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Mark 1:21-28

“Why don’t You Cry Out?”

 I want to start with something funny that I found on an internet site: Johnny had been misbehaving and was sent to his room. After a while he emerged and informed his mother that he had thought it over and then said a prayer. “Fine,” said the pleased mother. “If you ask God to help you not misbehave, He will help you.” “Oh, I didn’t ask Him to help me not misbehave,” said Johnny. “I asked Him to help you put up with me.”

We may not realize how distressed we are by hearing people around us— there are many sufferings, infirmities, anxieties, worries, addictions, family illnesses, world-disasters, violence, injustice, and even small gossips that we have to deal with. All negative things come to our minds, and they grow within us. Finally, we can become depressed with all the negativity. If we hear bad things every day, it is like feeding our soul and mind with bad soul food. If you tell your spouse or family member repeatedly, “you are so bad.” They will become that person. Please don’t feed them and yourself with bad soul food! Instead, cry out to God to help you be a channel of blessing.

My grandfather was a strict father. My father was overwhelmed by my grandfather’s expectations. Despite receiving a higher education, he struggled with lower self-esteem and alcohol addiction. He couldn’t talk to anyone in a public place without drinking. My grandfather scolded my weak father every day. The combination of my grandfather’s expectations and strict discipline contributed to my father’s alcoholic addiction. Everyone in town knew that my father was an alcoholic and gossiped about him. All these situations led to my father getting worse and worse.

One day, when I was a sophomore at a seminary, I saw my father crying alone. It was the first time that I had seen my father cry and I felt heartbroken. I talked to my mother about why my father cried alone. She told me that my father was deeply wounded from his childhood. He lost his mother when he was 6 and couldn’t cry in front of his father due to the strict belief that a man never cries. My father’s soul and mind were fed with fear, powerlessness, deep grief, and brokenness by his father and the situation around him.

My mother and I decided to start blessing him. Family members intentionally spoke positive words to my father every day, such as “you are a good father,” “you are beloved,” “we are proud of you,” and “God bless you.” He began looking at himself in the mirror and seeing himself differently. We started having home services and we prayed to stop all negative influences flowing through our family. Eventually, he began attending church without drinking and was baptized. Furthermore, as the head of household, he led all family members and relatives to convert to Christianity. He enjoyed daily prayers with my mother for the rest of his life.

It is essential to cut off all bad things and be positive, supportive, sympathetic, compassionate, and grateful. Bless and encourage the people around you, and if they are happy, you will feel happy too. Perhaps, we can’t do it by ourselves, but if we do so in the name of Jesus Christ, God makes things happen for us. We, as Christians, have the authority to pray in Jesus’ name. Jesus said, “This kind can come out only by prayer” (Mark 9:29). He also said, “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (John 14:14). Why don’t you cry out to God? We can cut off all the bad things flowing through our family history in the name of Jesus Christ. It is the power of prayer that Jesus gave us.

In today’s Scripture, Jesus went into the synagogue on the Sabbath and taught people. The synagogue was a Jewish temple for worship and Bible study. People were astounded at his teaching because he spoke with authority. At that time, there was a man with an unclean spirit. This man was perhaps an image of what the lives of those in the synagogue looked like. They knew about God very well, but their souls might not have been clean. In looking at him, they might have seen themselves, and they were not surprised by him but were surprised by the contrast of the one who has a clean spirit. Finally, the man cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” Jesus said, “Be silent, and come out of him.” and then the unclean spirit came out of him, crying with a loud voice. They were all amazed, and they kept asking one another, “What is this? It is new teaching with authority!” Yes, Jesus’ teaching was the good news that the wounded, the broken, the powerless, the sick, and the poor are not sins, but they can be healed, restored, and reconciled in the love of God.

We may not realize that we have a story in our lives that suffers spiritually and emotionally. Perhaps, our souls and minds may be full of unclean ideas and thoughts. Perhaps, the man with an unclean spirit might represent everyone who has ever experienced the brokenness of life. He is the spokesperson for all who feel disconnected from themselves, others, or God. He might represent the human condition. He might want to hear from Jesus, “I have everything to do with you; You can be the one with a clean spirit; You have possibilities and opportunities to do great things”

We are not very different. Each one of us also longs for that answer because we also know the separation and brokenness in our own lives. We have lived in isolation. We have been trapped in grief. We have carried the burden of guilt. The truth of those situations often reveals itself as if the man with unclean spirit said, “Have you come to destroy us?” You may feel that you are about to be destroyed: You are going to die. You are facing an untreatable illness. However, we may not want our life to be seen in its messy condition. We may want to cover up guilt, grief, fear, anger, and self-judgment so they are not visible to others. However, if we feed those things to our soul, finally, our soul may be destroyed. Brokenness and being wounded are not guilt, but need care with love. Among the many people at the synagogue, only one man cried out to Jesus, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? I know who you are.” Finally, he was healed by Jesus Christ. Why don’t you cry out to God like that man?

As Christians, we have authority in the name of Jesus Christ. We need to be careful to listen to others who cry out, and we may use the authority of Jesus Christ to release them from their suffering. The Gospel of Mark’s witness on Christian’s authority is very clear. In the Gospel of Mark, 16:17-18, it says, “These signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out the demon; They will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Jesus, as he promised, is with his disciples and works with them. Today Jesus is working among us. It is time to cut off the negative things and bad spirit in our family and around us. Do not let Jesus’ authority be limited. Please pray for yourself and your family. “This kind can come out only by prayer” (Mark9:29). Thanks be to God. Amen.

 

 

Posted in Sermons