| ||
 |
||
|
|
|
|
Mark 1:21-28 |
||
“You talkin’ to me? Of course, I’m quoting Robert De Niro in his iconic role as the troubled taxi driver in Taxi Driver. This scene and the famous quote, “You talkin’ to me?” came to my mind soon after reading through this week’s Gospel lesson from Mark. De Niro doing his tough-guy routine to the mirror reminds me of this scene in the synagogue at Capernaum. Jesus is teaching in the synagogue and “suddenly” a man with an unclean spirit comes into the synagogue and looks at Jesus and says, “You talkin’ to me?” What he actually says in the broken demonic Greek is “What to us and to you?” That doesn’t actually make any sense, so our translators have smoothed it out a little for us: “What have you to do with us?” But the point is the same. He’s looking Jesus in the eye and saying, “You… Me… What now?” This is a common occurrence in our lives, this looking at another and making a statement or asking a question about our relationship with another. These statements of “You… Me… What now?” are the ways in which we define and place ourselves in relationship with one another. It can be aggressive, like our taxi driver or the demon. These questions and statements that place You over there and Me over here and I say something to you that makes that distance obvious: “You talkin’ to me?” or “I hate you.” Words that don’t ask or care for an answer, just meant to convey the distance and difference between us. Or, we ask these questions to chart a future in our relationships. Like that point in a romantic relationship where you’ve been dating for some time and you ask, “Where is this going? What are you to me? What am I to you?” And we either recommit ourselves to one another or we end our relationship. We affirm our relationship or we abandon it. A lot of the time, these questions and statements are positive. Moments when we lift up the beauty and positives of what already exists: “I love you,” “I will do anything for you.” These are the times when these questions and statements reach across the space that divides us and affirm our connections… our need for each other. I was shocked when this “What to us and to you?” illuminated itself to me as I was reading through this gospel for the first time. When I preach, I’ll usually read through all the readings and underline all the places where I feel energy, those places where I feel like there is an electricity waiting to be tapped. Often I’ll get one or two places per reading, but every now and then as I read through a bible passage, I’ll actually feel as though a phrase or an idea light up. This was one of those moments. But why? Mark, the earliest of the gospels is also the most “economical” with is words. Jesus doesn’t say a lot in Mark, Jesus does a lot. Because his gospel is short and because his language is economical, Mark is often dismissed, rarely a favorite of Christians. But even so, one of my professors would always make sure to point out that Mark is actually a literary genius, especially when we get into his Greek and really start to analyze the ways in which he constructs the language of his story. For example, we know that this guy is a demon, because his Greek is terrible. He doesn’t even put verbs in his sentences! Now there are a lot of demons in Mark. The most famous example being the Gerasene demoniac, the man who has been taken over by a Legion of demons which Jesus casts into a herd of 2000 pigs who immediately run themselves into the sea. And most of these demons confront Jesus with this same question in broken Greek, “What to us and to you?” They always know EXACTLY who Jesus is and they attempt to separate themselves from him, the underlying message of their question: “I know exactly who you are and I want nothing to do with you. Go away.” “What to us and to you?” And Jesus looks the demon square in the face and says, “Be silent, and come out of him!” Jesus answers the question with action. The demon menacingly asks, “You talkin’ to me?” … and Jesus answers, “Yes.” And casts the demon out. Jesus is able to define the relationship so quickly because both he and the demon know where the power of the relationship lie. He and the demon both know that if Jesus chooses to answer the question in this way, there’s nothing the demon can do about it. Both Jesus and the demon know where the power is and the demon’s question is an attempt to push Jesus away, to avoid the power. “What to us and to you?” We ask these same kinds of questions all the time and a lot of the time they are about these same kind of power dynamics… these questions often make us vulnerable. The asker of the question is completely beholden to the answer given and these moments of vulnerability are often our most memorable. “Will you marry me?” we may ask. And in that expectant silence, all of our possible futures hang on the answer… “Yes,” leads one way… “No” leads another… and “Maybe” confuses everybody. The one who proposes gets on one knee as a symbol and recognition of the immense power given to the proposed. Just a couple Wednesdays ago was the Feast of the Confession of St. Peter. That moment when Jesus looks at Peter and asks him one of these relationship-defining questions: “Who do you say that I am?” And another expected moment fills the room. Peter has the power to answer correctly, or he has the power to deny the truth. He says, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” And we breathe a sigh of relief. This confession of St. Peter was also on my mind as I was preparing for today’s sermon and I started to realize that the reason the question from today’s demon was lighting up for me is that it’s the same question that Jesus constantly asks of us, the same question he asks Peter. He looks us in the face and says, “What to us and to you?” “What am I to you?” And the same expectant silence that fills the space between two lovers after a proposal fills the space between us and Jesus. How do we answer? Jesus says, “What am I to you?” Sometimes we say, “You are nothing.” We go about our lives as if Jesus doesn’t matter to us. We reject and forget the transformation we have received through the sacraments. We treat other people like commodities, tools to make our lives better. Jesus says, “What am I to you?” Sometimes we say, “You are something.” Pausing and thinking. Realizing that Jesus has some influence on our lives, but we get stuck trying to figure out what that is. When is it okay to talk about our faith? When is it appropriate to offer a prayer? We work to figure out when we can be Christians and when we should can it for our own comfort and health. Jesus says, “What am I to you?” And sometimes, when we really feel it, we answer correctly saying, “You are everything.” And THAT is the correct answer. We live as people transformed. Treating one another and our neighbors with compassion. Acting with love toward the earth and each other. Engaging Jesus in deep and changing prayer. In that moment we realize that this is the only time that the asker is the more powerful party. Jesus isn’t giving us power to answer, giving us the power to define the relationship. Jesus knows how the relationship is defined. He CREATED the relationship. The only answer is “You are everything.” Jesus is everything. But if we answer incorrectly, if we fail to live into our baptism, into the love demonstrated in the sacrifice of the Cross; we needn’t despair. Because Jesus loves us so much that he continually asks us the question… poking at our hearts and minds until we get it right. Jesus is asking, “What am I to you?” How do you answer?
|
|
|