Epiphany 5; Text: Mark 1:21-28; Title: Authority to Cross Spiritual Boundaries

Last week Tingyu and I went across the U.S. border to attend a church conference on church planting. The last time Tingyu crossed the border, she had to show her Chinese passport and she also needed to produce a U.S. Visa. We were pulled over at the border and she had to fill out forms which took us quite some time. This time, however, we were simply waved through. Why? Because Tingyu is now a citizen of Canada. All she had to show them was a small flimsy-looking laminated ID card. On our way back to Canada, the customs agent had to call her supervisor about Tingyu's new card. The word she got back from them about the new citizenship card was: "If the card looks fake, it is real." So much for our nation's efforts to increase border security.

The moral of this story that I want to communicate is that with the proper documents, no matter how fake they may appear, you have authority to cross boundaries that are normally very difficult to cross. Another example of this is the tragic shuttle Columbia disaster last week. It is speculated that the integrity of the heat-resistant tiles that protect the shuttle upon reentry into the earth's atmosphere was compromised. Crossing at high speed from space into the earth's atmosphere causes so much friction that the shuttle's surface reaches temperatures as high as 3000 degrees. Without the protective shield the tiles provide, the shuttle's aluminum frame would melt and disintegrate. This is an example of the brutal result of crossing one of nature's barriers without adequate protection.

Today, God wants to expand our understanding of the authority he grants us to step across spiritual boundaries so we can enjoy an abundant life. For this, let us turn to our Gospel lesson. There we see Jesus crossing spiritual boundaries and extending the kingdom of God in our world. We see this first in his teaching. His teaching in the synagogue of Capernaum draws a reaction. "All were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, not as the scribes (22)." What was so amazing about his teaching? It was the authority with which he taught. Compared to their own Bible teachers, the scribes, his teaching stood out.

The Bible teachers of Jesus' time knew the Bible very well. In fact they had the Bible memorized. They could tell you an answer to any question. They certainly were authorities when it came to the Bible. So how was Jesus' teaching more authoritative? For that we need to look at what Jesus taught. In verse 15 of Mark 1, Jesus said: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand." Here Jesus is saying that all the promises that God made in the Bible were now being fulfilled. This is the difference between the teaching of Jesus and the scribes: The scribes could only tell you about the promises God made in the Bible. Jesus could tell you when these promises would be fulfilled. Jesus could say this because he himself is the author of the Bible. He is the very Word of God made flesh. Therefore, when he taught the scriptures, he taught with authority. And not only did he teach about the fulfillment of God's promises; he himself was the fulfillment of God's promises. That is why the people were amazed when Jesus taught.

But Jesus didn't just make authoritative claims. He backed them up with authoritative action: When a person with an unclean spirit spoke up: "I know who you are. You are the Holy One of God! (24)," and Jesus demonstrated the truth of these words by telling that unclean spirit where to go. In the next chapter of Mark, we see that Jesus also has authority to heal any sickness and to forgive sins (Mark 2:5, 10).

Now, few of us would have a problem accepting these facts about the authority Jesus exercised on earth as God's Son. But what about today? What has happened to that authority of Jesus? Did he take it with him when he returned to heaven? Before he returned to His Father, Mark records that Jesus told his disciples:

"Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and is baptized shall be saved; but he who has not believed shall be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who have believed: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it shall not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick and they will recover (Mark 16:15-18)."

Jesus is saying here that ordinary believers, those who come to believe the message of the Apostles, are going to have authority to cast out demons, speak new languages and to heal the sick; they will also receive special protection from those things that would normally harm them, like snakes and poison.

But is this still true today? I believe, yes! For three reasons: First, these words of Jesus apply to those who "believed" the apostolic message, and that includes us. Secondly, if the command to preach the gospel is still as current today as it was 2000 years ago, so why not the other words? Thirdly, we hear reports of these kinds of miracles happening in countries that experience rapid Christian growth as well as places where Christians face active persecution.

But why do we not see these kinds of miracles happening among us? I think it is an important question we need to ask ourselves, especially as the authority to do such things is one of the marks of those who believe in Jesus. But, with the limited time we have remaining it is impossible for me to give a full answer to that question. Plus I must admit that my understanding of this is perhaps not complete either. But allow me to offer you a few insights into what I believe is one of the reasons we fail to see the kind of miracles Jesus describes.

One of the reasons is our level of affluence and materialism. These make it very difficult for us to recognize our daily need for God and our utter dependence upon him. Our wealth makes it possible for us to avoid the stark realities of life: That we are but miserable sinners who are under a death sentence and are destined to face the judgement seat of God. The protections of our state, medical systems and financial resources make it very easy to ignore God and ignore reality. In the Western world, we only get spiritual when our systems that protect us fail. When the stock markets crash; when the towers and the shuttles that characterize our civilization come crashing down. Only then, for a moment, do we realize the reality of our vulnerability and helplessness apart from God.

But for a person living in the third world, who has none of these resources, God is a much more present and living reality. God is someone he must count on daily to get him through. I can attest that even from the time I was a child, that whenever I was in a desperate situation where I could no longer rely on my own wisdom or power to find a way out, but could only cry to God for help, God never failed to answer my prayer. I cannot recall a single instance that I asked God for help in a desperate situation where he did not come though for me. I am not bragging here, for I am sure that if you think back, you will find that it has also been true for you. When it comes to finding help in a desperate situation, we know that we can depend on God.

But for us who live in an affluent technological age, most of our needs are looked after by doctors and pharmacists, by bankers and grocers and hundreds of others like that. It is really amazing to think about how much we rely on other people and systems on a daily basis. As Christians, we know that God uses other people as well as technology and medicine along with all the other material things to bless us. They are all gifts of God that supply our daily need. But when these are plentiful and everything runs smoothly, it is difficult for us to "see" God being present and working miracles among us. It becomes a challenge for faith as God's hand is disguised and not as apparent as in times of scarcity. That is one of the reasons I believe that our affluent age so easily produces people who are cynical about God and faith in Jesus.

So, instead of drawing people closer to God, wealth, materialism and scientific advances have sadly become obstacles and barriers to faith. Rather than giving thanks to God for these blessings, the rebellious human heart misinterprets these as evidence that God does not exist, that the church is irrelevant and that human life has no divine purpose.

As a result of being divorced from God, our Western civilization has become cynical and driven by greed and lust, devoid of true virtues and values that make life worth living. These are what you might call the "unclean spirits" of our age that hold people in bondage. These plague our people with unhealthy appetites and destructive addictions, with lust and pornography, with depression and hopelessness, with feelings of anger and resentments, and the like.

I believe that God is calling us as members of this society and as a church in this community, to confront these spiritual barriers and unclean spirits of our age with the authority Jesus has granted us. That we desire to see people come into a living relationship with Jesus, to see their lives become fulfilled and meaningful, filled with hope and with joy. Jesus came to rescue those who are in bondage and bring them into his kingdom. Jesus has given us authority over the unclean spirits of our age. This authority we received in our baptism. There Jesus gave us his name: The name which has authority over unclean spirits.

God also grants us the tools we need to grow in our faith and with which we need to confront the spiritual forces that lead people to unbelief. These tools include his word which divides truth from error. Through the promises we find in this word, Christ comes to us and ministers to us. As we believe these promises, God works to overcome the obstacles to unbelief.

As we lay hold to his promises, God brings to light his presence, his healing, his love. When his word rules in our lives, the lives of those around us are also touched by Christ. Let us then make use of God's word so we can lay claim to the promises God has given us. May we be empowered to cross over the spiritual barriers in our lives and so enter into an abundant life of joy. Amen.