a good way to live. Jesus encourages to watch - be patient - to wait. He encourages us to be as sure as we can that at the end we are as ready as we can be. We criticise the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders in Jesus’ time. But sometimes we are just as they are - and - assume membership of the church is reflective of being a Christian - and - that claiming to be a Christian is sufficient. It is actually in the doing of a Christian that we move closer to God - in preparation - Jesus reminds us of that constantly.
Talk is cheap - Actions speak more loudly
It is an age old message - I used the flying analogy to give it another slant - rightly - or – wrongly. There are only so many ways you can get a message across. Jesus knew that - but even if it seems old hat - or over done to death. It is over done to death - because it is so very important. The Gospel message is as important - and - vital - and - dynamic - as ever it was. It doesn’t change because our social - cultural and technological life does. My daughter raves over various pop groups - I have never heard of - and next year - nobody will remember who they were. The material goods we mass - or - crave for - when we get them - we only want something else. Nothing we have is permanent - it comes - it goes - we tire of it - even people we have - they come - and they go - as do we
Great empires rise and fall. But the love of God is a constant throughout. It is easy to doubt that when we see images of disaster - and - misfortune ---- but - that is the natural world - that is not God’s doing - or – will. That is the way things are in nature - it - is actually how we address those matters which is important. But in all things the love of God is a constant
That is where the journey ends - or - begins whichever way you prefer. But it requires preparation - and constant preparation - and – preparedness. We miss that point at our peril. So will we be wise bridesmaids - or - foolish bridesmaids? Jesus tells us quite clearly - the choice is ours - and – ours alone.
Amen
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We shall remember
 | Sunday 13th November 2005 Remeberance Day Service - June
And God shall judge among nations and shall rebuke many people; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. \Nation shall not lift sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more
Isaiah’s statement that God’s will is always for peace and for peoples natural gifts and inclinations to be used creatively for the sustenance and benefit of all [Isaiah Chapter 2 v 4]
And today from St Matthew’s Gospel, we heard of the teaching of Jesus – the Beatitudes – where he speaks of the qualities of those who give of themselves in the furtherance of God’s Kingdom here on earth. He say’s for example –
Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God.
People often ask Why, when we pray so regularly for peace, does God not grant it. . But the answer sadly lies within the human heart, yours and mine and our wrong use of God given freewill. For we should remember that each and every one of us carries within us the seeds of war and conflict – intolerance of those who are different – pride, greed, envy, hatred and above all selfishness – the desire for self gratification, regardless of the cost to others, These seeds are like weeds in the garden, which, if left unchecked, wreak havoc and destruction, choking other tender plants and taking over the whole plot.
We see the seeds of evil flourishing on a grand scale, ever threatening the life and peace of the world and its peoples – tyranny, oppression, cruelty, exploitation, poverty, disease, starvation and every kind of suffering and injustice. Thank God we also have it in us to see these evils for what they really are, because God has sown in our hearts the seeds of love, his creative spirit in our minds and eyes, The vision of a new world where we all can live in peace, security and God given dignity. And so there are times when we simply cannot stand by and watch evil take over. War is inherently wrong, it corrupts the victor and the vanquished, but on occasion necessary to combat the greater evil.
Jesus also said Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
It was with such a noble vision of building a better world that so many millions have responded to the call to serve, even at the costs of their own lives in the armed forces of our country in two great world wars, the subsequent wars of the 20th century and currently in Iraq. Their purpose not only to protect their own loved ones and their homeland and values we live by, but to bring liberation and hope for others suffering oppression.
Today, as you know, we face the ugly and insidious guise of terrorism in this and other lands, much more difficult to confront and combat. And so we remember in our prayers victims killed in London, in New York, Bali, Egypt, Palestine and in Jordan this week and their grieving families.
Indeed, depending on our age and experience, during today’s two minutes silence our collective thoughts will have travelled through time all over the world to different theatres of war – possibly Piccardy, The River Somme, the trenches, Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, the Battle of the Atlantic, merchant ships ensuring our food supplies, the Beaches of Normandy, the North African Desert, Egypt, Monte Casino, Crete, Greece, the horrors of Auschwitz and Belsen, Burma and the prison camps of the Far East – bombing raid and destruction here at home or perhaps more recently Afghanistan, Iraq and much more.
Many today will have taken the time to remember by name family members or fallen comrades, acts of courage, heroism, self sacrifice, generosity, many noble deeds. All of us, I hope humbled by the freedom we enjoy because of the sacrifice of others will reflect on the ways we use our freedom, All of us, I hope will want to renew our vision of a better world – a world of peace, justice and righteousness, a world which more closely resembles the Kingdom of God, where there is hope for all for the future, a kingdom of peace, justice, healing sand forgiveness for past wrongs.
Sir Winston Churchill’s dream to unite Europe, after the devastation of World War Two into a new community, where the past could be left behind and new hope for peace could be born. His dream is not yet wholly realised, yet infinitely worth the struggle.
I leave you with a moving prayer found with the dead body of a child in Ravensbrück Concentration Camp
O Lord, remember not only the men and women of goodwill, but those of ill will. But do not remember all the suffering they have inflicted on us; remember the fruits we have brought, thanks to this suffering – our comradeship, our loyalty, our humility, our courage, our generosity, the greatness of heart which has grown out of this; and when they come to judgement let all the fruits we have borne be their forgiveness
Food for thought
Amen
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Advent and taking stock for the End Time
 | Sunday 26th November 2005 Advent Sunday - June
Advent Sunday marks the beginning of a new Christian Year, so ”A Happy New Year to you all!” Many people today forget Advent, or gloss over it in that frantic preparation for the Christmas celebrations – but if we leave out this important season, we miss out on our understanding of the nature of God, his dealings with his creation and the future which he has in store for us. It is indeed a time of renewed vision and a time of hope as well as a time of penitence before God, who is our Judge. We are invited to look forward to the End Time when God’s purpose will be fulfilled, the Day of the lord described by one hymn writer as
The day in whose clear shining light
All wrong shall stand revealed,
When justice shall be throned in might,
And every hurt be healed.
Isaiah’s words, written more than 2,500 years ago, could well apply to the world of today – he pleads on behalf of God’s people who have forsaken their God and his ways, asking God to intervene in a dramatic way to put things right. Notice how Isaiah associates himself with the sins of all-
We have all become as one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth
Indeed we come before God tainted by the sins of the world, simply because we belong to the human race. As we, in our day, come before Him in penitence at the beginning of the Eucharist it is right that we not only confess our own wrongdoing but bear on our hearts the sins of the world as well.
As Christians, we believe that Isaiah’s prayer for God to intervene has been answered already – but God did not tear the heavens apart in a spectacular way, but entered the world as a vulnerable child, taking on himself our human condition and, as the man of Sorrows, bearing the full cost of human sin to reconcile us to God our Maker. That unique event, the coming of Jesus, is what we celebrate at Christmas with great joy. But in the New testament, based on the teaching of Jesus bout the Kingdom of God is the urgent expectation that God will come again to execute a final judgement of the world – on that day wrong will be righted, the wicked brought to book and God’s lovely plan to draw all things to himself will be completed. Again the coming of God will be the coming of Jesus (Advent means Coming) this time in glory as Judge and Saviour.
This coming is predicted by Jesus in today’s Gospel reading (in words which we call apocalyptic – that is to do with the End Time). His second coming will be as dramatic as Isaiah envisaged – suffering will be followed by an eclipse of both sun and moon, stars will fall from heaven and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. The Son of Man will come in the clouds with great power and glory. The day will be as unexpected as it is dramatic and Jesus says we must be ready for it – so Advent comes as a wake-up call for us all.
We can draw two conclusions from today’s scripture readings-
Firstly and most importantly – the God whom we worship is not some remote uncaring deity, hiding behind the clouds. I once heard a hymn in which a there was the following line
God is watching us from a distance
What a travesty of truth! For God is far from remote – he cares for his creation, he loves it and is intimately involved in it and longs to draw it back to himself – this he has chosen to do through Jesus Christ.
The second conclusion follows from the first, namely that Christ who lived and died on earth and who was raised from the dead, will return in God’s good time to bring a final judgement and deliverance for the world. We live in an in-between time, a time which is painful (St Paul in Romans Chapter 8 speaks powerfully of this) – time when the Good News of the Gospel must be preached to all nations. But we must always be ready for the End Time when it comes.
So Advent is a time to share the hope expressed by prophets of old but which is ours for today. It is a time to renew our vision of God’s Kingdom here on earth, a time to prepare for that Great Day by seeking his forgiveness and amending our lives – a good time to take stock of our progress on the Christian Way and having done so, so move forward.
Amen
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An outward sign of an inward and a spiritual grace
 Sunday 4th December 2005 Second Sunday in Advent - Ian
Baptism is sometimes defined as "An outward sign of an inward and a spiritual grace"
It is difficult to see an inward and spiritual grace being imparted and so in Baptism we do something to represent that inward and spiritual grace in a way we are able to see and understand.
What we do is to have a service within church. Everyone within the family, parents, God parents, relatives and friends all come together and join the Christian community to be involved in this outward sign of an inward and a spiritual Grace.
Baptism is not a naming ceremony. Naming ceremonies are available in non Christian settings. The two children to be baptised this morning already have a name. They probably got their names before they were born or if not certainly soon afterwards.
When I say this is not a naming ceremony, it is not. However both children will receive the name by which they will be know within the Christian community. They will receive their Christian names.
People, both men and women who enter religious orders very often take on a new name when they enter their ‘Order’. They become known by the name they receive as they enter. They leave the old name behind as they do their old life. They begin a new life with a new name.
A new beginning is exactly what baptism is about. It is a new beginning within the family and fellowship of God. It is the start of a relationship with God which has the potential to grow and flourish throughout life.
From experience I know that the majority of babies who are baptised don’t become lifelong committed members of a Christian community from the point of their baptism. That is not a judgement but a fact informed by experience.
That may not actually be important as such. It may be that what is far more important is that the connection has been made and once made is always there. That may well be very important. The connection we have with God is always there even if we choose to ignore it.
In a few minutes we will begin the baptism service and at the end of that we will continue with the Eucharist, the Holy Communion, in which we share the sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Lord Christ.
In the service we will use water and a lighted candle to symbolise something very important.
Water has always represented life. Without water there can be no life. When astronomers and astrophysicists look to new worlds in their search for extra terrestrial life they look first of all for indications of liquid water. If it is not present they will not find life. Water is essential to life. It is a powerful symbol for life.
This morning it will represent a new life reborn into the family and fellowship of God, through the agency of Grace.
By Grace I mean that we are members of God’s family because of God wanting that not because of anything e have done or have not done to deserve it. The initiative belongs to God.
We have just heard the story of John the Baptist. John baptised people in the River Jordan when they had admitted their sins and turned again to the teachings of the scriptures which was God’s word. They promised to lead a new life from that point onwards in expectation of the coming of the saviour. We use the water in the bowl placed on the alter in the same way.
Water is also used to clean and refresh. We wash in water and make ourselves clean. The grime comes off and we look clean. We also feel clean, which is probably more important.
The inward and spiritual grace is the imparting of the Spirit of God. We can’t see that happen. In the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, the Spirit of God is portrayed by a descending dove or a tongue of fire. I seriously doubt that will happen here. But we can provide an outward sign.
This morning we will use a lighted candle. The lighted candle represents the ‘Light of Christ’ in the world and at the baptism a parent or God parent from each family will receive a lighted candle to symbolise passing from darkness to light. The passing from darkness to light is the inward and spiritual grace. The outward sign is the light of a candle.
Light is an important symbol in Christianity.
The Christmas carol, ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’ says something important about darkness and light.
“Yet in the dark streets shine the everlasting light. The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight”
Jesus was born into the darkness of the night. A light born into the darkness. The darkness and the light met head on that first Christmas in Bethlehem. The light overcame the darkness and the darkness, however it might try has never quenched the light.
Light is a very powerful Christian symbol. We use it this morning to demonstrate that inward and spiritual grace.
In Jesus’ day people were only baptised when they were old enough to be able to make a decision for themselves about turning over a new leaf. They had experience of life and had been both good and bad. Children were not baptised generally except perhaps when a whole family was baptised together, which is recorded here and there.
It was the Church’s tradition which began to baptise children and there were various reasons for that. Suffice to say the tradition has carried on through the Catholic and Anglican traditions.
There lies a problem. Babies are not generally understood as having a capacity for decision making.
Adult people are generally understood to have that capacity. Enter Parents and God parents.
This morning it will be you who will make decisions on behalf of your children. That implies a commitment to bring up the child within the tradition of the Christian community.
When the child is old enough to make rational decisions they can ask to become confirmed members of the church and make the decision for themselves.
And so, water and a flame representing light are our outward signs of that inward and spiritual grace which is baptism. God always uses very simple things to demonstrate something wonderful.
Finally, it is really good to have a Baptism within the Sunday Eucharist because then the whole church community in this place shares in that, which they should.
It is also good to have the service within this building which has a long history and a continued involvement in this town. Church community and wider community coming together and being as one, sharing in something special.
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Putting Christ into Christmas
 Sunday 11th December Third Sunday in Advent - Bridget
In an article in Chruch Times, Jonathan Bartley writes -
"Not long ago, during a heated debate in the House of Commons, a government minister with responsibility for driving through the latest asylum Bill sat down to give way to a backbencher.
The MP rose to speak, and began to relate the story of a couple known to him, who had been forced to flee from persecution. Unmarried, the woman had found that she was unexpectedly pregnant - which brought stigma in her culture. As a result of the economic plans of a despotic ruler, she was forced to give birth in unsanitary conditions. But things were to get worse. Natives of an occupied country, they soon had to leave home, and cross the border in fear of their lives, threatened by a political programme that resembled localised genocide.
The family, it was suggested, would struggle to qualify for asylum in the UK under the Government's proposals. If they had made it, they would have faced a frosty welcome. But, as the story progressed, it became clear that this was no ordinary family. The MP was narrating the Christmas story - a point not lost on an infuriated Government minister, who herself had a Christian faith.
The political implications of the Christmas period, it seems, are increasingly being recognised. A grassroots campaign against the arbitrary detention of asylum-seekers a few years ago enacted the arrest of the Holy Family outside Yarl's Wood detention centre in Bedford to highlight the conditions in which refugees were held.
As Advent begins, Church Action on Poverty, with other church groups, is challenging people to live as failed asylum-seekers, on just £5 a week. A number of Christian aid agencies are also encouraging us to send a Christmas gift to the developing world, such as a chicken or a goat, on behalf of those we love, instead of filling their stockings with more unwanted clutter.
Such initiatives, however, come at a time when stories abound that Christ is being "taken out of Christmas". Lambeth Council in London announced plans (later withdrawn after a media outcry) to rename its Christmas lights "Winter Lights". Another report suggested that a dozen towns and villages could lose funding for their Christmas festivities because they were deemed "offensive". The examples cited are often exaggerated, and designed to whip up righteous indignation about "political correctness gone mad", and the loss of the country' s religious heritage.
But the Christmas story is offensive - even scandalous. It has a tough message for us all, and in particular for those in positions of power. If it is time to put Christ back into Christmas, it should not be the Jesus of the Christmas lights. Nor should the one who comes back be the sanitised, meek and mild baby in the manger, devoid of challenge and political implication. Rather, it must be the Christ who, from the time of his birth, frightened the political leaders of his day. It should be the Christ whose incarnation drew attention to the most vulnerable, was an advocate on their behalf, and invited us all to stand alongside them."
All of this reminded me of an exhibition of 12 paintings during Lent 2003 in St Albans Cathedral - it was a time of tension and imminent war in Iraq. The paintings by Charlotte Wright were all depicting the different and many ways, all over the World, human beings are tormented, abused, tortured, forgotten; and all the suffering and trauma, mentally and spititually, of the victims. Each painting spoke very deeply to one's heart and conscience. It was overwhelming because of the hopelessness and despair one feels about the way human beings can - and do - treat each other.
But then look at what we did to Jesus - the Son of God, and how God worked through it all; how new life and hope sprang out of all that brutality and denial because of God's overwhelming love and forgiveness.
In response to the paintings, David Grubb wrote a poem sequence, which made the exhibition more bearable amd deeply moving. We see, we recognise, stop, wait and journey on. This was poem number 10, with a message for us all.
This is a man who is dressed in the eyes of God;
This is a man who is rising in realms of light;
This is a man who has attended the birthday of pain.
What will you say to us
and how shall we perceive your wonders?
I am a carol hidden between the planets;
I am a song that is ancient yet unborn;
I am exile and angel.
I forgive you all.
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Christ in the Synagogue
 Sunday 29th January - Forth Sunday in Epiphany - June
The beginning of the Good news of Jesus Christ – with these words St Mark opens his Gospel, an acknowledgement of the evangelist’s recognition of the divine identity of Jesus, and an affirmation of his faith in him. Notice that St Mark’s portrait of Jesus is not a biography: e.g. Jesus is already an adult when he comes to the river Jordan to be baptised by john who preaches repentance. The important feature of the prologue to the gospel in Chapter 1 is the emphasis on the power of the Holy Spirit with Jesus. As it comes upon him in the form of a dove at his baptism,
Jesus alone hears the voice of God You are my Son, the Beloved. With you I am well pleased. The Same Spirit draws him immediately into the wilderness where he wins the victory over Satan the tempter. Embarking on his ministry, he calls his first disciples. The call ”follow me” carries the ring of authority and Simon and Andrew, James and John obey him without hesitation. Throughout St. Mark’s Gospel, the first and shortest of the four, there is an urgency and economy of detail as he carefully selects and records material which he sees as essential to his message about Jesus.
During the season of Epiphany, we have seen through the stories recorded by all four evangelists, how Jesus was revealed as the Christ to Jew and Gentile alike – some like Herod feared him; others saw in him hope for the future and, as his story continues to unfold, there are many whose lives will be transformed.
In today’s reading we find Jesus as a devout Jew in the synagogue at Capernicum on the Sabbath day. People there would perhaps have known him as the Son of Joseph, the carpenter from Nazareth, one of themselves. He stands up to teach and immediately commands their attention. They are astounded at the authority with which he speaks – an authority which evokes a response from a man possessed by an unclean spirit. He was probably suffering from dementia, but it was believed that as illness and disorders were evil they were caused by the work of the devil – hence the unclean spirit which is the enemy of God. Although the people are impressed by Jesus’ authority, it is the unclean spirit who recognises in him the power of the Holy Spirit, and he cries out in fear “what have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? I know who you are, the Holy One of God”
Jesus responds “Be Silent, Come out of Him!” – and screaming the unclean spirit leaves the man. The people are utterly amazed and ask each other “What is this? – a new teaching with authority. It commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.” And so the news was spread around the towns and villages of Galilee.
So in the incident, recorded with care by St. Mark, a victory of the goodness of God over evil, we have a strong pointer to Jesus Christ, Son of God, who by his cross and resurrection will win the final victory over all that is evil, including disease and all that oppresses God’s people, even the last enemy – death itself. This is Mark’s strong conviction about Jesus Christ, in whom the fullness of God dwells, an eternal truth, which like the buried treasure comes to light, revealed through the ages to his disciples first, a truth which through the witness of the apostles, evangelist and millions of Christian people continues to be revealed and is ours today assuring us that evil will never win the final victory.
Amen
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