Luke 8:26-39
26 Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes,
which is opposite Galilee. 27 As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For
a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the
tombs. 28When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his
voice, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I
beg you, do not torment me"— 29 for Jesus had commanded the
unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he
was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the
bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) 30 Jesus
then asked him, "What is your name?" He said, "Legion"; for
many demons had entered him. 31 They begged him not to
order them to go back into the abyss. 32 Now there on the hillside a
large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter
these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of
the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the
lake and was drowned. 34 When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in
the city and in the country. 35 Then people came out to see
what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom
the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right
mind. And they were afraid. 36 Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by
demons had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked
Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the
boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him;
but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 "Return to your home,
and declare how much God has done for you." So he went away, proclaiming
throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.
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."
·
It’s interesting that so much of what
we see Jesus doing in the Gospels involves what appear to be random meetings.
When Jesus crosses the Sea of Galilee, I don’t think it was to meet the
possessed man who came down to the shore from the tombs where he hid himself.
Actually, it would seem that the man was not permitted to live anywhere else,
especially among the “decent” people who were not possessed or did not suffer
from schizophrenia or whatever the man’s situation really was.
·
So many times throughout the Gospels,
Jesus ministers to those he just met. It is true that he ministers to those he
knew well, like Lazarus or Peter’s mother-in-law. Even with that in mind, Jesus
seems to display his power to many he has just met, like the Samaritan woman at
the well, Zacchaeus in his perch in the tree, Jairus and his daughter, or the
Centurion and his servant we heard about a few Sundays ago.
·
Jesus appears to have seen his
mission as one to proclaim the Kingdom of God. When he commissioned his
disciples to go two-by-two, they were to do the same. Here word and deed go
hand-in-hand. Jesus and his apostles proclaim the presence of the Kingdom and
by their actions – healings, exorcisms, and even the multiplication of loaves
and fish – they show the Kingdom to be present.
·
In this Gospel passage, Luke has the
demons ("Legion"; for many demons had entered him.)
who are troubling the man leave him. In an odd turn of the story, he even has compassion
on the demons and allows them to enter a herd of pigs rather than order
them to go back into the abyss. Of course, the pigs get the short
end of the stick and the swineherds and eventually the people of the region
can’t handle this. Whether it is the loss of the pigs or the sight of the
newly-exorcised man sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind
or something else, they were so upset and frightened that they ask Jesus to
leave.
·
As Jesus leaves, the man who had been
possessed by a legion of demons asks to go with him. I think we can understand
this. He’s been given a new life by Jesus; he is free of the torment he endured
for who knows how long. The life he’d known in that region was probably gone
and people would probably have difficulty seeing him has anything but “the
demon-possessed man who lived in the tombs.” Why wouldn’t he want to accompany
Jesus on his journeys?
·
Instead Jesus sends him home and he
send him home with a mission: “Return to your home, and declare how
much God has done for you.” Luke writes So he went away, proclaiming
throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.
·
Did you notice how the demon
recognized Jesus as he was cast out of the man? "What have you to do with
me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me"
As the man goes his way in his own home area, he proclaims what God has done
for him in Jesus. He still recognized who Jesus is, as he did when he was
possessed.
·
The interesting part is that Jesus
told him to proclaim the Good News that he had experienced just where he was.
He could be a disciple right there, just a different sort of disciple than the
Twelve that travelled with Jesus. His commission was quite the same as that of
the Twelve. All by itself, the man’s presence in the country of the Gerasenes
would be a testimony to the power and presence of God. No one who knew him
could deny that things had changed. If they were at all familiar with his
history, he would have to be taken seriously. So would his message.
·
So then as people who live in the
real world all the time (and I’m sure you know that nobody lives anywhere
else), when was the last time we took stock and saw how much God has done for
any of us? This doesn’t have to be done in a “polly-anna” way of counting our
blessings. Sometimes we might do as well to remember the challenges we’ve faced
and realize that God was by our side through each one. As painful as that might
be, it could well be worthwhile.
·
The call to follow Jesus is as
individual as every person. We all have the common call to be disciples and the
shape that takes on is tailored to each one of us. This understanding of call
is something we share with all Christians of all places and times. It could be
that the man Jesus cast the demons from is an example for us all. He was told
to stay just where he was and proclaim the goodness of God. Many of the other
disciples were given a mission which took them to the ends of the earth. This
man’s mission took him next door. Y’know, I’m not sure which mission is harder.
·
The events of this past week,
especially in the state of Florida and in the city of London, Ontario show us
that “Legion” is still roaming the earth and hurting peoples’ live in both
large and small ways. Had I known of the terror in Orlando last Sunday when we
gathered, I would have said something about it. Now, a week later, we’ve seen
that life goes on and some of us say such a thing could not happen among us
here.
·
Let’s not kid ourselves. The
attitudes that lead to murder can motivate someone with a rock just as much as
with an assault rifle. The itch we feel when faced with things we don’t like
could be part of the torment the demons spoke of. For us they could be “growing
pains” or the pain of a healing wound for all of us have been wounded in small or
large ways. And if our wounds and pain drive us to the one who can heal us, all
the better.
·
Our world’s pain reaches even here
and in the face of it, we are given the mission to tell what God has done for
us. As we attend to our chores and duties and daily things, we can remember
that we are called to the mission in our own neighborhoods. The saying is quite
true; any of us might be the only Gospel a person encounters today… or
tomorrow.
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."
No comments:
Post a Comment