Date: June 16th & 19th
Preacher: Rick Schantz
First Reading: Isaiah 65:1-9
Psalmody: Psalm 22:19-28
Second Reading: Galatians 3:23-29
Gospel: Luke 8:26-39
Let us pray! Thank you Father for making yourself known to us, showing us the way of salvation through faith in your son. We ask you now to teach us through your word, so that we may be ready to serve you, for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!
I must admit when Pastor Ashley first talked to me about filling in for her today and I first read this Gospel reading, I was questioning what I had gotten myself into! Who would want to prepare a sermon on demons, evil and fear? But after reading the passage several times, I realized there are also messages of miracles, power, healing and good news that can be found in this reading and it needs to be told. I also discovered there are some unusual twists in this story.
The reading today takes place just after the miracle on the lake where Jesus uses his power to calm the waters of the storm and he questions the disciples faith. They arrive on the other side of the lake in the country of Gerasenes, which happens to be the land of the Gentiles. He is no longer in the familiar Jewish territory. Jesus is going to show his power and perform a miracle beyond the land of Judea. He will show the non-Jewish that He is setting up his kingdom and they can be included. His Kingdom is for all people, for Jews and gentiles alike.
As Jesus steps out on land, he is met by a man that is possessed with demons. This man was naked and did not live in a house but was living in the tombs. At times he had been shackled and bound with chains, but he would break free from the bonds and the demons would drive him back into the wild. In Mark 5: 4-5, we are told that he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
When the man sees Jesus he falls down before him and shouts loudly “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me” – for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Jesus then asked him “What is your name?” He answers, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. In Jesus time, the name Legion referred to a group of elite Roman soldiers; usually numbering between 4,000 – 6,000. Now how’s this for an unusual twist? This large group of demons who have possessed this man for so long, know who Jesus is and are in fear of him! They know that Jesus, Son of the Most High God has the ultimate power to destroy them. In fact, in every instance in the Bible that Jesus encountered someone who was “possessed” by a demon, the spirit cries out in fear at the very sight of Jesus. The demons in this passage beg him not to send them into the abyss or hell; but rather to allow them to enter a herd of swine that was feeding on the hillside. Jesus gives them permission to enter the swine and the herd rushes down the bank into lake and drown.
When the swineheards (or caretakers of the pigs) saw what had happened, they ran off and told it to their fellow countrymen. The people came to see what happened and when they came to Jesus they found the man whom had been possessed with demons sitting at Jesus feet clothed and in his right mind. Even after they were told the man had been healed by Jesus they were seized with fear and asked him to leave. They too recognized Jesus’ power and they were filled with fear. The man who had been possessed begs to go with Jesus; but Jesus tells him to return to his home, and declare how much God has done for him. So the man went away, proclaiming how much Jesus had done for him. Luke is telling us here that God and Jesus are one and to proclaim His power over Satan and evil. When Jesus healed the demon-possessed man he was no longer shameless and he was of his right mind. He could see the world as it was – a world with both enemies and friends. He experienced the awesome power Jesus Christ has over evil first- hand and he wanted to proclaim the good news to others.
All of us have our own inner demons, but they usually are not as severe as those who controlled the man. Demons exist in the minds of rapists, mass murderers, child molesters, other criminals and anyone who thinks, does or speaks evil. We live in a sinful world, and Satan is always ready to jump in and take control over us. Over the past several months, Satan has been at work in our communities and the world as we have heard of the mass shootings in the grocery store in Buffalo and the school in Texas and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Our demons may include self-centeredness, prejudice, and greed to name a few. Others are bound by the chains of alcohol and drug addiction, gambling, mental illness and become isolated just like the man in our Gospel reading. These demons can affect our relationship with ourselves, others and God. Satan would like nothing more than to destroy these relationships and our lives. Even though Satan was defeated by Jesus, he will never give up. We must expect struggles with evil. The devil will keep fighting and so must we! When we give ourselves over to sin we are not ourselves. We are powerless over sin on our own, but Jesus saved us from our sin by his death on the cross.
The man in this reading became isolated because the villagers lived in fear of him. In another interesting twist, when the villagers heard of the man being healed by Jesus they ask Jesus to leave because they were seized with great fear after hearing of his awesome power. How ironic is it that they fear the one who can save them and they push him away? As Jesus leaves, the man who was healed, begs Jesus to let him go with him. Jesus sends him away to return home and declare how much God has done for him.
We shouldn’t push God away like the villagers. He has saved us by his unconditional grace and asks us to have a relationship with him. This doesn’t mean we can sit idle and do nothing! We must actively live out our faith by attending worship and Bible studies and spreading the Good News beyond these walls! There are mission opportunities that we can take part in to help others. We can resist evil with the power of the Holy Spirit by going to the Lord in prayer. Satan and those who accompany him tremble before God’s awesome power. As believers in Jesus, we are on the winning side. We will have our struggles and suffer from time to time but we will be free from spiritual bondage. The one thing God wants from us is to return home and tell how much God has done for us! He saves us from sin, comforts us in our depression and isolation, and accompanies us through our addictions so that we might and go tell others what the Lord has done for us.
Just as the man in our Gospel reading, may we go forth and spread the good news of God’s awesome power over evil.
Thanks be to God! Amen