Today's Sermon

 

“Amazed: Miracles 4"

 

As we continue our Lenten worship series on miracles, we turn today to the miracle of healing. Specifically, an exorcism. Let’s listen to how the story unfolds.

They came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes. And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. He lived among the tombs, and no one could restrain him anymore, even with a chain, for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces, and no one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones. 

I hear this description and my heart just aches for this man. Take a moment to imagine his existence. First, the community tries to restrain him – likely in an attempt to keep both him and them safe. But that doesn’t work. So he is forced to live outside of the community, among the tombs. Separated, isolated, unable to control himself so that he regularly bruises himself with stones. What a difficult and miserable way to live.

When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him, and he shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” For he had said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” 

Lutheran pastor David Lose calls this response, “One of the more heartbreaking verses in scripture.” When the man says that his name is “Legion,” Lose explains, “Oppressed by too many demons to count, he has lost himself in the cacophony of their voices and has ceased being a self, an individual, a person.”[i] He is not only separated from his community, he is separated from himself. He no longer knows who he is.

He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the region. Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding, and the unclean spirits begged him, “Send us into the swine; let us enter them.” So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine, and the herd, numbering about two thousand, stampeded down the steep bank into the sea and were drowned in the sea.

If the man calling himself “Legion” is one of the more heartbreaking verses in scripture, this bit with the pigs has to be one of weirder passages in scripture. No one really knows what is going on with this part of the story. Here are a couple of theories: 

1. In the Jewish tradition, pigs are unclean animals. Perhaps the pigs serve to amplify all that is unclean in this story. The spirits tormenting the man are unclean, so Jesus sends them into an unclean animal. Not to mention that this story occurs in the region of the Gerasenes, who were Gentiles, not Jews, so they were unclean. Anyone reading or hearing this story at that time would be sure to notice all the uncleanliness that Jesus was dealing with. And yet, he did not shy away. He knew that this man needed help and he was going to help him … unclean or not.
2. The thought at the time was that evil spirits could not survive in water. So, the drowning of the pigs – and therefore the spirits – showed total victory by Jesus. The unclean spirits weren’t simply driven away – they were completely destroyed. The powers of evil are no match for the strength of Jesus’ divine power.

We could continue theorizing. I know that the pigs are often the most memorable part of this story. When I sent this passage to Sharon to look over in advance, her first comment was – “I always feel sorry for the poor little piglets.” When I was telling my spouse, Camie, that this would be our passage for today, she immediately said, “Oh yes, the story about the pigs!” However, let’s not allow this admittedly intriguing story about the swine outshine the miracle that just happened. Jesus cast the unclean spirits out of this man. This man who had been struggling for so long – outcast from his community, separated from his own self … he was now freed from the spirits which had been tormenting him. This is good news. Thanks be to God! What an amazing miracle of God’s divine power. And … the story does not end there.

The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. They came to Jesus and saw the man possessed by demons sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion, and they became frightened. Those who had seen what had happened to the man possessed by demons and to the swine reported it. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. 

Hold on … Jesus had just done this miraculous thing and the people want him to leave? Shouldn’t they be celebrating? Now, I can understand that the swineherds would be upset. Their whole livelihood just drowned in the sea. That is problematic. But what about the rest of the community? They respond to this miracle not with joy, but with fright. Perhaps that, too, is understandable. This man who had been ill for so long was suddenly clothed and in his right mind. That doesn’t make any sense! How could that have happened? This Jesus fellow is obviously not to be trusted.

David Lose suggests that perhaps the people are scared about the way in which Jesus’ presence and power disrupts their social order. The villagers knew the place of this man, which was away from them, safely outside the community. When he is cured and comes once again among them, the social order to which they have become accustomed is upended.[ii]

It is hard for us to wrap our brain around miracles. They force us out of our comfort zones. They make us see things differently. They confuse our carefully constructed lives with everything neatly in its particular place. But, we do not have to be afraid. This is God at work. God who loves us unconditionally and always holds us in the palm of God’s hand. Yes, God’s miracles will push us and challenge us, but they will not break us. Perhaps they will even help us to reorder our lives in a more inclusive and loving way. The story concludes …

As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. But Jesus refused and said to him, “Go home to your own people, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and what mercy he has shown you.”  And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone was amazed.

This really is miracle #2 in this story. Not only is the man freed from the unclean spirits, but he is able to return to his community. He can go home to his people. This restoration of relationship is most definitely a miracle.

Then, he begins to share about his experiences. He travels around the region and tells the people about Jesus and about the miracle that has occurred. We have no idea what exactly he said. I wonder if it went something like this –
My chains are gone, I've been set free
My God, my Savior has rescued me
And like a flood God’s mercy reigns
Unending love, amazing grace

Those are song lyrics and I have to admit that whenever I hear that song, I think of this man, cured of the unclean spirits and set free of all that bound him. And how do the people react when they hear this testimony? The text says, “everyone was amazed.” That, to me, is a crucial part of this story. Everyone was amazed. God does spectacular, unexpected, surprising, unbelievable things in our world and in our lives all the time. How do we respond? Are we afraid? Or are we amazed?

Rob and I have talked before about Sacred Stories, which is our Sunday School class for children in 2^nd grade and younger. The entire curriculum is built around wonder. We tell a Bible story each week and then encourage the kids to wonder about it. To use their imagination and their curiosity. I hope we adults can do that as well, both with the miracle stories in scripture and with the miracles in our lives. I hope that we can lean into the amazement and release at least some of the fear.

We have certainly heard some doozies during this particular worship series. The first week we heard about God’s voice coming out of a bush that is burning but is not consumed. Do we say, “That is too weird for me to ever comprehend … I don’t like it.” Or do we say, “I wonder how Moses felt to encounter God in that way. I wonder in what miraculous ways I might encounter God. How amazing!” Last week, we heard about Jesus turning water into wine. Do we say, “That could never happen … I don’t like it.” Or do we say, “I wonder how the wedding guests experienced that display of divine power? I wonder how I would have experienced it? How amazing!”

Every month we have a wonderful gathering here at Westminster called “Ageless Café.” We get together for lunch and conversation the first Tuesday of each month. All are welcome! Often the first half of the gathering is casual conversation while we eat, and then during the second half we respond to a specific prompt or question. In March, the topic was, “Remembering God Moments.” We were invited to share about a time in our lives when we specifically noticed or were aware of God’s presence. Our facilitators – Joan, Meme, and Gwen – called these “God Moments.” However, I think we could have called them miracles.  

During this worship series, we have been using a book by Luke Timothy Johnson as our guide. The book’s title is “Miracles.” But there is also a subtitle - “God’s presence and power in creation.” When I heard the stories people shared around the Ageless Café table, I certainly heard about God’s presence and power in creation. I heard about God moments. I heard about miracles. Some were big – hearing God’s voice in a dream. Reconciling a relationship that had been significantly damaged. And some were more mundane – being able to keep calm when another driver did something dangerous on the road. Noticing something beautiful in nature. Around that table, I heard stories filled with awe and wonder. Stories that amazed us.

I really appreciated hearing these stories, because right now so much in our world is hard and scary and uncertain and frustrating. Every time I read the news I get tense and anxious. Every time. I’m not feeling much amazement right now. And yet, these stories – shared by many of you - reminded me that there is still so much that is good and kind and loving and miraculous in our world today. They reminded me that I must not give in to the fear, but continue to live in amazement.

This does not mean that I live in naivete. I will not be sticking my head in the sand ignoring the realities of what is happening in our world. I will not be claiming that all is well, because all is not well. I will continue to work for justice. I will continue to follow God outside my comfort zone to help create a world where the outcast truly can come home again. And I will let myself be amazed and inspired by this Gospel story. Because if this man can go from isolation to community, so can we. If this man can be freed of all that binds him, so can we. If this man can experience the amazing and miraculous grace of God, so can we. May it be so. Amen.

 

[i] Feasting on the Word, Year C Vol. 3, pg. 169.

[ii] Ibid.