The demon possessed man

Luke 8:26-39 (New International Version)

The Healing of a Demon-possessed Man

²⁶They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. ²⁷When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. ²⁸When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” ²⁹For Jesus had commanded the evil^[b] spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.

³⁰Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. ³¹And they begged him repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.

³²A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into them, and he gave them permission. ³³When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

³⁴When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, ³⁵and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. ³⁶Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. ³⁷Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.

³⁸The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹“Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.

Growing up in the church I have heard many sermons preached on this reading. The explanations for the ‘demon possessed’ man have usually been that the man suffered from schizophrenia and that Jesus, through spiritual healing powers, removed the mental illness and restored him to his community. This explanation would make sense in the light of the mission of Jesus to heal the sick and restore people to life.

I have also heard this reading preached in a light that spiritual powers had possessed this man and that actual demons inhabited his body requiring an exorcism to spiritually cleanse him. This particular slant on this reading has led to many damaging actions taken in the name of Jesus, causing pain and suffering on many levels.

I have never really believed in spiritual warfare. It is something that I have never witnessed and would struggle to believe in. In the same token I have never seen anybody miraculously healed from mental illness using spiritual powers. In this light, I have usually struggled to sit through sermons on this topic.

I do see this reading as a vitally important reading in the context of our community. I think that it is easy to see this reading as yet another example of the amazing spiritual powers of Jesus, I also think that type of understanding makes this reading irrelevant.

We all know someone who struggles with life. Problems with alcohol, gambling, sex and drugs are all aspects of our community that cause destruction, break families and cost lives. This, for me is where we can enter the call of Jesus in this reading. We are called to lead people who are ‘possessed’ to a place of wholeness. How this looks will vary depending on the ‘demon’ and your understanding of wholeness.

For those of us who are battling our own ‘demons’ we can take heart from the fact that we are not alone, and will not be left alone. God is all about bringing people to life. Taking you from a place of death and despair, to a place of life and meaning.

For those of us who drink to fill a void, who gamble to fill a space in our lives, who use sex to feel complete, God is calling you to let your demons go. Search yourself and find the broken part of you that causes you to destroy yourself and have the courage and grace to allow yourself to be healed.

For those of us who may consider ourselves ‘demon free’ we need to examine our actions and our attitudes that may be causing the ‘possessed’ members of our communities to continue to suffer. Do we allow the space, love and support needed to allow open, honest dialogue that will lead to a life based on love.

³⁹“Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.

20/06/2010 0

Jesus brings a widow back into life.

Luke 7:11-17 (New International Version)

¹¹Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. ¹²As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. ¹³When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”

¹⁴Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” ¹⁵The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

¹⁶They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” ¹⁷This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.

Modern Context:

I want to take a moment to stop and ask God to be with Vanessa Robinson, the mother who lost her two boys who died in Maroopna last week. We pray that somehow a she will find a place of peace in her heart after the tragic loss, and that she will be able to rely on her community for support and love at this tragic time. Amen

We find the woman in this story, as someone who finds herself in a place where life has thrown her to a dark place. For this woman, this childless widow, is put in a position of worthlessness.

This woman undoubtedly finds herself questioning the value and worth of her life. She has lost her place in the world.

Widow, no husband no provider, turns to her son as provider, now he is dead. She has nothing for herself except a future of begging and/or prostitution.

Society has set itself a system of making women dependent on men. Without a man women are worthless. She can only define themselves as mother or wife in her community.

So not only has this poor woman lost her ability to define her worth through being a wife and a mother, but she has become a drain on society. She has found herself without any financial suriety. Wherever she goes she will be seen as a problem for her community. She is too old, she has no house she belongs to, she has no husband, she has no children, she is a financial burden on society. I think you would agree with me that these are still common feelings.

¹³When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”

Jesus responds to this woman and her pain and loss by giving her back her son. Giving her back a place in her community, giving her back her life.

If only it where that easy for us. We are surrounded by people in our Church, in our families, in our community, that feel removed from life and meaning. There are people that walk among us that question their worth, their place, their life. People in our community question their relevance because they are divorced, unmarried, childless, too old or because they feel they are a burden on those around them. You may know someone like that, it may even be you.

But we worship a God whose specialty is making life from death, meaning for the meaningless and hope for the hopeless. We invest ourselves in a God who loves the people God created and responds by offering life and love and meaning through the Christ.

You may not experience this as a supernatural moment when the dead are raised, but when you allow yourself to be loved, life is reinstated.

God has called us to participate in life through the Christ. We have been called from the edges of society, from the dark places of our souls and like the widow, been given renewed meaning in our lives.

And our response to this?

¹⁶They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help the people.”

We are called to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ, finding those on the edges of society, talking to people who live in the dark places of their souls, giving renewed meaning to the lives of those around us.

Go with this renewed life God has given you, and bring meaning to the widow!

09/06/2010 0

Progressive Prayer

Found this prayer on the center for progressive Christianity website

Give us courage, Lord, to honestly consider our lives in light of the life, death and the resurrection of Jesus. Help us examine our lives in light of the reconciling love embodied and revealed to us at the cross. Give us the honesty and humility to admit our failures and repent of the selfishness and greed that is in us. Give us the wisdom to stop defending bad religion and start living the faith that can transform our lives and our world. Amen.

05/06/2010 0

Vince Antonucci’s random acts of kindness

This is a facebook post from Rowland;

“She sat in her car out in the street in the pre-dawn darkness, and wondered over and over, ‘What am I doing this for?’ When the garbage-collector came she gave him some special cookies she’d baked. He was astonished: ‘No-one’s done this before’. Vince Antonucci’s ‘Guerrilla Lovers’ describes how everyone in their church was handed an envelope with a Random Act of Kindness to fulfil that week.”

http://www.vinceantonucci.com

Sweet idea.

04/06/2010 0