Demons

Friday and Saturday we had our Vestry retreat. I sort of led the time together. My goal was to identify concrete and actionable goals. I think we were able to accomplish that. Like New Year's resolutions, our church goals seem to be the same every year. One recurring one, at least since 2007 has been to increase church attendance. An associated desire is to "get more young families." So at announcements I told the parish that we had a plan to improve attendance, "We have hired to highly trained assassins who will hunt down and torture anyone who misses mass!" Everyone chuckled and then I added, "I am just kidding... they aren't highly trained." I then transitioned into the real plan, which is to find ways to invite people into more serious commitment to the Lord and His church.

The reality is, if our members took church attendance seriously we would be seeing lots more of our young families and our pews would be filled each week at all the services. If our relationship with God is a matter of (eternal) life and death and if Sunday worship is a constitutive part of that and if skipping out each week is (a partial) rejection of our Christian identity, then we shouldn't need assassins to motivate folks. God would be enough.

Sunday's Gospel (I did not preach) was a story about Jesus in a synagogue. Mark uses it as a way to kick off Jesus' ministry. We are told that Jesus taught as one who had authority. At some point a man stood up and shouted, "What have you to do with us Jesus of Nazareth?" What indeed... There are many things which strike me about this section, but two jump out.

1. What is a demon? Reading commentaries one gets the distinct impression that most contemporary scholars are uncomfortable with the concept. Some think that the belief in demons is pre-scientific. So the demonic is actually considered to be a term covering a host of other things, mental illness being a major one, but also including the powers at work (think of peer pressure or societal impact) among us. The demonic in this sense refers to any 'forces' which do damage to humans. The problem is, at least for me, it is not easy to translate social/economic/emotional forces into the personalized nature of demonic possession as expressed in the New Testament.

I do think that there are spiritual entities who inhabit a realm not easily discerned. Terms like angels and demons are helpful because they give substance to what is not materially substantial. How exactly these entities work, how they can impact the material world, why they are given freedom to do this---is not totally clear. It falls under the heading of "Mystery" and awaits a future explanation.

How does mental illness (in mild forms like we all experience it from time to time or in the more destructive cases which literally destroy some folks) and the demonic co-exist. Are demons causal agents? How does modern science factor in? Do we call in an exorcist for depression or dementia? Do we claim medicine alone cures and ignore other realms? Certainly, we know this is all much more complex than a blog can address. In the end, I prefer to recognize that humans are in many systems. We engage our world at many levels: atomic, chemical, organic, psychological, social, emotional, congnitive and, yes, spiritual. Our cultural beliefs, our sex and age, our moods and our physical health (and etc.) are all factors in how we deal with germs and problems. Our spiritual health and the presence of demons is also a factor. Are demons part of physical and emotional illness? Why not?

2. The second point of reflection is less speculative and mysteerious. The demoniac, whatever he was, was in the gathered assembly. The word synagogue and church were interchangeable at this point. It wasn't until later that they took on specifically Jewish vs. Christian connotations. For me, it is stunning to think that a possessed man was participating in the Jewish service. It seems to mean that, perhaps, our own churches (even pulpits!) can be filled with people who are 'owned' by the "other side." Contemporary reworks of the understanding of the demonic certainly would have room for that idea. It is a stern reminder that this side of glory we are in the midst of challenges. No one is totally safe and free. Perhaps it is fair to say that one reason for lagging church attendance is that people have been seduced by the demonic. Maybe the (good) things which take up so much of our time and energy are being processed through (evil) forces which twist and pervert them (and us). Maybe we are not totally safe yet. A good reason to show up for church and pray for deliverance. A great reason to turn to Jesus!