power

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Daily Office ESV

And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.
(Mark 5:15)

We have a second story where Jesus displays his power over what humans are normally powerless over, and the response is fear. True, later people marveled at the man's testimony (from a distance), but up close in the drama, as with the disciples in the boat in calm water, the immediate reaction is to be terrified.

And again, why? Maybe because here is One we cannot control. We are in the presence of him who can calm wind and wave, and command demons and pigs, and restore a man to sanity and wholeness. And perhaps part of us would rather have a god we can control in some degree and so (think we can) protect ourselves from any arbitrary outbursts of power.

Rather, Jesus calls us to repent and trust and believe the good news of the kingdom, that his power is for good and not for evil, that he has come to restore and unite, and only to subdue and conquer and drive out and destroy that which opposes him and works against his purposes of righteousness peace and joy. He also calls us to join him in his kingdom work; to work for peace and healing, to pray and proclaim and demonstrate in live consistent with the message, and to:

be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm...
(Ephesians 6:10-13)

This, of course, we do "in Christ" - hidden in his love and grace and care, and in the way of Christ, the very way he went about engaging and overcoming the "powers" - trusting completely in the Father, speaking the truth in love, and laying down our lives. This is not power against power, but trusting the Father to be the only one who can (1) overcome the powers, and (2) do it in righteousness and not become like them in the engagement...