1 Kings 19:1-15a

Psalm 42

Galatians 3:23-29

Luke 8:26-39

Mt. Zion UMC, Stokesdale, NC

24 June 2007

To Accept Jesus’ Healing or to Ask Jesus to Leave

Some of you may know that I am very interested in Christian healing. Not only am I interested in the theology behind healing in the Christian tradition, I'm also very interested in the ways in which Christians embody their beliefs in the power of Christ to heal. All Christian traditions have some ritual, some way in which they embody their belief in God's healing. Some traditions simply have extemporaneous prayer. Some stay closer to Biblical traditions by anointing with oil and laying on of hands in addition to prayer. Regardless of exactly how a tradition embodies their belief, a theologically correct understanding of Christian healing is one that seeks wholeness of body, mind, and spirit; wholeness for the community as well as the individual; and draws a distinction between healing and a cure.

In our reading from Saint Luke's Gospel, we find a story of healing. Yes, it is often described as a story of exorcism, of casting out demons; however, in casting out these demons, the demonic man is made whole and therefore healed.

We find Jesus and the disciples arriving in the country of Gerasenes [Luke 8:26]. This is a Gentile land with only a sparse population of Jews. They arrived after a stormy voyage where Jesus quieted the waves and wind - demonstrating his power over nature. As they arrived, they were greeted by the local demon possessed man. This must have been quite the sight, because this man was naked and lived in the graveyard - not exactly the standard welcoming committee from the chamber of commerce. The demons recognize Jesus as the son of God, introduce themselves as "Legion," and assume that Jesus is going to cast them out of the man; so, the demons negotiate their fate [Luke 8:28-32]. Jesus then casts them out of the man and into a herd of pigs as per their agreement and the pigs go crazy and run off and drown themselves [Luke 8:33]. The man regains his sanity and starts to not only wear clothes, but also starts listening to Jesus' teachings. Yes, this story is a little on the weird side.

So, what does this story mean for us today? Well, let's take a look at the facts. The man had some demons. Actually, if the demons' name of "Legion" is numerically accurate, he had between 5,000 and 6,000 demons. That's how many soldiers are in a Roman Army Legion. Regardless, he had quite a few. These demons were causing him to physically be separated from his community. After all, he lived alone in a grave yard - how much more separate from the living can you get? He wore no clothes - that really separated him from his community. We never learn his name. It's as if he doesn't have an identity apart from the demons that possessed him. As a demonic man, he was not a whole person; he had no name, no identity as a human, did not live as a human, and was separated from community. Such a situation caused by demons is still prevalent today.

Think about the demons we face in the modern day. Just as the man had multiple demons, the demons we face today are never simply single causes. Take drug addiction for instance. It's very rarely that someone simply suffers from drug addiction. Often it's drug addiction and a broken family, abuse, self-esteem issues, lack of education, or a host of other situations of life. Although we often think of these modern-day “demons” as coming about through some action of the person struggling with them, they can also be imposed on people through no fault of their own. Illness for instance, which can be physical and mental, can be a modern-day “demon.” A divorce between parents can be a “demon” for a child. The death of a loved one, too, can be a modern-day “demon.” Regardless of how these modern-day "demons" come to us, whether through no fault of our own or by our own doing, they very rarely come alone.

Just like the demons in our reading, modern-day "demons" seek to separate us from community, they try to break relationships, they seek to take away our identity. We stop seeing those who are struggling with modern-day "demons" as humans and start seeing them as drug addicts, alcoholics, criminals, the homeless, idiots, trouble makers, worthless, undesirables. These modern-day “demons” place a stigma on people. We let the demons have power not only over the person struggling personally with these demons when we reinforce that stigma, but we also allow the demons power over us because we start to contribute to their separating people from community. “Demons” break relationships.

As part of Jesus' healing of this man, Jesus asks the demons their name. This too is important as we deal with modern-day "demons." In order to deal with any issue, we must name that issue. And we can't simply name the symptoms or the surface issues; we must name the deeper issues as well. Jesus couldn't simply hand the demonic man clothes to exercise the demons, to "fix" the man's issues. That would have only addressed a symptom of the man's possession. Jesus learned the name of all the demons so that every demon, every issue that was creating division and broken relationships in that mans life could be identified, addressed, and reconciled. Our modern-day “demons” are no different. In order to get at the root of an issue, we must first name that issue – we must name the problem. Often times the symptom, the most visible aspect of the modern-day “demon,” is not the real problem. We must probe deeper to find the issue that is truly causing the problem. We must learn the real name of the modern-day “demons” we’re facing.

Jesus cast out “Legion” from the man in our reading for Saint Luke’s Gospel. Jesus healed the man and restored the relationships that were broken because of “Legion.” In verse 35, we find the man not only clothed, but “in his right mind.” We find him sitting at the feet of Jesus conversing as a human. Although the man wanted to remain with Jesus as a follower, Jesus sent him back to his family instead; Jesus sent him to live in a restored, reconciled relationship. In a sense, this was the last part of this man’s healing – he was returning to the community that “Legion” had divided him from.

The people of the surrounding area had what seems to be a strange reaction to Jesus healing this man. They were afraid and angry. How could they be afraid and angry? Didn’t Jesus just heal a man who was most certainly causing problems for the community? Some commentators of this passage of scripture argue that these people were angry and afraid because a herd of pigs were destroyed. Pigs were a commodity and a source of wealth in this area of Palestine. I’m not entirely convinced that everybody felt this way just because of the pigs. I grew up near some pig farms. Quit frankly, they stink to high heaven. I’m certain that at least a few people were glad to see a herd of pigs destroyed. The big issue people took with Jesus healing this man was most likely that this healing changed their way of life; it changed how their community functioned. No longer would they have to deal with that crazy man who lived in the cemetery. No longer would they have a crazy man who lived in the cemetery to blame things on. The issues that came up in community would have to be dealt with for real because they no longer had a scapegoat, the crazy man who lived in the cemetery, to blame them on. In healing the demonic man, Jesus revealed the other “demons” of the community and the community didn’t want to deal with them. The community chose to remain as it always was instead of dealing with its own “demons” and seeking true healing. Unfortunately, this reaction to true healing is not that uncommon. Oftentimes, communities would rather keep the status quo than to seek true healing because, just as with dealing with “demons” in our lives, communities must first name their “demons” in order to deal with them and truly seek healing.

The people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes could have had the same healing that the man received. They could have had their broken relationships restored and reconciliation could have occurred through Jesus. But they preferred to remain as they always had instead of changing – even if the change was for the better. And that kind of fear and anger is a “demon” in itself.

Today, we find ourselves as individuals and as a community with the same decision; to accept Jesus’ healing or to ask Jesus to leave. If we ask for Jesus’ healing, we will be asked to name our “demons,” we’ll be asked to change. If we ask Jesus to leave, he will just as he did in our reading. We’ll be left alone living as we always had.

I think about the demonic man who was healed. I wonder what would have happened if he was able to make the same decision as the community. He probably would have continued as he had; running naked and living with the dead. I glad Jesus offered him healing – healing that made him whole, clothed him and moved him from living with the dead to reconciling him with the living.

SDG