In the name of one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.
In the pandemic, when we’re all stuck in front of the TV, we tend to scour the channels for something new. Recently I saw numerous shows (both documentary and drama) about David Koresh and the Branch Davidians. Believe it or not, it has been over a quarter century since that fateful standoff, outside of Waco, Texas. Having been a news junkie living ninety-nine miles from Waco when all of that was going on, I got interested in all of the retellings of this story, now that we all have perfect hindsight. But that is not why I bring up the Branch Davidians today. Stay with me for a few minutes and we’ll see if I can tie the phenomenon of David Koresh with today’s Gospel message.
In today’s passage from Mark, we heard that:
Jesus left the synagogue at Capernaum, and entered the house of Simon … (whereupon he healed Simon’s mother of a fever).
That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
In the morning, … (Jesus said) “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.
This odd, short passage tells us something very important about Jesus and His earthly ministry.
He had Godly power. After His instantaneous healing of Simon’s mother-in-law, He either healed or cast out demons from nearly everyone in Capernaum.
But this passage tells some other things too:
Jesus recognized that the people were coming to Him only for the healings. That is: they were not really hearing His message. And certainly they were not being transformed by what He was teaching them. That is one reason that He silenced the demons. If the people were not going to get the message from Jesus’ teachings, then He certainly did not want to leave it to evil spirits to explain to them who He was.
And He left Capernaum so that, as He said, “I may proclaim the message (in other places) also; for that is what I came out to do.
You see, the healings and the casting out of demons, those were what John’s Gospel refers to as “signs.” The healings and feedings and other miraculous acts were not the reason that Jesus came to earth. They were the opening act. While they brought comfort and betterment to people’s lives, they were, in essence, just a signal for people to look up and pay attention to the real message … the message of gracious love and eternal life that comes from knowing and following Jesus.
This little passage from Mark tells us that Jesus was acutely aware that His miracles were not the story – the glory of God was the story. And if people did not internalize the real story, they would run the risk of worshiping the “miracle-working-man” rather than God Incarnate in Jesus.
There have always been preachers, prophets, and miracle-men who seemed so out of the ordinary, so charismatic, so outwardly special, that people flock to them. These leaders take small, insignificant gaggles of people, or moribund congregations and bring amazing growth to them. Suddenly there is new life and conviction in the place. There is a sense of mission and a banding together of the community – working with one purpose toward a single goal. But here is where it gets tricky.
If that unified goal is anything other than the spread of the Good News of Jesus Christ; if the message is anything other than, as our Presiding Bishop has put it, bearing witness by our very lives, to the unconquerable love of the God we know in Jesus; if the goal of any preacher, prophet, or miracle-man is anything other than that, problems inevitably ensue.
Vernon Howell, later known as David Koresh, preached Armageddon. He preached that he – Vernon, or David – was the Messiah, the Christ returned to earth. And he believed, or at least he convinced his followers, that that title gave him the right or the duty to forego preaching love and redemption, in order to punish those who “deserved” punishment and reward those who “deserved” reward. Unfortunately, as with all self-proclaimed, latter day messiahs, the absolute power that he claimed over his followers made him into a despot who took advantage of his people. Who punished many and praised few, ultimately leading them to die rather than betray him. Whether you believe that David Koresh was a deluded “true believer” or an able con man, either way, his story ended just as most such stories end, in tragic loss of life and shattered dreams.
Koresh believed in himself and his avowed “expertise” in a book of the Bible that was never meant to be read literally, by anyone, ever. He neither espoused, nor lived the love of all human beings that is the hallmark of Jesus Christ. And that is why he failed in his self-defined mission. But it does not have to be as dramatic, nor as tragic as the Branch Davidians, or the Jim Jones People’s Temple in Guyana. There are other, less dangerous, but in some ways equally sad examples around us all the time.
How many of you have seen or heard about a church – maybe even an Episcopal church – that gets a new leader, in our case we usually call them rectors, who comes in and makes a huge splash, only to have the congregation later disintegrate? I bet that you all have.
I know a priest whose personality is bigger than life. When he enters a room, particularly a room with a stage or platform in it, he dominates the whole room. He is outgoing, gregarious, smart, funny, and always entertaining. He has natural charisma, but over the years has honed that charisma into a razor sharp tool. Everywhere this priest goes, the average Sunday attendance, the membership rolls, and the budget all swell. One of his churches almost doubled all of those numbers in the first two years that he was there. I hear you out there. “Where is this guy and how do we get him to come here?” Exactly. That is what has happened to him throughout his career. But there is a distinct downside to bringing him, or one of many like him, into any congregation.
Now please do not get me wrong. This is a man of deep faith and love for our Lord. But here is the thing. When he preaches, when he celebrates the Eucharist, when he teaches, and when he leads other programs, Jesus is a part of what is going on. But the priest and his aim of making that congregation the biggest and best it can be … that is the real agenda. And it comes out in his rallying of everyone to “his program,” and to “his way” of doing things. The central focus of his congregations slowly shifts away from “bearing witness by our very lives, to the unconquerable love of the God we know in Jesus,” to “getting everyone on board.”
When this priest leaves, as all priests inevitably do, his congregations crater, and within a year or two, go back to the size that they were before he arrived, or maybe even a little smaller. And then, because they had such huge expectations, their old size does not seem good enough anymore. And even the dedicated, long-term people of the congregation leave because they are disillusioned.
You see, when it is about the miracles, or when it is about the man who shows you the miracles, it is never about God. When it is about God, it is never about the person who leads you. When it is about God, it is about transforming your life; it is about, “bearing witness by your very life, to the unconquerable love of the God you know in Jesus;” it is about proclaiming by word and example the Good News of God in Christ; it is about seeking and serving Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself; and it is about striving for justice and peace among all people, and respecting the dignity of every human being.
No attendance figures, no budget minimums, no litmus tests, or must-achieve goals; being the Episcopal Branch of the Jesus Movement is never about anything other than the love and life of Jesus, and trying to live as He did, all day, every day. That is work enough for all of us. And it is what Jesus was striving for when he healed and cast out demons.
Amen.
[Epiphany 5B Sermon 020721, Isaiah 40:21-31; Psalm 147:1-12, 21c, 1 Corinthians 9:16-23; Mark 1:29-39]
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