There was a man who walked into a church one Sunday morning and the church was never the same. This was a downtown church that had a ministry with the homeless. They offered their fellowship hall as a warm and safe place to sleep. They provided hot meals at the church and packed a sack lunch for the people during the week. Then they would have something to eat at their jobs or wherever they found themselves at lunchtime. But Sundays were different. On Sundays the church welcomed everyone to breakfast. The church members joined with and sat down at tables with the people who had spent the night there. They joined in conversation together but by 10:00 the members left the fellowship hall to go to Sunday school.

There had been quite a bit of discussion when the church decided to start this ministry. The session debated late into the night about the liability coverage that the church had. They discussed what they would do if there was an incident with the people staying there. They talked about safety issues and possible scenarios. Discussions were held with all the members of the church. They gathered formally and informally to talk about what they might be starting. Some were for it and others were against it.

The members looked to scripture and attended Bible studies. They joined in prayer circles to try to hear what God wanted them to do. During one of these discussions one member asked a question, "What if one of them wants to come to worship?" It was one thing to think about hosting people in the fellowship hall but what about the sanctuary? What if they wanted to come in there? The questions began to circulate. As the session sat down at their next meeting the top of the agenda read, "What if one of them wants to come to church?"

At first no one spoke. Then, one person piped up and said that it was highly unlikely that any of them would want to come to church. Revealing his own prejudices about the homeless, he expressed that he thought they were just lazy and would rather just sleep a little longer than come to church. The questions went on from there. What if they sit down when we stand up or stand up when we sit down? What if one of them sits in my pew? What if they sing off key or don’t understand our theology?

The minister just sat there listening to all that the elders were saying. After they had talked themselves out, he asked, "Is God more present in the sanctuary than the fellowship hall? Did you have to take a test before you could come in the sanctuary? How did you learn when to stand up and when to sit down?" There was a moment of silence before he asked, "Are we only willing to minister to the people and not with them?" That was the end of the discussion and the meeting went on to address the other topics associated with starting this ministry.

The church soon began its ministry to the homeless. Volunteers poured in to spend the night and help prepare the food. At first there were only a few people who came, but as word got around the ministry began to grow. Then one Sunday, one of the men who had spent the night walked from the fellowship hall and into the sanctuary. The ushers handed him a bulletin and opened the doors for him. At first he stood at the back of the church debating whether to sit down or go back into the fellowship hall. That’s when Miss Edna saw him.

Now Miss Edna was one of the oldest members of the congregation and even though she was pushing ninety, she had not slowed down one bit. Rain or shine she never missed a Sunday at church. She sat on the second pew from the front so that she could hear better. Once she saw the man standing in the back of the church debating if he was going to stay, she got out of her seat and marched right down the aisle. Heads turned to watch her as she passed by. Some people let their mouths drop open. When she reached the back of the church she introduced herself, shook the man’s hand, and asked him to come sit with her. One of the ushers let out a gasp, after all wasn’t it Miss Edna who had started the whole question of what to do if one of the homeless people wanted to come to church and here she was welcoming him?

The service went on as usual. The minister stood up and read from the gospel of Mark. He was a little nervous about preaching on this text. After all, it involved unclean spirits and an exorcism. These were not subjects that he felt his congregation could connect with. After all, this was a Presbyterian Church and spirit possession was not part of their experience. But nevertheless, he read this passage and preached an adequate sermon. But as he reached the end, he realized that hardly anyone in the congregation was listening to him. Sure most of them had their eyes toward the front. Some of the younger kids were passing notes, a few people had drifted off to sleep, and one woman was trying to quiet a fussy child – but this was not out of the ordinary.

As he looked out in the congregation, he realized that those with their eyes toward the front weren’t looking up at the pulpit but were looking on the second pew where Miss Edna sat with her hands folded neatly in her lap and sitting next to her was the man who had spent the night in the fellowship hall.

That was when the minister realized that there was another sermon being preached that morning. It was being proclaimed in actions and not words. He didn’t quite know what to do with that. He realized that Miss Edna was a far better preacher of the gospel that morning than he was. So he finished up the sermon and invited the congregation to sing a hymn. As the people filed out of the church after worship, the minister saw people greeting the homeless man and as they came out of the church, Miss Edna asked him if he would like to join her and her friends for lunch.

As he sat in his study later that afternoon, the minister was still thinking about the sermon that Miss Edna had preached that morning. When he had looked at the text the first time, he had thought that it was all about Jesus teaching in the synagogue and an unclean spirit entering in and being expelled. At first he thought that the people in the church would have connected the unclean spirit with the man who was homeless but as he thought more about it he realized that the homeless man was there to proclaim the release.

As he read over the passage of scripture one more time he heard it a different way. A homeless man walked into a church and began to teach the people. The words of his teaching weren’t recorded, because the sermon he was preaching was preached in actions. Suddenly the homeless man realized that all around him there was an unwelcome spirit. He spoke to the people with the unwelcome spirit and told the unwelcome-ness to come out of them. After much resistance and putting up a good fight, the unwelcome spirit came out of the people and left the church. The homeless man had released the people from the spirit that had possessed them. The people were amazed at what this man could do and word about Jesus (the homeless man) spread throughout the area.

When the homeless man had stepped over the threshold from the fellowship hall to the sanctuary he wasn’t looking for release for him but was offering the members of the congregation release from their spirit of unwelcome-ness. The barrier between the members ministering to the homeless and the homeless ministering to the members was broken. The people who walked out of the church were different from the people who had walked in – they had been released from the spirit that possessed them.

What are the barriers that we have put up on our threshold? Who do we need to walk through that door to proclaim release to us? What are the unwelcome spirits that possess us? Jesus came into the synagogue at Capernaum and taught the people there. Mark doesn’t even record the words Jesus used in his teaching because the louder sermon was preached in actions. When Jesus encounters this man who had somehow slipped passed the ushers and arrived unclean in the synagogue he silenced the voice of the unwelcome spirit and released the man. The sermon that Jesus preached was one of release.

What are the things that hold you captive? What do you come here seeking release from? When you entered the doors of this church this morning – what was binding you? What was keeping you from being the person God wants you to be? What is the unwelcome spirit within you? Christ enters into all the places of our life and proclaims to each of us release. What cords are binding you? What fear keeps you from being Miss Edna and welcoming in the one who can release you?

What is this teaching – one with authority? Release. May God work within and through us to break down the barriers we put up around Christ’s church all may come and enjoy the release offered through Christ.