Evil Rears Its Ugly Head
This is the sermon I preached last Sunday, 1/28/24 at S t. Timothy Lutheran Church . The text was Mark 1:21-28. In today’s gospel, we see the kingdom of God on the move. Where King Jesus is, there is the kingdom. Where we are, with Christ in our lives, is the kingdom. One thing that stands out to me in this reading is, how can there be a man with an unclean spirit in the synagogue where Jesus is teaching? Isn’t that supposed to be a safe place where worshipers would not encounter evil? His shouting out to Jesus was so disruptive. Where are the ushers when you need them? We don’t have much experience in our daily lives with demons. However, if you talk with missionaries, they likely have knowledge in this area. For us, the best definition of a demon or unclean spirit is, “…anything that has power that is not of God” (Eric Fistler and Robb McCoy, pulpitfiction.com). It’s all about the source of power and authority. One would think that a sanctuary would be a safe place to be. It w