Second Presbyterian Church

"Legion's Witness
Preaching From the Gospel of Luke"
September 12, 2004

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Sermons Homepage » Sermons for 2004 » Sermons for September 2004 » Sermons from the Series on Luke

#28 in the Series on Luke
The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.

• Psalm 57
• Luke 8: 26-39

This is one of my favorite stories, the story about Jesus casting out Legion; the many, many demons who possessed the man from Gerasa, or possibly Gadera, or even Gergesa. When I say this is one of my favorite stories, please remember that I have lots of favorite stories from the Bible. We really don't know where the town was; the different manuscripts of the Gospels differ. But we can be sure about this: it was a Gentile town, because one would not catch a Hebrew dead who would associate with pigs!

Let's briefly look at the story; Let's take brief note of its context; and then I shall try to apply it to our situation.

First the story, Jesus had just finished calming the storm on Galilee and they reached the other side. Immediately they encountered a man whom we would describe as extremely mentally ill. He was a madman. He would not wear clothes. He would scream and holler. He would stay in the tombs. And whenever the townsfolk tried to subdue him he would break the chains and shackles.

When Jesus and the disciples arrived this man came screaming and fell down in front of Jesus and yelled, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me."

Jesus knew this man was possessed by demons and he started to rebuke them and cast them out. Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" And the man said, Legion, he had many demons that had possessed him. Legion? Are you familiar with that term? Legion was a unit in the Roman army; it consisted of 5,000 to 6,000 men. This poor man was possessed by many demons!

The demons begged not to be sent to the "Abyss" which is where disobedient spirits were confined. They asked, instead to be sent to the nearby herd of pigs. Jesus granted the demons that wish and they left the man, entered the swine, and the swine rushed headlong down a steep bank and into the Sea and drown.

Now let's note a couple things. First of all, the man's demons knew exactly who Jesus was; they even fell down before him! Interestingly, just a few verses earlier Jesus' own disciples were confused as to who Jesus was. They wondered who Jesus was, after he had calmed the storm. The demons did not wonder; they knew!

Another item was the request of the demons to enter the swineherd. To a Hebrew audience, nothing could be more abhorrent than swine. They were considered unclean and disgusting. A Hebrew wouldn't be caught dead around pigs. But the really interesting aspect about this point is that water is often a symbol of the abyss - that place the demons were begging not to be sent! So when the herd of swine drowned in the lake, in essence the demons HAD SENT THEMSELVES TO THE ABYSS! Lesson to be learned: evil only brings destruction, even unto itself!

Back to the story, swine herdsmen ran back to the town and told all the people what had happened. All the citizens came out to see for themselves. They became very, very afraid and asked Jesus to leave.

Why? Wouldn't they be happy for the man who was healed from so many demons? Perhaps the townsfolk were not happy that a major source of livelihood was destroyed when the swine drowned (Mark numbered the swine at 2000!).

I suspect another, more complex reason. All communities and families have to manage evil tendencies and dysfunction. One popular method is for the family, or community to designate, unconsciously, someone - or some group - to be what therapists call, "The Symptom Bearer." The Symptom bearer is the one who becomes "sick" (has the symptom) in order for the entire family to function more healthily. This can happen in entire communities. And, yes, this can happen in congregations, too.

If this were the case for these townsfolk, then they had just lost their designated dysfunctioner. Now they were at a loss. They would either have to designate another vulnerable person to become their symptom bearer, thus repeat the cycle. Either another would become demon possessed, or have some other significant form of dysfunction. Or the citizens would each have to face their own selves, their own dysfunctions, their own personal demons!

But I don't want to over-psychologize this story. Usually we psychologize the Gospel to soften the point of the story and to explain away the things that we find difficult to understand. Some commentators do this by saying that the man was mentally ill, and perhaps he was. But I have experienced enough life, even as a therapist, to realize that evil exists and that nothing explains some phenomena better than acknowledging that there is evil in this world. Yesterday we observed the 3rd anniversary of 9/11. That, brothers and sisters is an excellent example of the existence of evil. To explain, or psychologize the Militant Islamic radical movement does not do justice to the evil involved. Hitler was another example. To psychologize all the events leading up to WWII and Hitler's move to eradicate the Jews does not do justice to the evil committed by the Nazi Party and the overall anti-Semantic attitude that swept through Europe at that time.

But back to the story, as Jesus got into the boat the man, who was now clothed, calm, in his right mind, and sitting at Jesus' feet begged Jesus to be with him. He wanted to become a disciple. Jesus told him to witness to his own people; tell them all that God had done for him. So the man goes and witnesses to his own people telling them all that Jesus had done.

Two quick points: one, again, Luke demonstrates to the reader that Jesus IS God, is the Messiah. This man who was born in Bethlehem was God on earth and that he was here to bring the Kingdom of God on earth and to redeem humanity from sin.

Two, we have a foretaste of Luke's emphasis on the Gospel of Jesus Christ spreading out into Gentile country. Luke didn't focus on that in his Gospel, but he did in his sequel, The Book of Acts! Many people in the Christian tradition today are stating that every religion is relevant. Some here may even agree with that position. They may say that Christians have no right to share the Good News of Jesus to those who have not been born within the Christian tradition. I strongly disagree. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is for Jew and Gentile! It is for all whom the Lord leads to his fellowship. That means that Jesus is the Redeemer of Asians, or Indians, or Middle Easterners, or Africans, as well as Europeans. No one comes to the Lord except through the work of Jesus Christ, the Messiah!

Finally, what about us as a congregation? What can this passage say to us? The first things that come to my mind are the demons that get in the way of a congregation's spiritual growth. These demons are quite common. Their goal is to drain the spiritual life out of a congregation and leave it feeling weak and helpless to do the work of Christ in our world.

What may these demons be?

1. The first demon is discouragement, especially when a congregation has been shrinking in numbers. The Lord has never really worried about numbers, but He has been concerned about our hearts. Are we seeking His guidance? Are we striving to love our neighbor, even our unlovable neighbors? Are we seeking to help others to get to know the love and salvation of Jesus Christ? Are we striving to help those who need our help? Discouragement can distract us from our mission to be the presence of Jesus Christ in the world. Let's face it, we must assume that many people we meet in our lives only have our lives as examples of the Christian life. How are we doing?
   
   
2. The second demon is stale tradition. "We have always done it this way" can become the mantra of death for a congregation. Don't misunderstand me; we need to stay connected with our heritage. If we change for the sake of change and throw out the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the process, then the change is fruitless. Instead, we need to ask, has the Gospel of Jesus Christ been leached out of our tradition, to be replaced with mere routine and familiar behavior? Older congregations have to be particularly cautious of this demon coming in and taking possession.
   
   
3. Another, particularly tenacious demon is anxiety over existence. Are we becoming afraid of our future? Are we being tempted to reign in our ministry, because we fear we can no longer afford it? The most deadly demon of all congregations is the demon that sets in and changes the congregation's purpose for existing from following Jesus Christ to self-preservation. All organizations have to face this demon. None are exempted. The ones that succeed are the ones that remain faithful to their original mission and do not succumb to self-preservation. This is also true for Second Presbyterian. We must boldly continue to be faithful in our witness to Jesus Christ through our Christian Education, our ministry beyond our walls, and our commitment to growing together in our faithfulness to Jesus Christ.

This does not imply fiscal irresponsibility. But it does strongly imply that we stop being afraid to spend when our mission calls for us to be a little bold in the name of Jesus Christ! The Lord does provide and we need to allow ourselves to be open to how the Lord shall provide for us to do the Lord's work. He's not going to leave us high and dry. He does demand, however, that we persevere in our faithfulness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

A corollary to this demon is the assumption that a congregation is primarily a business. It is not. It is primarily part of the witness and body of Jesus Christ. Indeed, it does bear a resemblance to business. The resemblance is that congregations must be good stewards of the worldly goods that the Lord provides for them to faithfully perform their ministry. What are these resources? First of all, they are we, the people. We are the primary resource of our church. And we belong to God. Second, our facilities belong to God. They are not ours and they need to function as such, a place that enhances our witness to the love of God that is manifested in Jesus Christ. Third, the talents that God has given us to use. These talents aren't just for us to use, they are talents that God has given us to use FOR THE BUILDING UP OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD - the real church.

Only Jesus can cast out and rebuke these demons. And when he does, we are at his feet (the place of true disciples) ready to go wherever he sends us. Amen.

The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.