Biblical Characers - The Gerasene, Healed from a Crazy Place

June 23  - June 23 I Kings 19.1-9, *Luke 8.26-39  “Biblical Characters – The Gerasene, Healed from a Crazy Place” [ God is a healer, even in our crazy place] Pastor Jacqueline Hines

Today’s gospel lesson is so important that it is repeated in the gospels of Matthew and Mark. Put your seatbelts on. You are about to witness the healing of a crazy man, and if the Lord wills, some of us just might be blessed this morning to be healed as well!

 We are on the Sea of Galilee. The boat is about to land on the shores of a people known as the Gerasenes.  Jesus is in the boat with us. At least one person here might be thinking, “What are we doing here? This is not a holy place. These people do not have a reputation for living right. There is no beautiful place of prayer in THIS area, not the likes to which we are accustomed.”

As soon as Jesus steps out of the boat, a man rushes toward him. The man has demons, and lots of them.  There is something terribly wrong in his life. For a long time, according to the record, he has worn no clothes. He does not live in a house but in the tombs. 28When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and started screaming.

A few of us may have met someone of this man’s description. We’ve had a glimpse or heard of persons with his kinds of troubles. Usually, they are quickly detained by authorities, assured of their legal rights, protected behind closed doors and offered treatment.

There are others whose troubles are not so obvious. We know of serial killers like the oh so handsomeTed Bundy who wined and dined the ladies, medical doctor Michael Swango who harmed his patients, swindler Bernie Maddoff who stole billions from his friends and family, and Elizaphan Ntakirutimana a Seventh Day Adventist who participated in the Rwandan massacre. There is more than enough evidence of destructive, deceptive, devastating, demonic powers at work on this earth. At the same time there is no denying that spiritual disciplines develop divine demonstrations of the power of the love of God to defeat even demons. Not necessarily without a fight. There may even be some pain involved.

A wild-eyed, maniacal man approaches the boat; immediately, Jesus takes control and commands the unclean spirit to come out him. Some situations require an immediate response? Some situations require a love that has urgency. Jesus IMMEDIATELY commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.

That is what we need to do, too. When we have a situation that is in our face, out of control, exasperating, assaulting, harassing, or deadly, we may need to position ourselves, though our words or in our heart for an immediate command – “Come out!”  

Then what happened to Jesus may happen to us. Verse 28 and 29 says, the unclean spirit spoke back, saying “Do not torment me….for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. The citizens of Gerasa had tied the man down in chains over and over again, but the demons were strong enough to break every chain. Someone we know is tied down, shackled by one heavy burden or another. We all have our moments. Certainly, when we are within listening range to our pain and that of others who are with Jesus, we can hear the voice of Jesus say, “Come out of him, Come out of her.”  Come out, come out wherever you are! Come out, come out, whoever you are. Then we can expect the demons to speak on their own behalf, to beg, to plead, to negotiate a way to keep things as they are for as long as possible.

‘What is your name?’ Jesus asked. ‘Legion’ he responds; for many demons had entered him. A Roman legion could be as many as 6,000 armed soldiers. It’s amazing that Jesus is having this conversation with demons and with so many at one time. Perhaps there is a conversation we need to have to address something or someone that is evil or out of control. We may be frightened, and need courage. Jesus will give us exactly what we need and guide us step by step in the way we need to go.

Verse 32 says Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, [We have to go to the gospel of Mark to discover that there were about 2,000 pigs. That could be 2 demons per pig, but Luke, being a physician, is more concerned with the details of this man’s mental health.] The herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

Pigs are scavengers. They eat from garbage that could very likely be contaminated. For that reason, pigs were considered unclean, a health hazard. With today’s FDA regulations, we can eat a nice pork chop without the risk that those in ancient Galilee faced. One thing for sure, these swine herders were not Jewish.  This was pagan country where no God was claimed, no standards adhered to. The pigs were allowed to eat anything and everything. One could not count on them being fit for human consumption.

Jesus drowning 2000 pigs was an economic disaster for the swine herders. They had to be looking at hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses. There was a church where several members worked for a tobacco company. They were well paid, but their spiritual conflict caused them to stay on the edge of economic disaster, when their conscience was bothering them.

While the swine herders were spreading the word, trying to recoup their losses, the wild man was clinging to Jesus, becoming whole. A crew gathered and came back, angry and looking for trouble. What they found was a miracle. The demon possessed man was clothed and in his right mind, sitting at the feet of Jesus.

That’s a good starting point for all of us – at the feet of Jesus. We can ward of things in this world that get in our face, that harass us, assault us, and render us out of control. The swine herders were not celebrating. Instead they were afraid. We have to remember where we are. This was not a holy place. Goodness and healing were foreign to the Gerasenes.  Instead of asking Jesus to stick around and bless them, too, they asked Jesus to get out of town.

As we invite Jesus into every area of our lives, as we take time to sit at his feet, holiness surrounds us, demons avoid us. The man wanted to get in the boat and go with Jesus, but the Lord directed him to go home and tell his story so that God could get the glory, so that others could see the light in him and be healed and helped.

In those seasons when we understand more than anything that the word can be a crazy place, we want to rush into the arms of Jesus, lest we find ourselves on the shores of unholy places. We want to stay at the feet of Jesus and go wherever he tells us to go, telling our story, so God can get the glory and those who need it most will be helped and healed. Amen.