Luke 8: 26-39

 
This certainly is a strange story for us today.  Matthew, Mark and Luke all tell of this man who is possessed with a demon.  Essentially their stories parallel one another.  Jesus is with his disciples and returns from a boat trip.  He finds himself confronted with a rather disturbed man upon landing.  Apparently this man is quite dangerous, is a threat to society, and is terribly strong and prone to violence.  Normally he is locked in chains and fetters when the authorities can find and control him.  But he has been hiding in the caves, and now comes out, stark naked, to confront Jesus. 

It is obvious that the demons in this man understand who Jesus is.  And Jesus, rather than running from him or asking his disciples to drive the man away, simply looks upon him with compassion.  Jesus asks him one question, "What is your name?"  To which the man replies, "Legion."  The word, "legion," is Latin meaning an army division composed of 6000 persons.  Apparently this man senses he has many different demons working inside him.

Then Jesus told the demons to come out of the man.  And the demons did and they entered a herd of pigs--swine--that was nearby.  The swine rushed down a steep bank in the pasture and kept running until they were in the lake, where they drowned.  What a sight!  Can you imagine this man hearing Jesus tell the demons to leave his body, and then watching a thousand or more pigs run to their death?  It certainly had a powerful effect on this man.  He cleaned himself, put on clothes and was sitting at the feet of Jesus when the townspeople came to see for themselves what had happened.  The man wanted to follow Jesus, to be with him, maybe to become a disciple.  But Jesus says no, and he sends the man back to his own home to tell the people what had happened to him.

A man possessed who is cured.  Now be honest.  Do you really believe in demons today?  We are a sophisticated society of modern Christians in the 21st century.  At first blush, stories from the Bible about demons seem like ancient superstition, a myth.  However, modern psychology has given new names for demons, names such as schizophrenic, paranoia, clinical depression and others.  Mental illness with all its fancy 21st century names still is not truly understood by humanity.  With all the doctors and scientist at our disposal, society is somewhat at a loss to understand mental illness.  Maybe the ancient terms are more descriptive for an individual who feels caught up in events, disturbed with some sort of psychological disorder.  Maybe he/she feels possessed by a power beyond their control.  A demon!

Let's look at this story again through the eyes of a storyteller in 2007.  There once was man who was mentally ill.  He was a threat to society, but because of cutbacks in funding for social services, he was released and on his own in the streets.  The man could not hold a job, and with what little money he could find purchased cheap wine.
One day, a person named Jesus came to visit in Newport News.  He was due to speak at Hidenwood Presbyterian Church.  As he entered the church where hundreds of people were waiting for him to talk, the mentally ill man confronted him.  The man was dressed in torn swim trunks, a dirty tank top and no shoes.  Together they walked into the church.  The man yelled at the top of his lungs, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?"  Jesus tried to take his hand, but the man pulled away and took a swing at Jesus.  Then the man went wild through the sanctuary throwing hymnals through windows, breaking the PA system, turning over the communion table.  Finally Jesus caught up with him and asked him, "What is your name?"  The man said, "Many.  Many is my name." 

Jesus then told the man that the mental illness he was experiencing would leave him.  Jesus pointed to a flock of birds circling outside.  The birds began to go into a frenzy.  They dove toward the parking lot and flew at break-neck speed into the parked cars.  Windshields were shattering, car alarms were going off; it was really a mess!  The mentally ill man looked at Jesus, and then calmly walked out of the sanctuary. 

It took a while, but the church finally got things settled down.  They moved to the fellowship hall and set up chairs to listen to Jesus.  But some of the members were too shaken to listen to him, so they left.  About half way through Jesus' presentation, the man who had been mentally ill walked in quietly.  He was dressed in worn but clean work pants, a knit shirt, and had a pair of tennis shoes on his feet.  With his head bowed, he approached Jesus, embraced him, and sat at his feet. 

Jesus finished his presentation with the man quietly hanging on every word.  After the meeting, the man asked if he could follow Jesus and be part of his traveling group.  Jesus replied, "No.  You must stay here in Newport News and tell the people what has happened; tell them what God has done for you."  The man smiled; they shook hands; and the man departed into the community.

But some of the church people were angry, and came up to Jesus after the man left.  They asked their speaker how he wanted to handle the financial arrangements.  Jesus said, "I don't charge for my presentations."  To which the people replied, "No, we don't mean that.  How do you want to pay for all those cars that were damaged in the parking lot, and the sanctuary that was destroyed?  Do you carry any insurance?"  And it is there the story ends.

Where are you and I in that story?  Are we the man who is/was mentally ill?  Are we the crowd of churchgoers who want restitution for our out-of-pocket expenses?  Or did we simply leave after our cars were damaged?  The reality is, at times, we are probably all of them!

Today we talk about people who are two-faced, meaning a person who acts one way at one time, and another way at another time.  Do we have one personality or two or five or hundreds or maybe even thousands?  Are we the same person on Sunday that we are in the office, at school or at home on Tuesday?  Or do we act differently when we are in church than when we are in the market place?  God desires us NOT to be phony, but to be who we are.  To have one, integrated personality, to be one person at all times under all conditions, to be a follower of Christ--a Christian--at all times, that is our calling. 

There is no living a Christian life on Sunday and then charging too much rent for a slum apartment on Monday, treating employees like slaves on Tuesday, cheating on a history test on Wednesday, lying to a friend on Thursday, stealing a candy bar from 7-11 on Friday, and getting drunk and treating our spouse or date shabbily on Saturday.  Being a Christian is a way of life, not a Sunday happening.  But are we willing to stand up and admit our multi-faced lifestyles?  Are these some of the demons in the lives of 21st century humanity?

John Knox, who many years ago was the Baldwin Professor of Sacred Literature at Union Theological Seminary in New York, said "To be saved we must recognize our need in all of its dimensions, and this acknowledgment is difficult and costly; it is easier to keep our illusions about ourselves."  Jesus came to cure the mentally ill man.  Jesus came to cure us from our multiple personalities that keep us from being all God wants us to be.

When God enters our lives, the decision to follow the Risen One can be costly to us.  Look at what the church crowd thought was most important in our story.  They didn't offer the mentally ill man clothing and food and shelter.  Even when he came back into the church healed and dressed, the church folk did not go to him and offer him membership in their church, nor did they befriend him in any way.  He had already cost them too much.  The church folk valued dollars and material wealth over the new relationship that was now possible with the man because of Jesus. 

Which is more important to us:  Wealth or human relationships?  Are we willing to let our routines be disturbed by relationships?  Are we willing to sacrifice our hard-earned dollars in order to help save the soul of a man, woman or child?  Do we desire our own comfort more than the discomfort of following Christ?  Do our actions reflect our values?

The last thing that happened in our story is that Jesus told the man he could not go with him.  Rather the man had to stay in Newport News and tell his story there.  Often it is easier to tell a story to people we don't know than to our own families.  But Jesus told the man to go home and share the story. 

To those of us who feel that we have been given a new life in Christ, how often have we been willing to "go home and share the story?"  Do we volunteer as church schoolteachers so we can share the Good News with others?  Do we as parents spend time with our children telling them of our faith and the Good News found in Jesus the Christ?  Do we spend time with family and friends telling them what differences Christ has made in our lives?  Yet that is where Christ sent the man who was healed, home to tell his story.

May we be willing to admit how we fit in to this story about demons.  May we find the courage and strength to share ourselves with others, in our homes, here at Hidenwood Presbyterian Church, and in the communities in which we live and work. 

Amen