Below is the typed version of the homily. I went off script often so while this is roughly the homily given it's not exact by a long way.
Deuteronomy
18:15-20
Psalm 95
1 Corinthians
7:32-35
Mark
1:21-28
It
is a real privilege to be invited here today to preach. I think it's
a wonderful thing our communities are doing, swapping preachers,
swapping ideas, sharing our worship. I am sure God would be proud of
us all. Although, I have to admit I am more than a little intimidated
about today, I don't want to let you down or disappoint anyone. I
have been well guided by Neil & Elly in what normally happens
here and I have tried to roughly follow that. However, I have also
taken several elements from the Roman Catholic services that are
happening across the world today. The opening blessing and the
readings are taken from the Roman Missal and every church will hear
those same readings. The prayer I used in the children’s blessing
is a famous one from Mother Teresa of Calcutta. The prayers of
intercession that we will say in a few minutes are based on the ones
prayed last night at the first Mass I attended this Sunday. The Hymns
we have sung are Hymns I sing regularly and love.
I
hope nothing we have done this morning or will do this morning is new
to you. It's Christian worship, catholic worship in it's true meaning
of universal, all encompassing, every church, every Christian.
In some ways all our journeys began with the story told in today’s Gospel. These events that Mark described are right at the start of his Gospel. In the few verses that preceded what we heard today, we were told about John the Baptist, the Baptism of Jesus and Jesus calling his disciples. Today we see the start of Jesus' ministry. We are told of his first teaching and his first healing.
It
starts with a simple line, “When the Sabbath came, Jesus went to
the Synagogue and began to teach.” But His teaching was different
and to understand why Jesus' teaching was different we need to
understand a little about what normally happened in a synagogue.
Synagogues
were established to teach. Every Jewish settlement would have had a
synagogue, in fact the law said where you had ten Jewish families you
must have a synagogue. But synagogues were not run by a permanent
preacher, vicar or priest. There were roles in the synagogue, there
were the distributers of alms who took up collections for the poor,
the Chazzan who looked after the scroll and there was a ruler who
performed the administration and opened the service and invited
people to preach. These people could and would be anyone from the
community but often these teachers would be scribes. Scribes were
important people, they studied the Torah, the first five books of our
old Testament. The Torah contained everything, every instruction
needed to live according to Gods will. The scribes over generation
had built the rules of the Jewish people on the Torah, the Law. They
taught from tradition, quoted other scribes and rules. They were good
men I am sure but legalistic and it was from their knowledge of
tradition and law that they taught.
Christ
was different. Christ taught with Authority, his authority. He didn't
site rules and precedents. He spoke from the heart, the same heart
that had given Moses the Law centuries before. Christ with words
alone was amazing people. He was telling them what they needed to
hear in a way no man had done before.
To
add to this amazement they witness the exchange between Christ and a
man possessed by an evil spirit. The spirit, through the man, start
heckling, and Jesus sternly commands the spirit “Be Quiet. Come out
of him.” and the spirit does so immediately.
There
is some archaeological evidence that suggests the cure for possession
by an evil spirit or demon was to have a small hole drilled into the
top of your head to let the spirit out, a technique called
trepanning. The bone removed was then worn as a necklace. In one
excavated cemetery of around 2000 years ago 6 out of 120 bodies were
found with trepanned holes in the skulls.
Christ's
command, a simple phrase, compared to this surgical procedure again
shocked and amazed the people. So what we read today describes how
our church started. The first Christian preaching, the first
Christian healing. Jesus was a man who could preach something new and
preach it with Authority. He was a man who could command demons. He
was a man to be talked about because no understood who or what he
was.
It's
sad that 2000 years on many in our world still don't understand who
Christ is. But there is also great hope, sure and certain hope,
because many in our world do know Christ. We are here today because
we know or want to know Christ. And we are challenged by today's
gospel to carry on Christ's teaching, and to carry it on with his
authority.
When
you trust in him, he will give you the words. When you live with him
he will guide your actions. The lives you live and the conversations
you have will influence those around you.
We
spoke to the Children a few minutes ago about starting things with
prayer, about inviting God in to there lives. To share the fun, the
important and even the normal everyday things like meals. I challenge
you to do the same in everything you do. Invite God to be a part of
it. Allow him to express his authority in this world through you.
Let
take a couple of minutes silent reflection now, and maybe use the
time to consider what we will do this week and how we will share it
with God.
