Fourth Sunday after the
Epiphany
January 29, 2012
In a public place if someone has a medical emergency the cry will go
out, “Is there a doctor in the house?” Most of us are not equipped to help
someone who experiences a serious medical issue. Especially when time is of the
essence, you need a doctor or other medical personnel immediately. When you’re
at the hospital the doctor is easily recognizable. But out in public settings
you have to ask the crowd if there is a doctor present.
This is the way it is with God. He is not immediately recognizable.
When people are having problems they cry out to God. Since He’s not immediately
recognizable it’s as though they’re asking, “Is there a God in the house?”
I wonder what the people were thinking on that day in Capernaum that’s
recounted in today’s Gospel reading. It was the Sabbath. Time to go to church.
Time to hear the Word of God preached. But on this day things seemed a little
different. The man teaching the Word of God was doing things a little
differently. Never mind that they knew Him, and perhaps many of them had grown
up with Him. He was teaching in a way they weren’t used to. With authority. Not
the way they were used to hearing from their scribes.
What was going through minds on that day? He was speaking on the Word
of God as though He was behind it all. The scribes often quoted the authority
of others. They knew their place. Did Jesus know His? How did the people of His
hometown receive this kind of teaching from someone they knew so well?
And then the interruption. Just when they were trying to figure out
Jesus in comes a man with an unclean spirit. The people there may not have
understood what was going on but the demon did. The people were astonished at
Jesus’ teaching, the demon was terrified by it. Its immediate reaction was, “What
have You to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know
who You are—the Holy One of God.” This demon could see the writing on the wall for
Satan and his minions. What do you have to do with us? Why don’t You leave well
enough alone and go back to Your carpentry? But the demon really knew why Jesus
had come—to destroy them.
The people were puzzling about Jesus. How did a carpenter get these
preaching skills anyway? How did a regular person like they were come to speak
with such authority when it came to the Word of God? But not the demon. He knew
exactly who Jesus was. Namely, as he said, “the Holy one of God.” The demon
knew who had entered the synagogue on that day.
As Mark tells us the account there wasn’t a lot of time for reactions.
But we can imagine people asking at the entrance of a man who is
demon-possessed, “Is there an exorcist in the house?” Is there someone here who
can cast out the demon from this man? Will God come into His House on this
Sabbath day and release this man from the tyranny of this demon? I can hear
someone saying, “Is there a God in the house?”
It just so happens there was. If the people were astonished at the
authority by which Jesus taught the Word of God they were even more amazed when
they saw the power of the words He spoke as He commanded the unclean spirit to
be quiet and then to come out of the man. Of course the demon was unable to
resist Jesus. He didn’t like it so he cried out and convulsed the man, but come
out he did.
And if that was amazing; if the people then were talking among
themselves, debating among themselves, wrapping their minds around these
events, what is clear is that that demon that had no ability to continue his
demonic work had known exactly who Jesus was. There was a God in the house. God
Himself, in fact, was in the house. Jesus entered that synagogue that day not
merely as a scribe who taught the Word of God but as God in the flesh.
Paul says in the Epistle reading today: “although there may be
so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many
“lords”— yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and
for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and
through whom we exist.” Think for a moment about this remarkable statement.
There are many religions, many gods in whom people put their trust. But as
Christians we don’t go down those roads. As Paul goes on to say, “for us there
is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist.” As Christians
this is essential doctrine. And if Paul had stopped there there would have been
no problem, because that is exactly who God is. God the Father is the one true
God, the Creator of the universe and the one for whom we exist.
The thing is, Paul didn’t stop there. Even though it’s true that God
the Father is the true God and the God of all creation, He’s also the Father of
His Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. So in actuality it wasn’t enough for
Paul to say that for us there is one God and He is the Father who created us
all. Paul was compelled to go on and say, “and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through
whom are all things and through whom we exist.” If you’re going to talk about
religions and beliefs and gods there comes a point where when you talk about
the true God you must talk about the God who has made Himself known in His Son
Jesus Christ. He is the Lord, as Paul says “through whom are all things and
through whom we exist.”
It is this God who walked into the synagogue on that day. The true God.
It is this God that nobody realized was before them in the flesh except the one
Jesus casted out, the demon. Jesus Christ was there on that day teaching the
Word of God with authority unlike any of them had ever seen. It was authority
that had power even over demons, which overtake a person and wreak havoc on
their life. What happened from there on out was that word got around, His fame
spread. But here’s the thing, they didn’t recognize Him. People knew about this
man who taught with authority and did amazing things. But they didn’t see God
in the flesh. They didn’t know who He really was.
We have the same problem still today. No, Jesus isn’t walking around
the planet as He did two thousand years ago. So what do we have? People are
looking for God. People are seeking out spiritual and eternal answers. So many
people look for God but they don’t recognize Him the way He comes. He may not
be walking around but God comes in the flesh still today.
What we believe is different is different from the world. We recognize
that there is a God in the house. We believe that God still comes to us in the
Person of Jesus. He is present right here before us at His Table. And He speaks
with the same authority that He did in that synagogue two thousand years ago. That’s
why we hear His words when we are given the bread, “Take eat, this is My body,
given for you,” and when we are given the wine, “Take drink, this is My blood,
shed for you for your forgiveness.”
So many seek God within themselves. Or they search for a god that is
like the one they wanted at the end of the Gospel reading. There was a lot of
excitement. There were stunning displays of glory. But did people know who He
was? This was an amazing time, when God was walking on the earth in the flesh. There
were plenty of people who believed in God—and yet, many did not believe that God
had come in the flesh and was dwelling among them; that God was in the house.
But though it was an amazing time and certainly unique, things are not
all that different today. There are many people who believe Jesus is God. A lot
of people are excited about Him. But do they believe He is in the house? Do they
recognize Him at the font? Do they recognize Him when He makes Himself known at
His Table, where He gives us Himself, His body and blood in the bread and wine?
Do they see that the one who hosts His Meal at His Table to give His body and
His blood is the one who wants them to see Him here? For as many who marveled
at Him, or debated Him, or questioned Him, all He really wanted for all of us
to see was Him hanging on a cross while bleeding and crushed with the weight of
every person’s sin and guilt.
If you want to know if God is in the house, remember that the God of
Creation, of bringing things into existence, is the one who gave His Son over
to death, even death on a cross, so that God could then accomplish His
marvelous work of restoration. Restoring us to eternal life with Him. It is all
in the one who was the recipient of the demon’s words: “I know who You are—the
Holy One of God.”
So do we. And He is in the House. Amen.
SDG
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