A couple months ago I quoted from the preface to C. S. Lewis’ delightfully entertaining book, The
Screwtape Letters. I’d like to begin my homily this morning by repeating his warning to his readers.
He writes, “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils.
One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and
unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a
materialist or a magician with the same delight.”
While these words in and of themselves may not seem especially profound, it helps to put them into
perspective by looking at the milieu in which Lewis wrote. It’s clear from much of his writing that he
often tangled with the academics of his day. And I’d venture to say that, more often than not, he
came out on top in those ‘tanglings.’ But one of the reasons he was so controversial is that he
dared to challenge the prevailing rationalism and materialism in British academic circles at Oxford
and Cambridge Universities. Most people in those institutions bought into the party line that, if you
can’t see it, measure it, or control it, it doesn’t exist. That pretty much knocks out of the running
anything supernatural, including God.
C. S. Lewis courageously took on something that many others find vaguely embarrassing, like some
superstitious holdover from more primitive times. And he proceeded to write a book in which he
humorously portrays demons who are actively engaged in tempting human beings into making
ungodly decisions, all the while taking their existence very seriously. Webster’s Dictionary defines
materialism as “the theory that physical matter is the only or fundamental reality.” It’s hard to
overestimate how much influence materialism has had on our beliefs in the West. Even some
Christian theologians seem all too eager to concede that perhaps Jesus himself was misled into
believing that purely natural phenomena are influenced by angels and demons.
Jesus frequently refers to the supernatural realm, as do really all of the New Testament writers. So
were they deceived in some way? Were they reporting from “inside the box” of primitive
superstition? And, in a practical sense for us today, is our job as Christians really just to see to the
physical needs of others, while we give a dismissive wink to the spiritual stuff?
This question brings us to our reading from the Gospel of St Mark. In it, Mark tells of the incident in
which a man possessed by demons shows up in church. Mark says that, after Jesus taught the
people, this man cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to
destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” And then Jesus promptly and decisively
casts the unclean spirit out of him, and all of the churchgoers are amazed. So was this guy in the
synagogue psychotic, or epileptic, or both? Or is there something deeper and more mysterious
going on here?
Well, I trust you know me well enough by now as both a priest and a former psychotherapist to
guess my own opinion on the matter. This opinion comes not only from my respectful view of
Scripture, but also from personal experience. I’ve witnessed a number of miraculous healings, as
have some of you. But I’d like to focus mainly and briefly this morning on this whole phenomenon of
unclean spirits.
Some of you know that, before I became a follower of Jesus in 1983, I was involved in some things
that I shouldn’t have been involved in. Or, in the words of the Rite One Confession, I did some
things that I ought not to have done. Some of this involved engagement with Eastern spiritual
practices which many dismiss as harmless. Well, as it turns out, in the initiation ritual of one
meditation organization that I “signed up” with, I was asked to repeat after my mentor some words in
the Hindi language. I found out later that I was unwittingly pledging submission to a whole string of
Hindu “deities” and gurus.
It was all hunky-dory until a few years later when I became a Christian. It was only after the incident I’
m about to describe that I connected the dots and concluded that this organization I’d been involved
in was not quite as “mom and apple pie” as I thought it was, and that this pledge I’d made actually
invoked demonic forces in some way.
Shortly after my conversion I was paid a little visit in the middle of the night by something I can only
describe as a frightening and very powerful demon. Moreover it was “introduced” to me in a dream
by my instructor in this meditation organization. The attack began in a dream and continued after I
became fully awake. I won’t go into detail, but I have no doubt that this thing was trying to take my
life. The encounter was every bit as real as you and I being here in this place today. It was only
after I called out repeatedly to Jesus that this thing was driven away. It went away noisily, but thanks
be to God, it has never returned.
Now before you furtively slide out your cell phones and punch in
the number for that hospital unit with the rubber rooms,
I want to emphasize that this experience was real enough
that I wasn’t even tempted to dismiss it as some kind of
natural phenomenon or some kind of vivid metaphor
coming out of my unconscious mind or something.
It permanently dispelled my doubt about such things.
And after comparing notes with a few other believers who had
come out of certain mystical or occultic practices,
I found that some had had similar experiences.
If I had time this morning I could say much more
about this that I suspect might convince you if you’re
inclined to remain skeptical about this incident.
But suffice it to say that I’m convinced of the objective reality of
supernatural beings, some of which are bent upon defacing or
harming the human creatures who
God made lovingly and well.
I can’t explain this in any scientific sense. The only thing I can
figure is that there’s some kind of interface between
the physical reality that dominates our day-to-day lives and
some other spiritual dimension or reality.
Reading the scriptures and explaining the experiences
of many, I really can come to no other conclusion.
I believe that something like this was what Jesus was dealing with
in Mark’s account of the exorcism in the synagogue.
The difference is, Jesus, being who He is, sees clearly into
that other dimension—that place referred to by St. Paul
as the “heavenly realms.” And more importantly,
he has complete authority over those realms.
I believe that authority may have saved me from great harm
one windy spring night in 1983.
In the interest of brevity (considering that today is our Annual
Meeting), I just want to suggest two things regarding all this.
First, even as believers, I think we would all do well to be
very careful about the things we get involved in.
Here I think C. S. Lewis’ advice is timeless.
If we dismiss the reality of spiritual phenomena we may
inadvertently place ourselves in harm’s way, and if we get
carried away with a thirst for exotic spiritual experiences,
or “close encounters of the non-Christian kind,”
we also may be flirting with danger.
The scriptures consistently warn against this, both in the Old
and New Testaments. Not only are mediums, witchcraft
and spiritism robustly condemned, but Paul warns Timothy
in his First Letter with words that seem in some ways to
apply to our culture today: “The Spirit clearly says
that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow
deceiving spirits and things taught by demons…”
And later in the same chapter Paul writes: “Watch your life and
doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do,
you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
I find that a good rule of thumb is, if you have any doubt whether
a particular spiritual activity is compatible with following Jesus,
or for that matter, is spiritually safe,
it’s probably best not to jump in.
And if you have any specific questions about things like this,
I’m not completely in the dark about a variety of spiritual practices
and worldviews, and I may be able to help with
your discernment process.
But finally, and most importantly, as St. Mark makes clear in
our Gospel reading, Jesus is Lord. He’s Lord over humanity,
Lord over creation, and Lord over all created beings,
seen and unseen.
And just in case you’re tempted to think that this stuff about Satan
and the demons is some kind of irrelevant sidebar to Jesus’ work,
consider the words of St. John, who wrote: “The reason
the Son of God appeared is to destroy the devil’s work.”
In the hopefully unlikely event that you are ever confronted with
any unclean spirit, I can attest through personal experience
that the Son of God is ready, willing and able
to come to your aid.
Mark says that the people who witnessed the exorcism of
the man in the synagogue were pretty amazed.
Using Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase, he says,
“Everyone there was incredulous, buzzing with curiosity.
‘What’s going on here? A new teaching that
does what it says? He shuts up the defiling,
demonic spirits and sends them packing!’”
Those who work closely with such matters generally agree that
genuine demonic possession is a pretty rare thing.
And if you’re indwelt by the Holy Spirit, which as a baptized,
professing, believing Christian you are, an evil spirit
cannot take control of you.
But messing around with some spiritual practices invites
unwanted spiritual interference that we should avoid.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,
but please also know that with Jesus there’s a ton of cure!
So, I think Paul would agree that a fitting recommendation
is for all of us to watch our life and doctrine closely,
stay within calling distance of the Lord, and know that
He is our Savior in more ways than we may know.
Screwtape Letters. I’d like to begin my homily this morning by repeating his warning to his readers.
He writes, “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils.
One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and
unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a
materialist or a magician with the same delight.”
While these words in and of themselves may not seem especially profound, it helps to put them into
perspective by looking at the milieu in which Lewis wrote. It’s clear from much of his writing that he
often tangled with the academics of his day. And I’d venture to say that, more often than not, he
came out on top in those ‘tanglings.’ But one of the reasons he was so controversial is that he
dared to challenge the prevailing rationalism and materialism in British academic circles at Oxford
and Cambridge Universities. Most people in those institutions bought into the party line that, if you
can’t see it, measure it, or control it, it doesn’t exist. That pretty much knocks out of the running
anything supernatural, including God.
C. S. Lewis courageously took on something that many others find vaguely embarrassing, like some
superstitious holdover from more primitive times. And he proceeded to write a book in which he
humorously portrays demons who are actively engaged in tempting human beings into making
ungodly decisions, all the while taking their existence very seriously. Webster’s Dictionary defines
materialism as “the theory that physical matter is the only or fundamental reality.” It’s hard to
overestimate how much influence materialism has had on our beliefs in the West. Even some
Christian theologians seem all too eager to concede that perhaps Jesus himself was misled into
believing that purely natural phenomena are influenced by angels and demons.
Jesus frequently refers to the supernatural realm, as do really all of the New Testament writers. So
were they deceived in some way? Were they reporting from “inside the box” of primitive
superstition? And, in a practical sense for us today, is our job as Christians really just to see to the
physical needs of others, while we give a dismissive wink to the spiritual stuff?
This question brings us to our reading from the Gospel of St Mark. In it, Mark tells of the incident in
which a man possessed by demons shows up in church. Mark says that, after Jesus taught the
people, this man cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to
destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” And then Jesus promptly and decisively
casts the unclean spirit out of him, and all of the churchgoers are amazed. So was this guy in the
synagogue psychotic, or epileptic, or both? Or is there something deeper and more mysterious
going on here?
Well, I trust you know me well enough by now as both a priest and a former psychotherapist to
guess my own opinion on the matter. This opinion comes not only from my respectful view of
Scripture, but also from personal experience. I’ve witnessed a number of miraculous healings, as
have some of you. But I’d like to focus mainly and briefly this morning on this whole phenomenon of
unclean spirits.
Some of you know that, before I became a follower of Jesus in 1983, I was involved in some things
that I shouldn’t have been involved in. Or, in the words of the Rite One Confession, I did some
things that I ought not to have done. Some of this involved engagement with Eastern spiritual
practices which many dismiss as harmless. Well, as it turns out, in the initiation ritual of one
meditation organization that I “signed up” with, I was asked to repeat after my mentor some words in
the Hindi language. I found out later that I was unwittingly pledging submission to a whole string of
Hindu “deities” and gurus.
It was all hunky-dory until a few years later when I became a Christian. It was only after the incident I’
m about to describe that I connected the dots and concluded that this organization I’d been involved
in was not quite as “mom and apple pie” as I thought it was, and that this pledge I’d made actually
invoked demonic forces in some way.
Shortly after my conversion I was paid a little visit in the middle of the night by something I can only
describe as a frightening and very powerful demon. Moreover it was “introduced” to me in a dream
by my instructor in this meditation organization. The attack began in a dream and continued after I
became fully awake. I won’t go into detail, but I have no doubt that this thing was trying to take my
life. The encounter was every bit as real as you and I being here in this place today. It was only
after I called out repeatedly to Jesus that this thing was driven away. It went away noisily, but thanks
be to God, it has never returned.
Now before you furtively slide out your cell phones and punch in
the number for that hospital unit with the rubber rooms,
I want to emphasize that this experience was real enough
that I wasn’t even tempted to dismiss it as some kind of
natural phenomenon or some kind of vivid metaphor
coming out of my unconscious mind or something.
It permanently dispelled my doubt about such things.
And after comparing notes with a few other believers who had
come out of certain mystical or occultic practices,
I found that some had had similar experiences.
If I had time this morning I could say much more
about this that I suspect might convince you if you’re
inclined to remain skeptical about this incident.
But suffice it to say that I’m convinced of the objective reality of
supernatural beings, some of which are bent upon defacing or
harming the human creatures who
God made lovingly and well.
I can’t explain this in any scientific sense. The only thing I can
figure is that there’s some kind of interface between
the physical reality that dominates our day-to-day lives and
some other spiritual dimension or reality.
Reading the scriptures and explaining the experiences
of many, I really can come to no other conclusion.
I believe that something like this was what Jesus was dealing with
in Mark’s account of the exorcism in the synagogue.
The difference is, Jesus, being who He is, sees clearly into
that other dimension—that place referred to by St. Paul
as the “heavenly realms.” And more importantly,
he has complete authority over those realms.
I believe that authority may have saved me from great harm
one windy spring night in 1983.
In the interest of brevity (considering that today is our Annual
Meeting), I just want to suggest two things regarding all this.
First, even as believers, I think we would all do well to be
very careful about the things we get involved in.
Here I think C. S. Lewis’ advice is timeless.
If we dismiss the reality of spiritual phenomena we may
inadvertently place ourselves in harm’s way, and if we get
carried away with a thirst for exotic spiritual experiences,
or “close encounters of the non-Christian kind,”
we also may be flirting with danger.
The scriptures consistently warn against this, both in the Old
and New Testaments. Not only are mediums, witchcraft
and spiritism robustly condemned, but Paul warns Timothy
in his First Letter with words that seem in some ways to
apply to our culture today: “The Spirit clearly says
that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow
deceiving spirits and things taught by demons…”
And later in the same chapter Paul writes: “Watch your life and
doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do,
you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
I find that a good rule of thumb is, if you have any doubt whether
a particular spiritual activity is compatible with following Jesus,
or for that matter, is spiritually safe,
it’s probably best not to jump in.
And if you have any specific questions about things like this,
I’m not completely in the dark about a variety of spiritual practices
and worldviews, and I may be able to help with
your discernment process.
But finally, and most importantly, as St. Mark makes clear in
our Gospel reading, Jesus is Lord. He’s Lord over humanity,
Lord over creation, and Lord over all created beings,
seen and unseen.
And just in case you’re tempted to think that this stuff about Satan
and the demons is some kind of irrelevant sidebar to Jesus’ work,
consider the words of St. John, who wrote: “The reason
the Son of God appeared is to destroy the devil’s work.”
In the hopefully unlikely event that you are ever confronted with
any unclean spirit, I can attest through personal experience
that the Son of God is ready, willing and able
to come to your aid.
Mark says that the people who witnessed the exorcism of
the man in the synagogue were pretty amazed.
Using Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase, he says,
“Everyone there was incredulous, buzzing with curiosity.
‘What’s going on here? A new teaching that
does what it says? He shuts up the defiling,
demonic spirits and sends them packing!’”
Those who work closely with such matters generally agree that
genuine demonic possession is a pretty rare thing.
And if you’re indwelt by the Holy Spirit, which as a baptized,
professing, believing Christian you are, an evil spirit
cannot take control of you.
But messing around with some spiritual practices invites
unwanted spiritual interference that we should avoid.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,
but please also know that with Jesus there’s a ton of cure!
So, I think Paul would agree that a fitting recommendation
is for all of us to watch our life and doctrine closely,
stay within calling distance of the Lord, and know that
He is our Savior in more ways than we may know.
The Unseen Realm
Mark 1:21-28
Mark 1:21-28
February 1, 2009
Fr. Dan Tuton
Fr. Dan Tuton
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