Pastor Dan Mangler's Sunday Sermon

Naming Our Demons

Transfiguration - Mark 9: 2-9

February 29, 2006

Naming Our Demons

No sooner than Jesus is baptized and begins his preaching ministry than he plunges into a battle between the divine and the satanic proves his power over unclean spirits. Mark writes: “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?" 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." Is this just an interesting story grounded in the pre-scientific worldview of 1^st century Judaism or is it a timeless truth that speaks to our needs today?

An article in the August 30, 1982 News-week magazine entitled "Giving the Devil His Due" began with these words: "Saint Anthony wrestled with him, Luther taunted him and Milton immortalized him in Paradise Lost. To Saint Paul, he was 'the god of this world,' and he and his helpers figure in the New Testament nearly twice as often as the Holy Spirit. He is, needless to say, the Devil -next to Jesus Christ the most familiar figure in Christian lore ... Over the last two centuries he has been debunked by rationalists, exorcised by psychotherapists and demythologized by theologians."

Aren't we lucky to live in such modern times when we no longer must contend with the Devil or his minions the unclean spirits? We can read about events in Jesus' ministry when he exercised authority over unclean spirits and exorcised them out of the possessed with more sophisticated eyes and not be drawn into a worldview that takes the Devil seriously.

But is that really true? Are we truly free from evil influences in our lives and completely in control of who we are, how we act and what we feel? How many times have you heard someone say: "I don't know what possessed me" or "I wonder what came over her?" The quiet, peaceful woman lashes out with unbridled anger; the cheerful, outgoing man whose hidden loneliness and despair pushes him to suicide; or the upstanding, respectable senior citizen who compulsively gambles away every month's social security check. Are we moderns in any more control over the unclean spirits that possess us than those in Jesus' day? I don't think so. I think we all have demons that threaten the goodness of life and the sooner we identify them and bring them to Jesus, the sooner we can hear Jesus' words "Be silent, and come out of him" and finally feel peace in our souls.

Anger and vengeance are such unclean spirits and we know how easily they threaten the goodness of life and how early we come to know them.

Jack's mother ran into the bedroom when she heard him scream and found his two-year-old sister pulling his hair. She gently released the little girl's grip and said comfortingly to Jack, "There, there. She doesn't know that hurts." Mom was barely out of the room when the little girl screamed. Rushing back in she said, "What happened?" Jack explained: "She knows now."

We know that Jesus said, "Love your enemies" and "if a man strikes you on the cheek, turn to him your other cheek," but anger's influence causes us to strike back. We just can't help ourselves. Is this not an unclean spirit?

Consider, too, covetousness and materialism. Are these not also unclean spirits that take on a life of their own? Do we willingly adopt an attitude that guarantees our unhappiness? Of course not. And yet, how many tie happiness to the accumulation of more and more stuff with disappointing results?

It has been said that "The root of our problem is the disease of materialism, which can be defined as the "looking for inner fulfillment in outer possession." It is the notion that "discomfort can be alleviated by something external — a baby bottle, a blanket, a bicycle, a BMW The pursuit of things is nothing less than a socially approved addiction — and like all addictions, the stronger they grow, the more they eat away at the rest of our lives.

No one has expressed better the Catch-22 of the "more is better" philosophy than Paul Wachtel. If "more is better," then there can never be a sense of enough, no matter how much "more" one has, for there is always "more" available to make life "better." In his book The Poverty of Affluence, Wachtel writes:

"In 1958, when economist John Kenneth Galbraith appropriately described the United States as the "Affluent Society," 9.5 percent of U. S. households had air conditioning, about four percent had dishwashers, and fewer than 15 percent had more than one car. By 1980, when Ronald Reagan's successful bid to replace Jimmy Carter was based on the widespread sense that people were suffering economically, the percentage of homes with air conditioning had quintupled, the percentage with dishwashers had increased more than 700 percent and the percentage with two or more cars had about tripled. Yet, despite the astounding economic growth — despite owning more of the gadgets, machines and appliances thought to constitute 'the good life' — Americans felt significantly less well-off than they had 22 years before, polls showed."

Do we choose to be this unhappy or do unclean spirits possess us? The examples of these unclean spirits can be multiplied many times over. Choose your poison, or better yet, name your demon. They are forces over which you have no control that tell you who you are, what you do and how you should feel. They are, among many others, addictions, anger, covetousness, depression, doubt, despair, fear, guilt, prejudice, pride, shame, temptation, failure, self-centeredness and worry. As different as they are they have two things in common: 1) they are not actions and feelings we choose to do or feel; and 2) they all stand in the way of living the joy-filled life that is God's will for you.

William Willimon, quoting the unclean spirit in the story in Mark, writes: "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?” Indeed, the answer to that demonic question is a clarion-voiced. Yes! Yes! Christ has come to shatter the domineering designs that shackle people to lower standards of human life than those Jesus embodies. Yes! Christ has come and comes still to free us from (our demons).

He continues: "We stand within the church, most of us do anyway, yet we can acknowledge among ourselves the desperation among the people gathered therein - the craziness of guilt and shame some live with; the despair of loneliness; the unrelenting competition and drivenness of people climbing up the business and social ladders; hopelessness in the face of illness and death; the heartbreaking pain of a friend's unfaithfulness; the confusion of young and old alike; the rage churning within an addict's battle for control... “You may not choose to call them demons, but how can you know and watch the community around you on any single day and not recognize the evidence that there is still at work a sinister force that opposes God's will and purpose for our lives?”

What can we do with these unclean spirits? We name them so Jesus can confront them and drive them out. Jesus wants to meet the demons that possess us and cast them away. First we recognize where we are out of control, then we look to the one who says to the unclean spirit, "Be silent and come out of him.” Martin Luther gave good advice: "The Devil hates to hear God's name and cannot long remain when it is uttered and invoked from the heart... I have tried it myself."

When King Saul suffered from an evil spirit the servant suggested that he seek relief by listening to soothing music - and it worked! We all play "sound tracks" alongside our lives. The question is, what kind of background music is accompanying us - is it worldly or divine? Does this “sound track” that plays in our minds soothe us and give us a sense of peace, or is it just destructive noise? We may need to change the music. To whom do we listen, to the worldly that seeks us harm, or to Jesus who wills for us good? Name your demon and bring it to Jesus so that he might say, "Be silent, and come out." Amen.

May the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.