Fifth Sunday after Pentecost 23 June 2013

(Late, I know.)

The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you."

• I think we'd all admit that this is a strange story. Possession by demons is not something we encounter everyday and I think we're all happy of that.
• The closest I've come to a story like that was my time in social work before I returned to the ministry. I had at least one case that might remind anyone of the Gerasene man possessed by demons. In that case, a young boy attacked his mother and his siblings with a hammer and later, with a hatchet. In self-defence, his mother locked him in the basement and when we arrived, he was beating his way through the door with the hammer. I had to disarm him and we waited for the police to arrive to restrain him. The outcome of the case involved police intervention, handcuffs, hospitalization, and serious medication. Read Luke's account again and you'll see that some of these things were tried by the man's neighbours.
• This was a case of mental illness, not demonic possession, although to be honest, from the Biblical point of view, it would be hard to tell the difference. That young boy was filled with rage and had other problems as well. Years ago, he might have been thrown out of the town or had some sort of religious ritual done to chase his demons. These days, he'd be doped to the gills so he could function appropriately and if nothing else worked, warehoused in an institution.
• All the characters involved here are filled with something. The boy was filled with rage. The man in the Gospel passage was filled with demons. (“Legion” is a name, a description, and a number. The name “Legion” implies many and a Roman Legion was about 5000 to 6000 soldiers.) Jesus was filled with compassion as he has been in the past few week's readings. They're all filled.
• But filled with what? Did the possessed man say “Golly, thanks, Jesus! No I can go back to my old life!” No, the formerly possessed man wanted to follow Jesus on his mission trip. He was no longer filled with demons, but was filled with gratitude and with a desire to follow Jesus. But Jesus sent him home, healed and whole and itching to tell everyone about what had happened.
• The people of the region asked Jesus to leave them. The Gerasenes were frightened by what they saw. Maybe it was the power that Jesus showed. Maybe it was the fact that their scapegoat was no longer their scapegoat. Maybe they were afraid of what Jesus' presence might mean to them. Maybe they were upset about the loss of a herd of swine. They were filled with fear and preferred the fear to whatever it was Jesus could bring. It is possible that they were filled with themselves. The man living in the tombs could keep the demons out of their homes, like a chunk of watermelon thrown aside at a picnic to keep the bees happy and “over there.” They might be able to keep God at arm's length... until God was needed. Could it be that they were satisfied just as they were? It is one possibility.
• So what are we filled with? There's no one here screaming or living in the graveyard. At least, not that I can see. On the other hand, there's no one here preparing a mission trip to follow Jesus into the wild places of the world to preach the Gospel. There a good chance that all of us here – including your preacher – are where we wish to be, in a nice place and fairly comfortable. People in that situation sometimes only call on God when something is wrong or needed. They might prefer to be left alone, untroubled by pain or passion from either Heaven or Hell.
• Well, sisters and brothers, that's not how Jesus works. The Good News here is that Jesus is compassionate to all who suffer. In this portion of Luke, Jesus even shows compassion for the demons he casts out of the man, sending them into the swine. (To Jewish people, pigs are the epitome of unclean animals. No great loss to them then.) The Good News is also found in the mission of the freed man. He is to spread the word of the goodness of God in his own district; discipleship can take place anywhere! The local folk might not have accepted Jesus, but he left a messenger of the Good News to keep reminding them and to keep proclaiming the Gospel.
• Where there's Good News, there's always a challenge as well. Our challenge here is to realize that we are NOT sufficient to ourselves, that we are powerless to free ourselves from what holds us in bondage, whether it is sin, sinful attitudes, unredeemed values, whatever. We are also challenged to accept the changes Jesus' presence in our lives confronts us with. With Jesus around, there is no more “business-as-usual” and that can be a good thing. Lastly, we are challenged be empty of our demons, our lethargy, our indifference our selves, and be filled with grace to do as Jesus asks: "Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.”
• Many of you here have seen the face of the devil in many, many ways. We've all experienced trouble that we needed help with. The final bit of the Good News for us today is this: despite all we've been through, Jesus remains with us and Jesus only empties us in order to full us.