"What Great Things God Has Done For Me!"

Pentecost +4

Isaiah 65:1-9

Galatians 3:23-4:7

Luke 8:26-39 – New American Standard Version

Today is the fourth Sunday after Pentecost, and so far, Jesus’ life is full of excitement, well, insofar as our Gospel lessons are concerned. First, Jesus demonstrates his authority over sickness, then Jesus demonstrates his power over death, then he demonstrates his power over sin, and now, in our text, Jesus shows us his power over the devil and hell.

But there is a negative side to all this. First, Jesus talks to a Gentile, a Roman soldier, which makes him unclean; then, when he meets the funeral procession, he touches the coffin, making him more unclean; then, in the pharisee’s house, he lets himself be touched by a sinful woman, making him doubly unclean; now, here in the land of the Gerasenes, Jesus lands in Gentile territory, wanders near a cemetery, is met by and engages in a conversation with a naked, demon possessed man. UNCLEAN. UNCLEAN. UNCLEAN.

Well, I guess Jesus is entitled to his choices. He could choose not to talk with the centurion, thereby preserving his ritual purity; Jesus could have chosen to avoid the funeral procession, thus preserving his ritual purity; Jesus could have told Simon the Pharisee not to let the woman in, thus preserving his ritual purity. And now, Jesus could have told his disciples to land the boat somewhere else, for this was Gentile territory, so they would not have to be near a cemetery, so that he would not have to deal with the demon-possessed man, thus preserving his ritual purity. Would you be glad if Jesus HAD made these choices? ---

And yet, these were not the choices Jesus made. He instead chose to meet these unclean people and address their needs, thus making himself unclean in the process, because HE HAD COMPASSION ON THEM. BECAUSE THEIR SALVATION WAS MORE IMPORTANT THAN HIS RITUAL PURITY. Aren’t you glad Jesus made the choices he made?

And so, as they land on the shores of the Gerasenes, he is at once met by the demon-possessed man. We are told that the man “had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs.” Why the tombs? Well, I guess demons, the devil, loves death, not life. When the demon sees Jesus, he shouts, in alarm: “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me." One thing I found strange in the biblical accounts is this, that it is the demons who recognize, and confess the true identity of Jesus. Jesus’ disciples, even his detractors, seem to find it difficult to comprehend who Jesus truly is. Could that also be the reason why most times, we find it difficult to reflect Jesus’ compassion and love to others? We say that we are saved by grace. Do we see that grace here, among ourselves, in church? Do we need a demon-possessed man to tell us who Jesus is?

St. Luke describes the life of the demon-possessed man: that “it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.”

Jesus asks the man’s name, but the demon would not let the man speak. Instead, it is the demon who answers Jesus’ question: Legion, for it was not one demon but many. I do not believe Jesus was interested in the demon’s name. I do not believe that Jesus is interested in demons, whoever they are. From our previous Gospel lessons, we see clearly what it is that interests Jesus: Jesus is not interested in whether a man is a Jew or a Gentile; he is not interested whether a person is rich or poor; Jesus is not interested whether a person is ritually clean or not. All Jesus is interested in is US: and so, out of compassion and grace, he heals the centurion’s servant, he raises the widow’s son from the dead, HE FORGIVES THE SINS OF THE WOMAN. And now, he casts out Satan’s kingdom. By casting out the demons from this man. Jesus makes himself ritually unclean for these people. DO YOU THINK THAT JESUS WOULD DO LESS FOR YOU? Jesus had great compassion for these people. DO YOU THINK THAT HIS COMPASSION FOR YOU WOULD BE ANY LESS?

The demons beg, implore Jesus not to send them into the abyss. On the hillside, a herd of pigs were grazing, no doubt kept by the gentile herders of that land. The demons beg Jesus to send them into the herd of pigs. Again, Jesus is confronted by a choice: he could free this man from the demons forever, at the expense of someone’s pigs, or he could let the man continue suffering so that someone’s business might not be disrupted. Once more, Jesus shows compassion. The man, at last, is freed from the torment of hell. And it is, or should be, an occasion for joy. At least, I believe it was an occasion of joy for Jesus at the time. But apparently, the other Gerasenes did not find what happened joyful:

32Now there was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain; and the demons implored Him to permit them to enter the swine. And He gave them permission.

33And the demons came out of the man and entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

34When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported it in the city and out in the country.

35The people went out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened.

The man, who was once demon-possessed, was now sitting calmly at Jesus’ feet, had clothes on and, most important of St. Luke’s observations, was sane, was in his right mind. And the Gerasenes were frightened. Of whom? The man? But he was freed of the demons. He was calmly sitting at Jesus’ feet. He had clothes on. And he was sane. If only they had talked to him, they would know he was sane. But they had let fear overcome their compassion:

“36Those who had seen it reported to them how the man who was demon-possessed had been made well.

37And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to leave them, for they were gripped with great fear; and He got into a boat and returned.”

They were probably afraid that Jesus would, by his casting out demons, put them all out of business. Possibly they were superstitious people, fearing that Jesus would, by his casting out demons, invite other demons to their land to do battle with Jesus. The reasons, we could say, are Legion. But, the most important thing here is that by their fear, they refused God’s grace. By their fear, they have effectively prevented Jesus’ compassion from reaching them. By their fear, they had effectively driven Jesus, and his compassion and his grace, from their midst : “and He got into a boat and returned.”

BUT NOT EVEN THEIR FEAR COULD PREVENT JESUS FROM LOVING THEM. AND SO EVEN AS HE WAS HANGING ON THE CROSS HE WAS HANGING, DYING ON THE CROSS FOR THESE GERASENES WHO DROVE HIM AWAY. HE WAS DYING FOR US, WHO CONTINUALLY DRIVE HIM AWAY BY OUR LACK OF COMPASSION. BUT IN SPITE OF OUR LACK OF COMPASSION, IN SPITE OF OUR REJECTION, JESUS STILL COMES TO US AND OFFERS US FORGIVENESS OF SINS AND LIFE – THROUGH HIS WORD AND SACRAMENTS. AND BY HIS DEATH, SATAN’S KINGDOM IS UNDONE. SATAN IS DRIVEN OUT, AND LIKE THE DEMON-POSSESSED MAN, WE END UP SITTING AT JESUS’ FEET, GATHERING AROUND HIS WORD AND PARTAKING OF HIS SACRAMENTS.

But one last thing: why does Jesus refuse the offer of the man to become his disciple? Isn’t the principle, THE MORE THE MERRIER? Wouldn’t that be proof that the kingdom of God is indeed increasing? Instead Jesus sends him home. Why? BECAUSE FOLLOWING JESUS AND RETURNING HOME AND TELLING PEOPLE HOW MUCH GOD HAD DONE FOR HIM WAS ESSENTIALLY ONE AND THE SAME THING. THAT FOLLOWING JESUS IS RETURNING HOME TO TELL EVERYONE HOW MUCH GOD HAS DONE FOR US: TO PEOPLE IN OUR HOMES, IN OUR SCHOOLS, IN OUR WORK PLACES, IN THE GYM.

Here now we have been forgiven. Jesus, the Lord, has given us freedom from the devil through his word and his sacraments. And so, at the end of this service, as we go back to our daily lives, once more we hear the words of our Lord: “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.”