Dear Friends

Mark 1:  21 – 28
 
21They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. 22They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24and he cried out, ‘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.’ 25But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’ 26And the unclean spirit, throwing him into convulsions and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching?with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’ 28At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
This is the Gospel reading for January 31st which we would be using were we not celebrating Candlemass.  Mark was not a Gospel writer who wasted words.  In the first 20 verses, we have the resume of the Gospel, John the Baptist and Jesus’ baptism;  his temptation in the wilderness and the choosing of the first disciples.  And now, without drawing breath, we rush straight into his local synagogue, where he creates a stir on the Sabbath.
It’s a telling phrase from Mark, ‘he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes’.  It’s amazing the emotions you can convey in just a few words!  .  The annoyance of the scribes, the Rabbis, who have been pushed into the background, their authority reduced. The delight of Mark as he narrates it  And the astonishment of people going dutifully to the synagogue and hearing something they thought was worth listening to.  How very similar to today!
You can feel the energy of the beginning of Jesus’ ministry;  the excitement, and the joy as the established order is challenged right from the start.  It’s all a rush to get as much done as possible before the antagonism begins to creep in especially as Jesus doesn’t pull his punches – healing on the Sabbath, and talking to an unclean man in the sanctity of the synagogue, a man shouldn’t even have been there anyway because he was unclean.  And of course he brings results.  The man was healed.  What could possibly go wrong?(!)
If the Church is the body of Christ we should presumably be interacting with the world in the same way as Jesus, challenging with authority, healing and in the end doing it all sacrificially.  The question this leaves me is what do you think the Church should be saying so that people who hear say we are teaching with authority?  In a time of pandemic how can we challenge and how can we offer healing?  And do you think we have got the balance right?
A prayer
Jesus Christ,
Son of God,
make yourself known through e.
Jesus Christ,
Son of the living God,
speak through me to others.
This is a rather dated poem which I don’t think describes the Church today.  However it is good to read it once in a while to remember what we are not!
Churchotheque
They’re charging 60p
for colour posters of your
supersaints.
They’re asking for 10 000
to renovate the bishop.
The public are invited
to inspect the stained glass
strip-cartoons,
light a candle for the builders
and sing hosannas to the
architect.
You can buy a booklet of its
history and an ashtray with a
picture, before guiding your
conscience past the begging
money boxes.
They have a concert there on
Tuesdays, a garden fete each
month, as well as the obligatory
service or two.
And, oh yes, I’m glad that you
asked abut God.
He was made redundant in their
latest promotional campaign.
The moving finger of public
opinion wrote the obituary
on the wall.
Jesus was evicted for the
operatic society to rehearse.
Now you’ll find him in the
houses if you care to take a
look.  You’ll hear him in the
streets if you get a chance
to listen.
There’s not enough room in
the churchotheque.
It’s Christmas all over again.
Steve Turner
Every blessing
Andrew