This sermon was delivered Gordon McCulloch to the congregation at Holy Trinity in Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland on the 23rd June 2019; Holy Trinity is a Scottish Episcopal Church in the Dioceses of Glasgow and Dumfries.
1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a Psalm 42 and 43 Galatians 3:23-29 Luke 8:26-39
“Please join me in a short prayer.” Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength, and our redeemer. Amen. (Ps. 19:14)
Introduction
A good few months ago I delivered a sermon on divine healing and am extremely grateful for the enthusiasm it received, this morning I want to introduce another topic which might not be as popular, and that is the topic of deliverance;… you know with the evils sprits and the dark realm … and where better to start that topic than our gospel reading this morning with the Gerasene (JER-uh-seen) demoniac.
Now this is a true story, it’s a story and not a parable as weird as it gets … and it is a story that doesn’t get the attention it deserves and that is a shame, because there is some really good “stuff” in here.
Now, before we start, let us look at the issue that seems to get in the way of engaging with this story and that is the mere mention of the name demonic … because people now-a-days tend to say that they do not believe in the demonic realm with its evil spirits: but these spirit believed in Jesus, (and Paul too of course); and we know that both Jesus and Paul both believed and spoke against this dark realm; so why shouldn’t we.
Many people nowadays seem to know better and dismiss this realm, or maybe they are just really afraid to face up to it; … because they go on to say things like “what possessed you”. What possessed those lone gunmen we here about in the news who brutally kill innocent defenceless bystanders in a cowardly manner at a whim; not those who were planned but those acted without reason. … And yet there may be a reason, there may not … but please keep your mind open on that one; … however we can all agree that such people are hyped up somehow, and totally out control within themselves.
As I have said, we do not do demons these days, at least not very much … because we just do not have a category for them, we don’t understand them, but they are there … and they must be taken seriously because they are frightening, and they are very destructive and Jesus warned us all about them.
But to allay your fears, let me quote the words of Jesus from the great co
mmission, and you will like this this … Jesus said before he ascended, (his last words to the disciples in Mark 16, verse 16 onwards), “… And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. … and these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; … They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover”.
Are we doing or even witnessing all of those things, well no? … Are we the church, well yes? … Are we the followers of Christ? Well yes again, because who else is in a building on a Sunday morning worshipping him. … So we are clearly missing something, or we are not engaging with something, and one of those things we, (or for some who maybe so led), is to cast out devils, or demons as the bible says. …
Now, did you notice the order of those things … that the ability to cast out demons was listed first? … I was taught many years ago that we are told to cast out demons first because it was the easiest of these tasks, and I truly believe that because these demons tremble and run at the name of Jesus.
So with that in mind, we can be more confident in proceeding. … Now a demon or many demons can take control of a person … and we all know this because they can make people do things totally out-with their character. …
I think the closest I could give as a sort of weak analogy, is to recall the saying, “away and get a good get some sleep, as it will look better in the morning”. We have all said that at some time or other,… and in the morning, although we know, that not much will change, we know the person’s perspective of the situation will change; and this change allows them to deal with a difficult situation in a much more rationally and controlled manner.
Now someone who is possessed by something sees things, bad things that no one else sees, or hears or feels. … There is no logic to their thinking, they are out of control … they are super sharp, their eyes or pupils are dilated, and they are running on pure adrenaline … but not in a noble manner, but in a manner overwhelmed with feelings of fear, terror, anxiety and shear panic; … they are uncontrollable and more important … unreachable. … No logical argument will ever get through to them; … so with this in mind, let us look at this morning’s reading where we are introduced to our man … the Gerasene demoniac … which is an extreme and sad example of someone being processed … and where we feel for this poor man and the pain he is forced to endure.
Now this morning I want to look at this true story from a different perspective, from a non-Christian view point, from a gentile or even Roman viewpoint, to get a clearer view of where our gospel message applies; … and to the Gentiles or Romans this situation must have been seen as a hoot; … or a sick hoot, because the whole scene is bizarre from the start to finish, and the people must have loved it.
Why, because in this true story we have all the ingredients that make a dark comedy: because we have tombs; we have chains and shackles; and we have a naked crazy man living in them, cutting himself with sharp rocks. … We have talkative demons; … pigs charging over cliffs, doing swan dives. … … We have freaked-out locals … and then to end it all … we have a small riot breaking out … and the people in that region, including the Jews who were at odds with the gentiles, must have loved telling this story, because I am sure they could not tell this story without laughing about some part of it. The stories probably started with, “see those gentile over there, you are not going to believe …”. … And the Romans too liked this story as well, as it denoted and described the gentiles in pure mockery … making them easier to control.
And so here we find Jesus in the middle of a political minefield … in a place called Gerasene, a gentile territory, and a place where Luke deemed that Jesus had no business being there in the first place; and Luke said this for a number of reasons.
First: Luke did not want the disciples caught up in this story, in this region; he did not want them getting involved, or sullied in this situation.
Secondly: there is the political subtext towards the Romans in this story, because everybody knew instantly that it was no co-incident that the demons called themselves “Legion”; … as the name legion is clearly derived from the famous and feared Roman legions.
And thirdly: the pigs themselves were also topical in this story, because pigs were part of the staple diet of both the Gentiles and the Romans; they were a part in the Roman and Gentile economy; and here those unclean pigs came to a bizarre or even “hilarious” end, which in itself, pointed to something strange but something political as well.
So although there is humour, there is a very serious message here; it is not a comic interlude in Jesus’ Galilean ministry as some people have interpretated … Caesar’s legions and Caesar’s rations were being used here as a metaphor for Jesus displaying real power in destroying the Roman ideal.
And this for us is really good news, for all sorts of reasons: you see, the Gerasene demoniac appears just after the more familiar account of Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee. In fact, the storm was on the very same trip that took Jesus and the disciples to Gerasene … and both of these accounts are linked, they are part of Luke’s run-up to the big question … the question Jesus asks his disciples in the next chapter: … “Who do you say that I am?”
And these stories up until this point are not so much stories about what Jesus did, but about whom Jesus is; … and importantly, the power associated with Him, in relation to all the powers off the universe.
And the bible is very clear about this; that from Philippians 2:9-11 we read “God bestowed on Him (Jesus) the greatest title that could be given. He highly exalted Him and gave Him the name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess, that Jesus Christ is LORD, to the glory of God the Father”
And we also know that the name of Jesus means that he is our Wonderful Counsellor; Mighty God; Prince of Peace; Lamb of God; and the Messiah, to mention a but a few … and yet the world is desperately attempting to turn our attention and credibility away from him, whereas the Bible is pointing directly towards him … and this is the crux of the battle raging all around us in the invisible, yet very real spiritual realm.
You see, there are a lot of powers out there that we cannot see, powers that can and do harm us; powers that isolate, torment and destroy us in all sorts of ways, and in ways where we wonder why … I mean, we have all said “where did that come from”?
As I have said, it is difficult to categories this realm, but regardless of the categories we use, we live in a dangerous frightening world as I have said before; a world that seems to be pretty much against us; and a world that doesn’t really care about us either.
The story of the Gerasene demoniac, like the story of the calming of the sea … (like so many of the other stories of Jesus) … is saying that despite those destroying powers out there … there is good news … very good news, that whatever these powers are, they are not as powerful as him. … None of them has or will have the last word, and none of them will ever prevail, regardless of how we feel at this moment in time. Jesus is the only power who has the last word; as Jesus is the only power that matters.
And yet we have direct access to him through the cross, through his blood, if we only knew … because victory for us who believe in him is secured as a gift because of that cross, so we need not worry what is lined up against us, although we do.
The Gerasene demoniac had more to worry about than his demons. He was also a pariah; … he was cut off from his family, his friends, and the whole community … yet by the time Jesus got through with him, our demoniac was a changed man. … Not only had his mind set changed, his perspective changed … he was normal, he was free of his demons.
He was also dressed appropriately; and Jesus simply told him to go to his home … and that is strange because if you read the verse again you will see that he did not have a home when the story began. This man was given the fullness of his life back … and is that not a wonderful testimony of Jesus to the gentiles and to the world?
Our text this morning stopped there, but if we read on we will see that as followers or Disciples of Christ, we are subject to no one; nor a slave to anyone. We have no need to be afraid of powers that we do not understand; as all these powers will ultimately fall before the name of Jesus.
We are protected by the love of what Jesus is … and the love that Jesus brings is stronger than anything that we will face. … In fact when we see the demonic being expelled in meetings of spiritual warfare; the principle and primary weapon used, is simply the name of Jesus spoken with authority.
Yes, Jesus is Lord; Jesus is our lord, and whatever negative power that is against us at this present moment, will never sustain itself in the presence of Jesus; and that is brilliant news for us; and that our gospel message for this morning.
