Fourth Sunday after Pentecost Luke 8:26-39 June 20, 2010
As I read today’s Gospel I was reminded of one of the great reoccurring themes in both the Old and New Testament—that being—Do Not Be Afraid and Fear Not! It is a theme that begins in the book of Genesis and continues all the way through the Book of Revelation.
This theme of fear also appears in today’s Gospel reading where we hear about Jesus visiting Gentile country and encountering a man who has been possessed with a legion of demons. In this day and age we don’t talk much about people being possessed by demons. Nowadays we are more likely to subscribe such behavior to some form of mental illness, not to little gremlins that take over and wreck havoc in our lives.
So was the man in the cemetery the victim of some sort of chemical imbalance, was it the result of some traumatic experience that pushed him over the edge, quite frankly, we don’t know. What we do know is that for some time now he has been living in the local cemetery, running around naked. Despite attempts by the locals to chain and bind him up, he has escaped and is a cause of fear for the folks in the nearby village.
Today’s Gospel reading tells us that Jesus however did not share this fear. In fact it is not Jesus who was frightened, but rather it was the demons who possessed this man that respond in fear.The basis of that fear is most likely founded in the fact that they know exactly who he was and the power he possessed.
According to Luke, Jesus cast the demons out of the man and sent them into a herd of pigs that in turn made a mad dash to the nearby cliff and fell into the sea and drown.
(It has occurred to me that if I were to take up the practice of coming up with sermon titles I could use the title, “Deviled Ham”, or “When Pigs Fly”! Maybe it is a good thing that I don’t come up with sermon titles!)
We are then told that the man who once ran around naked scaring everybody--can then be found sitting at the feet of Jesus clothed and in his right mind.
One would think that this would be cause for great celebration. The crazy man is in his right mind. What does Luke tell us? Are the locals happy? Are they celebrating? No. They are afraid, and I suspect at least someone is ticked off because they just lost an entire heard of pigs.And rather than celebrating the possessed man’s recovery they are filled with fear and insist that Jesus leave, that he go back to where he came from and leave them alone.
As I consider this story I can’t help but assume that while most of the locals had in fact lived in fear of the naked wild man in the cemetery, they had learned to live with him, to tolerate and adapt to his fearful presence.
I am also going to assume that although some of the folks were glad to know that the man’s life had changed for the better—there were still many more that were not sure what do with this change, this transformation. And like many of us—when they encountered this change—rather than embrace it, they feared it.
Dealing with people who have undergone changes in their lives can be difficult.
It means you might have to interact with them differently. How do you suppose the locals were going to respond to this once demon possessed man wanting to rejoin their community? Maybe they had mistreated the man and therefore had reason to be apprehensive? What about his family? Maybe his wife and children—how do you suppose they would respond to this man coming back home? Do you suppose they would wonder if he was going to have a relapse? Is it possible that in the course of eliminating one fear, Jesus, some might say, created more fears? And in some ways it is like the Prodigal Son that came home and is welcomed by the Father, but not everyone was so thrilled to see him come home. Was it the same for the demon possessed man? Just because Jesus cast out the demons that does not necessarily the mean the demons have been cast out of our memories.
I have lost count of the number of stories and accounts of people who after years of alcohol or chemical abuse finally get sober and straight and then attempt to find their place within their families. There are many spouses who get frustrated when the former drunken spouse now wants to be responsible. After years of learning to live with and around a person who has been either drunk or high, it can be difficult to learn how to interact with them now that they are sober.
And if you are the one of those who have sobered up and are taking one day at a time you are probably aware that the last folks who want to see you are those with whom you used to drink with. Why? Because they are afraid you are going to try to encourage them to sober up, to change their lives.
The truth is fear and change often go hand in hand. There is a parable about a farmer who had a few animals he kept in a barn that had gotten old, drafty, and leaky. Concerned for his animals’ well-being, the farmer decided to build a new barn. He built a fine new barn, tore down the old one and was comforted to know his animals were now safe and dry. One day a storm came through the area. The farmer decided to look in on his animals and he was shocked to discover that the barn door had been left unlatched, and all the animals had left the new barn and were huddled within the foundations of the old, familiar barn. It is easier to hold on what we know than to face the new. How does the saying go, “Better the devil you know than the one you don’t know?”
And that fear is increased when it affects us personally. And for some that fear is increased when Jesus starts to get a bit too close and the winds of change are starting to stir around us. And most of us are not always ready for that kind of change—we have become comfortable with our demons and have for most part learned to live with them.
I believe it was C.S. Lewis who once wrote, “Sometimes we think that letting the Holy Spirit into our hearts is like having an interior decorator come in and put up a set of new drapes here, throw a fresh coat of paint there, and just generally spruce things up a bit.
But in reality, once the Spirit comes in, the next thing you know he starts knocking out walls, tearing up floorboards, and just generally refashioning the whole joint”.
In his best selling book, “The Road Less Traveled,” M. Scott Peck famously began by saying that after many years of clinical experience, he had concluded that the number one problem most people have in life is that they are unwilling to do the things that would bring positive change in their lives. A psychologist can only bring a person so far.
A point always comes when the person seeking help needs to make some decision, make some changes, and make some course of corrections. But again in Peck’s experience, people come to that brink and then turn a way.
Why? Because they are afraid. People lack the courage to do what needs doing. It cost too much. It feels too risky. Transformation always looks daunting. Sometimes even the good news of God’s transforming love and power looks too daunting. So what do we do?
Do we choose instead to live with the fear—fear of demons that circle around us and the ones that live within us?
And we all do have our inner demons. Obviously we don’t call them that, that wouldn’t sound very sophisticated, nonetheless, we all have those things that cause us fear.
Today, we don't have many people howling in the graveyards. But we do have lots of people addicted to Meth, crack, cocaine, alcohol, prescription drugs, and perhaps hundreds of other substances that enslave us in self-destructive behaviors.
Every week the newspapers are filled with stories of young people dying from a drug overdose or causing fatal accidents while under the influence of drugs. We are bent on destroying ourselves just as surely as the demon-possessed man. And others of us are equally self-destructive in less obvious ways. We insist on continuing those old patterns of behavior that have brought us nothing but misery for years. We keep doing the same self-defeating actions over and over and expecting different results. Someone has said that is the very definition of insanity.
We read about this poor, demon-possessed man living among the tombstones and feel sorry for him, but he represents a dramatic picture of our own behavior. He is only different in degree from the rest of us. Today’s passage is good news for those of us struggling with our own self-defeating behaviors and fears.
The first bit of good news is that Jesus goes out of his way for people like us. If you read the text carefully, you will discover that Jesus made his way across the Sea of Galilee, healed this demon-possessed man, and immediately returned. It appears that Jesus' only purpose for crossing the lake was to help this one self-defeating individual. If Jesus cared so much for this man, we can be assured that he wants to help us just as much.
Our text also shows us how difficult it is for a needy person to receive help. Verse 28 says, "When 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.'" The only thing he can imagine God doing to him is punishing him. He doesn't fall down before Jesus asking, hoping for healing, rather he falls down expecting punishment and begging to be spared. Do you ever come before God expecting punishment? Do you live your life that way?
He thought Jesus was going to be like all the other "good citizens" of his city. All of them tormented him, tried to chain him, tried to keep out of sight and out of mind. The tragedy is that most of us do find such persons untouchable. These people are avoided because they need so much, they give such confusing signals, and they stir up the demons in other people. In our best selves, we know that troubles and confusion are not contagious, yet there is something within us that fears that we might catch it too.
No one else would come near the man, but Jesus did. Jesus did not have those fears of contact with the diseased. Jesus came to the man to offer deliverance and healing. In the same way, Jesus comes to us to banish the spirit of fear and uncleanness from our lives. He comes to cast out our fears, to assure us that we need not fear. And yet we continue to live in fear.
No wonder Jesus, who loves us and wants the best for us, says over and over and again to his disciples and all who would follow: “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, don’t’ be afraid.” The whole Bible agrees with this—from Genesis to Revelation—the message is repeated: Do not fear!
Today’s Gospel reading is an invitation for all of us to admit our fears, name them and with the power and presence of God in our lives to let go of them and get on with our lives. This leads us to the final admonition in the story where Jesus says to the man: “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.”
This poor man is encouraged to focus on the positive, not the negative.
His hope for continual healing and health comes from sharing what God has done for him. And that is something we can all do—we can all find the strength to live without fear by daily reminding ourselves of what God has done for us, day in and day out.
One of the hymns written by Martin Luther is entitled, “A Mighty Fortress” and in verse 3 he writes:
Though hordes of devils fill the land
All threatening to devour us,
We tremble not, unmoved we stand;
They cannot over power us.
This world’s princes may rage,
In fierce war engage,
He is doomed to fall;
God’s judgment must prevail!
One little word subdues him.
And what is that little word? For Luther, a man who wrestled with many of his own personal demons, the words he used against demonic temptations was, “I am baptized.”
I find it interesting that he didn’t say, “I believe in Christ” or “I am a Christian.” His confidence is not centered on his faith or belief, but on an act of God—what God had done for him--God’s claim on his life given in baptism.
As the Apostle Paul reminds us, “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ.” “And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heir according to the promise.”
As people of faith, we live in a fearful world and yet we also live with a promise, God’s promise that nothing will ever separate us from his powerful love and presence. The promise that love casts out fear and that our God is a God who daily washes away the demons that try to overcome us, a God who invites us daily to do not fear—but to follow and trust in the one who clothes us in his peace and joy. Amen.
Pastor Stephen Blenkush
Zion Lutheran
Milaca, MN
www.ZionMilaca.org(Sermon Archive)
