Start:Stop - Restored to his right mind

Two Women on the Shore, Edvard Munch, 1898

Hello and welcome to our Start:Stop reflection, my name is Phillip Dawson. We continue our journey through Gospel of Mark, using as our guide “Meeting God in Mark” by Rowan Williams. This week, we explore the dramatic story of Jesus’s first trip to Gentile territory. You can listen to an audio version of this reflection at this link.

Bible Reading – Mark 5.1-20

They came to the other side of the lake, to the country of the Gerasenes. And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain; for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him; and he shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.’ For he had said to him, ‘Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!’ Then Jesus asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He replied, ‘My name is Legion; for we are many.’ He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding; and the unclean spirits begged him, ‘Send us into the swine; let us enter them.’ So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the lake, and were drowned in the lake.

The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighbourhood. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. But Jesus refused, and said to him, ‘Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.’ And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.


Reflection

Mark is upfront that his gospel is a story about “regime change” – how the life of Jesus Christ altered the shape of what is possible – not only for the people of Mark’s day but for everyone, everywhere and in every time. This change, this transformation, does not come about through arbitrary displays of power – but through relationship. Rowan Williams has said that Mark is “a gospel of relationship.” In his book “Meeting God in Mark”, he challenges us to enter into this transformational story, absorbing it within the narrative of our own lives.

So how do we enter into the story? What is our relationship with the passage I have just read? How might this relationship be transformative for us?

Maybe on our first reading we relate to the setting – picturing it in our minds, like a screenplay. We might notice the ‘otherness’. This is the other side of the lake, a cemetery, on the edge of town. Perhaps the otherness of the demon-possessed man seems familiar from characters we have encountered in books, or in films we have seen. An outcast – like Boo Radley in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird? Maybe we relate to elements of detail in the text – remembering people we know who have self-harmed, or “howling” souls we have met (our made a conscious effort to avoid) on the tube or in the street.

As we are drawn further into the story, perhaps we start to notice how the characters relate to each other both emotionally and physically; the power dynamic expressed in their body language – even the man possessed by Legions of spirits bows before Jesus. Most of the characters we encounter seem to be paralyzed by fear; the power of Jesus terrifies them. This paralysis seems to root them to a single place. The unclean spirits are afraid of Jesus – pleading for mercy, begging Him not to send them out of the country. The townspeople are afraid when they see the cured man and ask Jesus to leave, while they stay put.

Rene Girard, finds meaning in the order in which the characters meet. On stepping off the boat, Jesus (who, in Girard’s analysis becomes a scapegoat to reveal the lie of scapegoating) is not greeted by a welcome party of dignitaries but is confronted by another scapegoat – the demon possessed man. Perhaps we can relate to what it means to be an outsider, shunned by others - or at other times in our lives of being part of a group who has ostracized someone else.

Last week Reverend Stephen spoke about the drumbeat that provides an urgency to Mark’s gospel  - this passage seems follow the same tempo - is there a “smash and grab” pace to this miracle story?! But in a short sentence, we get a beautiful glimpse of peace - after the swine herds have run off to summon the townspeople, they return to see the exorcised man sitting there, clothed and in his right mind. Completely transformed.

Some of us might relate to this dramatic experience of the transforming power of Jesus. A feeling of being held in the love of God at a challenging time in our lives; witnessing a dramatic improvement in the health of someone who is sick. But for others, the "regime change" in our lives may be more subtle - noticeable only if we look carefully - a feeling of joy or contentment after receiving the Eucharist; realising we are noticing more about the world around us, particularly those who are in need of our support. But whatever the pace of change, it will be there for all those who put their trust in God.

That is the secret of Mark's gospel story -  the event that alters the shape of what is possible for everyone, everywhere and in every time is brought about not by power and force - but by a trusting, loving relationship. A relationship which we are to share with others; like the transformed demoniac – to go and proclaim how much Jesus has done for us and for the world.


Prayers

O gracious and holy Father,
give us wisdom to perceive you
intelligence to understand you,
diligence to seek you,
patience to wait for you,
eyes to behold you,
a heart to meditate upon you,
and a life to proclaim you,
through the power of the Spirit
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(St Benedict)


Thank you for listening. Please join us for an hour each Thursday evening from 7pm by Zoom to explore the Gospel of Mark together in more depth. Find out how to log in by going to the events page of our website. This coming Thursday, 24^th September, we welcome back our Choral Scholars to church to sing Choral Classics at 12.15pm and sing during our Eucharist at 12.45pm. Please join us in church if it is safe to do so, or enjoy the services online once the recordings are posted on our website. Stay safe. Have a wonderful week.