Mark 3:20-35
In Mark’s gospel Jesus’ ministry begins immediately with healing, confronting powers and principalities and “encountering the power of unclean spirits and demon possession.”[i] And in response, in today’s Gospel reading, the Pharisees and scribes level “a charge against Jesus, accusing him of being in league with the ruler of demons.”[ii] His own family arrives on the scene, saying he is “beside himself” or “out of his mind.”
Responding to their accusations, Jesus takes seriously the realities of Satan and other demonic powers. His direct speech about Satan makes us uncomfortable because in our “secular age” we live in a largely “disenchanted world” where “talking about the Devil is more and more awkward” and more “like telling a story about ghosts, alien abduction, or Bigfoot.” [iii]
Whatever our understanding of these powers are, the reality that Jesus names here is that we are captive “to the powers of evil signified by “Satan,” powers that continue to seek our allegiance” even now.[iv] “The proper name “Satan” comes from the Hebrew … word that simply means adversary.”…Biblically, Satan names that which is working against God and God’s kingdom in the world.”[v] These are the powers that “capture us and cause us to hurt ourselves, to hurt others, and to hurt God.”[vi]
And, captive to these powers, in our communities and neighborhoods, and even within our congregations, we become the “house divided” that Jesus references as we continue to label people as “out of their minds” and in direct opposition to the Gospel — the Good News of Jesus Christ — we demonize, “other” and de-humanize the ones who stand outside: the refugee, the immigrant, the person with brown or black skin; the convict, the poor, and the homeless; those who are differently abled and those whose mental health is compromised.
Nearly four years after comedian and actor Robin Williams’ death by suicide, suicide returned to the news this week followings the deaths of designer Kate Spade and chef Anthony Bourdain. In addition to having resources and celebrity, all three of these beloved sons and daughters of God had the unfortunate distinction of belonging to the group of people – those between 45 to 64 years old – who have the highest suicide rate (19.21%) in our country. But the next highest group affected is those 75 and older at 18.59%.[vii] And, across age groups, veterans account for 22% of suicides. No one is immune.
And yet, despite its prevalence,
despite the fact that each year more than 44,000 Americans die by suicide, and, on average, in our state, one person dies by suicide every six hours, mental health conversations remain difficult and conditions like anxiety, bipolar, depression, and psychosis remain highly stigmatized. [viii]
The first words of Mark’s Gospel say, “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” (Mark 1:1) but in his book Jesus and the Disinherited Howard Thurman wrote, “Christianity is only good news, if it’s good news for “those who stand, at a moment in human history, with their backs against the wall.”[ix]
Thurman’s words provoke us to recognize the ways in which too often today, people affected by mental illness still live with their backs against the wall.
And it’s not only “those people,” the ones we don’t know. It is us, it is our children and our sisters and brothers.
Fully 1 in 5 adults experience mental health conditions every year.
1 in 5.And because few of us grew up in settings where mental health was openly discussed, we think, “I should be happy.” “I just need to be more positive.” “I just need to work this out for myself.” And when we don’t find that way forward all on our own, without medication, professional help or counseling, we become more frustrated, more disappointed and more critical of ourselves. [x]We churn in an eddy of dis-ease, shame and mis-understanding, with voices echoing in our heads:
“I am unforgiveable.”
“God punishes and condemns me.”
And “I have no purpose.”
And those are lies. Those are the very evil lies that Jesus names when he “[exposes] our captivity to the “strong men” of our lives.”[xi]
Today’s gospel demonstrates that, truly, “we are enslaved to oppressive spiritual forces …[and] God is acting in Jesus as [our] liberator, emancipator and rescuer.”[xii]
The Good News that Jesus brings is the assurance of grace that says,
“I am forgivable.”
“God loves me.”
And “God has a purpose for me.”
And it is in those moments when we are freed to “experience the gracious and stunning love of God.”[xiii]
It is really important to say out loud here that people who complete their deaths by suicide are not outside of God’s grace; their disease tragically altered their lives and brought about their premature deaths, but they are not separated from God’s love.
A clergy friend shared the story of a congregation where a row of eight headstones sat at one end of their cemetery. Each of the markers was for a person who had completed their death by suicide. At the time of their burials, the graves had sat beyond the fence around the cemetery; they were considered outside the grace of God at their deaths. Since then, compassion had prevailed and the fence had been moved, so that today, they stand united with the other saints who were laid to rest there.
Maybe you remember those days. Thankfully, similar changes have happened in the majority of Christian traditions, and today, Christians who complete their deaths by suicide are interred or inurned with the same rites of committal and commendation as anyone else.
For each of us here, confident of God’s mercy made new every morning, we can live this Gospel’s Good News out loud in our lives and in our congregation, neighborhoods and communities.
If you are struggling, know you are loved. You matter. You are wildly loved. You are not alone. Stay with us. Please. You brain chemistry is broken, not you. Ask for help. Seek counseling. Work with a doctor to manage the right dose and kind of medication. Freedom awaits. But hear me when I say, if you cannot do any of those things, it doesn’t change the facts: You matter. You are wildly loved. You are not alone. Stay with us. Please.[xiv]
If you are healthy today — and it’s always today because mental health isn’t static and set, it changes and depression can come roaring back into a person’s life without warning — if you are healthy today, learn the number for the Suicide Prevention Hotline. Learn about Mental Health First Aid and QPR trainings that will equip you to respond to others whose mental health is affected. Advocate for comprehensive access to healthcare. Learn about warning signs of suicidal thoughts and behaviors and learn how to listen non-judgmentally to people when they are hurting. Learn and share information about the resources that are available here in Shelby and Cleveland County, and walk alongside people who are hurting, without trying to “fix” them. [xv]
Following Jesus, we are freed to open our imaginations to see the world that Jesus sees, where, as Paul writes in Romans 8:21, “we obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”
No longer a house divided, we are freed to become a community where we practice care and love and reconciliation, working out the messiness of our lives face to face with real people. That is who the Church is called to be in this hurting world.
Pray with me…
Healing and life-giving God,
Thank you for your Son Jesus who defeats all the powers of evil that persist in this world;
Thank you for your abundant and healing mercy and grace.
Give us courage to confess our dependence on you and name our sin and willfulness when we try to “go it alone.”
Strengthen us by your Holy Spirit to follow Jesus into the world with Your love.
Amen.
[i] https://www.enterthebible.org/newtestament.aspx?rid=3, accessed 6/9/2018.
[ii] https://www.enterthebible.org/newtestament.aspx?rid=3, accessed 6/9/2018.
[iii] Richard Beck. Reviving Old Scratch. xv.
[iv] Feasting on the Word: Year B, Volume 3: Pentecost and Season after Pentecost 1 (Propers 3-16), (Feasting on the Word: Year B volume) (Kindle Location 4329). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition.
[v] Beck, 8.
[vi] Feasting on the Word: Year B, Volume 3: Pentecost and Season after Pentecost 1 (Propers 3-16), Kindle Locations 4330-4331.
[vii] 45-54 19.72%, 55 – 64 18.71%, 75-83 18.2%; 85+ 18.98% according to https://afsp.org/about-suicide/suicide-statistics/, accessed 6/9/2018.
[viii] https://afsp.org/about-suicide/state-fact-sheets/#North-Carolina, accessed 6/9/2018.
[ix] Howard Thurman. Jesus and the Disinherited, 11.
[x] Adapted from Rev. Keith Spencer.
[xi] Feasting on the Word: Year B, Volume 3: Pentecost and Season after Pentecost 1 (Propers 3-16), Kindle Location 4337.
[xii] Beck, 44-46.
[xiii] Feasting on the Word: Year B, Volume 3: Pentecost and Season after Pentecost 1 (Propers 3-16), Kindle Locations 4335-4336.
[xiv] Adapted from Rev. Jason Chestnut (@crazy pastor)
[xv] Adapted from Rev. Keith Spencer.
In Mark’s gospel Jesus’ ministry begins immediately with healing, confronting powers and principalities and “encountering the power of unclean spirits and demon possession.”[i] And in response, in today’s Gospel reading, the Pharisees and scribes level “a charge against Jesus, accusing him of being in league with the ruler of demons.”[ii] His own family arrives on the scene, saying he is “beside himself” or “out of his mind.”
Responding to their accusations, Jesus takes seriously the realities of Satan and other demonic powers. His direct speech about Satan makes us uncomfortable because in our “secular age” we live in a largely “disenchanted world” where “talking about the Devil is more and more awkward” and more “like telling a story about ghosts, alien abduction, or Bigfoot.” [iii]
Whatever our understanding of these powers are, the reality that Jesus names here is that we are captive “to the powers of evil signified by “Satan,” powers that continue to seek our allegiance” even now.[iv] “The proper name “Satan” comes from the Hebrew … word that simply means adversary.”…Biblically, Satan names that which is working against God and God’s kingdom in the world.”[v] These are the powers that “capture us and cause us to hurt ourselves, to hurt others, and to hurt God.”[vi]
And, captive to these powers, in our communities and neighborhoods, and even within our congregations, we become the “house divided” that Jesus references as we continue to label people as “out of their minds” and in direct opposition to the Gospel — the Good News of Jesus Christ — we demonize, “other” and de-humanize the ones who stand outside: the refugee, the immigrant, the person with brown or black skin; the convict, the poor, and the homeless; those who are differently abled and those whose mental health is compromised.
Nearly four years after comedian and actor Robin Williams’ death by suicide, suicide returned to the news this week followings the deaths of designer Kate Spade and chef Anthony Bourdain. In addition to having resources and celebrity, all three of these beloved sons and daughters of God had the unfortunate distinction of belonging to the group of people – those between 45 to 64 years old – who have the highest suicide rate (19.21%) in our country. But the next highest group affected is those 75 and older at 18.59%.[vii] And, across age groups, veterans account for 22% of suicides. No one is immune.
And yet, despite its prevalence,
despite the fact that each year more than 44,000 Americans die by suicide, and, on average, in our state, one person dies by suicide every six hours, mental health conversations remain difficult and conditions like anxiety, bipolar, depression, and psychosis remain highly stigmatized. [viii]
The first words of Mark’s Gospel say, “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” (Mark 1:1) but in his book Jesus and the Disinherited Howard Thurman wrote, “Christianity is only good news, if it’s good news for “those who stand, at a moment in human history, with their backs against the wall.”[ix]
Thurman’s words provoke us to recognize the ways in which too often today, people affected by mental illness still live with their backs against the wall.
And it’s not only “those people,” the ones we don’t know. It is us, it is our children and our sisters and brothers.
Fully 1 in 5 adults experience mental health conditions every year.
1 in 5.And because few of us grew up in settings where mental health was openly discussed, we think, “I should be happy.” “I just need to be more positive.” “I just need to work this out for myself.” And when we don’t find that way forward all on our own, without medication, professional help or counseling, we become more frustrated, more disappointed and more critical of ourselves. [x]We churn in an eddy of dis-ease, shame and mis-understanding, with voices echoing in our heads:
“I am unforgiveable.”
“God punishes and condemns me.”
And “I have no purpose.”
And those are lies. Those are the very evil lies that Jesus names when he “[exposes] our captivity to the “strong men” of our lives.”[xi]
Today’s gospel demonstrates that, truly, “we are enslaved to oppressive spiritual forces …[and] God is acting in Jesus as [our] liberator, emancipator and rescuer.”[xii]
The Good News that Jesus brings is the assurance of grace that says,
“I am forgivable.”
“God loves me.”
And “God has a purpose for me.”
And it is in those moments when we are freed to “experience the gracious and stunning love of God.”[xiii]
It is really important to say out loud here that people who complete their deaths by suicide are not outside of God’s grace; their disease tragically altered their lives and brought about their premature deaths, but they are not separated from God’s love.
A clergy friend shared the story of a congregation where a row of eight headstones sat at one end of their cemetery. Each of the markers was for a person who had completed their death by suicide. At the time of their burials, the graves had sat beyond the fence around the cemetery; they were considered outside the grace of God at their deaths. Since then, compassion had prevailed and the fence had been moved, so that today, they stand united with the other saints who were laid to rest there.
Maybe you remember those days. Thankfully, similar changes have happened in the majority of Christian traditions, and today, Christians who complete their deaths by suicide are interred or inurned with the same rites of committal and commendation as anyone else.
For each of us here, confident of God’s mercy made new every morning, we can live this Gospel’s Good News out loud in our lives and in our congregation, neighborhoods and communities.
If you are struggling, know you are loved. You matter. You are wildly loved. You are not alone. Stay with us. Please. You brain chemistry is broken, not you. Ask for help. Seek counseling. Work with a doctor to manage the right dose and kind of medication. Freedom awaits. But hear me when I say, if you cannot do any of those things, it doesn’t change the facts: You matter. You are wildly loved. You are not alone. Stay with us. Please.[xiv]
If you are healthy today — and it’s always today because mental health isn’t static and set, it changes and depression can come roaring back into a person’s life without warning — if you are healthy today, learn the number for the Suicide Prevention Hotline. Learn about Mental Health First Aid and QPR trainings that will equip you to respond to others whose mental health is affected. Advocate for comprehensive access to healthcare. Learn about warning signs of suicidal thoughts and behaviors and learn how to listen non-judgmentally to people when they are hurting. Learn and share information about the resources that are available here in Shelby and Cleveland County, and walk alongside people who are hurting, without trying to “fix” them. [xv]
Following Jesus, we are freed to open our imaginations to see the world that Jesus sees, where, as Paul writes in Romans 8:21, “we obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”
No longer a house divided, we are freed to become a community where we practice care and love and reconciliation, working out the messiness of our lives face to face with real people. That is who the Church is called to be in this hurting world.
Pray with me…
Healing and life-giving God,
Thank you for your Son Jesus who defeats all the powers of evil that persist in this world;
Thank you for your abundant and healing mercy and grace.
Give us courage to confess our dependence on you and name our sin and willfulness when we try to “go it alone.”
Strengthen us by your Holy Spirit to follow Jesus into the world with Your love.
Amen.
[i] https://www.enterthebible.org/newtestament.aspx?rid=3, accessed 6/9/2018.
[ii] https://www.enterthebible.org/newtestament.aspx?rid=3, accessed 6/9/2018.
[iii] Richard Beck. Reviving Old Scratch. xv.
[iv] Feasting on the Word: Year B, Volume 3: Pentecost and Season after Pentecost 1 (Propers 3-16), (Feasting on the Word: Year B volume) (Kindle Location 4329). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition.
[v] Beck, 8.
[vi] Feasting on the Word: Year B, Volume 3: Pentecost and Season after Pentecost 1 (Propers 3-16), Kindle Locations 4330-4331.
[vii] 45-54 19.72%, 55 – 64 18.71%, 75-83 18.2%; 85+ 18.98% according to https://afsp.org/about-suicide/suicide-statistics/, accessed 6/9/2018.
[viii] https://afsp.org/about-suicide/state-fact-sheets/#North-Carolina, accessed 6/9/2018.
[ix] Howard Thurman. Jesus and the Disinherited, 11.
[x] Adapted from Rev. Keith Spencer.
[xi] Feasting on the Word: Year B, Volume 3: Pentecost and Season after Pentecost 1 (Propers 3-16), Kindle Location 4337.
[xii] Beck, 44-46.
[xiii] Feasting on the Word: Year B, Volume 3: Pentecost and Season after Pentecost 1 (Propers 3-16), Kindle Locations 4335-4336.
[xiv] Adapted from Rev. Jason Chestnut (@crazy pastor)
[xv] Adapted from Rev. Keith Spencer.
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