Luke 8:26-39
Proper 7 / Year C
Allow me to set today’s gospel reading in
context. Jesus has been travelling on
foot with a small entourage, going from town to town and village to village
teaching and healing. He is ready for a respite
and suggests they get into a boat and set sail for the other side of the lake –
gentile territory where they can be alone for a while. Once under way, Jesus falls into a deep sleep
while a storm is brewing. His disciples,
some of whom are skilled mariners, grow into a panic as the vessel takes on
more water than they can bail. They wake
Jesus. To their amazement, he commands
the storm to be still and it abates. His
leisurely vacation is not off to a good start and it is about to get worse.
The moment Jesus sets foot on land he encounters the
most bizarre figure in the entire New Testament – a man possessed by a
multitude… a legion… of demons. This
dude is violent, tormented, and a danger to himself and others. The folks from the nearby town are so
disturbed by him they take him to a cemetery and chain him to a tomb. But even this cannot contain him. He breaks free of his restraints and haunts
his creepy domain. Here, naked, crazed,
bruised, bloodied, and covered in his own filth, he and his demons confront
Jesus.
Think about this poor soul. Mentally, he literally is out of his
mind. Spiritually, he is possessed and
tormented. Physically, he is beaten and
battered. Socially, he is a complete
outcast. If you or I were to encounter
such a person not only would we cross the street in order to avoid him, most
likely we would take off running in the opposite direction. But not Jesus. Even though he is seeking relief from the
rigors of his ministry, Jesus is able to look deep into is person, to perceive
his humanity, to affirm his dignity, and to restore him to health and fullness
of life. The conversation Jesus has with
his demons is brief, but intense. He
orders them to leave the man and Legion is made whole.
Now, once the villagers learn Jesus has healed the
demonic, you might expect them to bring all their sick and infirmed to
him. This is what happens almost
everywhere else Jesus goes. But Legion’s
healing comes at a great expense to the local economy. Jesus gives permission for the demons to
possess a herd of swine and as a result the creatures drive off a cliff and
drown in the sea. Their herders suffer a
severe financial loss and it likely creates food insecurity for the entire village. At the very least, the cost of bacon is going
to skyrocket and there is no doubt who is responsible.
So, far from being overjoyed, the townsfolk continue
to reject the man. They want nothing to
do with him and they want nothing to do with Jesus, who they unceremoniously
invite to leave the region. It is at
this point the man makes a request of Jesus, “Let me follow you, let me get away from this place and these
people as quickly as possible.” The
‘follow you’ is code language in the gospels.
It means the man wants to become a disciple. This story unique in that it is the only time
Jesus tells a person who wants to follow him to stay put. “I
want you here, in this place, to do the work of ministry among your people.”
Why do you suppose Jesus wants him to stay with the
very people who have treated him so badly? I think the answer is fairly
straightforward. Jesus wants the man’s
presence (his face, his body, his very being) to confront the community’s
prejudices and to challenge its conventions.
Everything about how the man will go about living out the Good News is
going to grate against the fabric of his society. Jesus knows it and Jesus wants it to
happen. Legion’s very being will witness
to the dignity of every human being. He
will be an embodiment of God’s kingdom breaking forth in our world.
I think about the people I have known whose life fits
into this ministry niche. They are
recovering alcoholics and drug addicts, cancer survivors, people who have managed
to find their way forward after a devasting loss, and people who have found the
strength and courage to live with, embrace, and (in some cases) find a way to
thrive in the midst of a personal or family challenges which will never go
away. I think of people who have risen
above rejection, humiliation, blaming, and shaming. Each demonstrates for us what today’s
psalmist means when he or she writes, “O, God of my strength.” Some of you who have inspired me are right
here in this place this morning.
And I think about the countless people I have been
blessed to know and serve who, like Jesus, have the ability to look past what on
the surface, apparent to all, in order to see what God sees… a beloved creation
worthy of respect, dignity, and love.
Again, some of you who do this are here with me now.
One final thought.
When Hollywood delivers a blockbuster, it loves nothing more than a
sequel. Very little frustrates me more
about the gospels than how they provide little or no follow up on the lives of
the people whom Jesus touches. Case in
point… Legion. What happens to him? Is he ever welcomed and embraced by his townsfolk? Does his witness open them to receive the
post-resurrection preaching of the early church? Heck, does his name “Legion”, which was a
reference to his many demons, revert back to his birth name (perhaps Herald)? While in this life we will never know for
sure, I am confident his witness – like the witness of so many of you – deeply affected
many people.
Thanks be to God for seeing in each of us, given our
many challenges and weaknesses, something which the world does not and cannot
see. Oh, if we could be blessed with the
eyes of Jesus to see in each person we meet what God sees.
