The wording makes it sound like an infestation… like they are fleas or something. Or ghosts in need of the ghostbusters.
And that’s actually not too far off.
In that time there were people who went around, who were sort of “demon-busters,” or “demon-slayers”. And Jesus was perhaps the most famous demon-slayer around. Watching him slay demons - cast them out, send them fleeing - is one of the reasons people came out to see Jesus when he was in town.
Who wouldn’t want to see a bunch of demons slayed?
And what were those demons like?
Did they look like this?
I think this image is actually from a video game. I don’t play video games, but this one sure looks exciting.
So if you were there with Jesus, and you saw his encounter with this demon-possessed man, and you pulled out your phone to instagram or snapchat it, would the image you share look something like this?
Well, as cool as that would be...I kinda doubt it.
Somehow, I have a feeling that if you were there, and you saw Jesus meet this demon-possessed man,
I don’t think that you’d see anything like this...
To be honest, I’ve always been kind of embarrassed by Bible stories that have demons. And I’m not the only one.
There are those who say that demon possession was really just how ancient people understood mental illness. They say that behavior we attribute to mental illness, ancient people attributed to demons.
And there does seem to be evidence in this story to support that. This man’s behavior was out-of-control. He went around naked. He lived among the tombs, roamed around the wilderness, with no home.
That does sound like it could be mental illness.
When they could, the people bound him in chains, for his own protection, and, I think, for their own peace of mind. But he would always break his chains, and run off, and leave the people feeling unsettled and helpless.
I don’t know that being bound in chains was what this man needed. What did he need? Perhaps some therapy, and a prescription for some antipsychotic drugs.
The third hymn we sang this morning makes a connection between mental illness and demon possession. Did you pay attention to the lyrics?
Lord, the demons still are thriving in the gray cells of the mind: tyrant voices, shrill and driving, twisted thoughts that grip and bind…
It’s strange how Bible stories of demon-possession can seem so strange, and yet - at the same time - so familiar…
So I do believe that mental illness is one form of demon-possession.
However, I don’t think we can make a blanket statement that ALL demon-possession in the Bible is mental illness...
I’m not going to say that there are real, supernatural, creatures, little gremlins running around, or maybe big gremlins like the image on the screen, with horns on their heads, wreaking havoc in the human world.
But I do believe that there are, in fact, very real powers of evil in this world, powers that enslave and control.
In today’s Bible story, Jesus asks the demon what his name is, and the demon replies, “Legion.” ...Which is a strange answer if we’re only talking about mental illness...
“Legion” has a double meaning.
Literally, it means, 'Many, thousands, multitudes.' But it also alludes to the occupying Roman soldier legions which numbered 3,000 to 6,000 each. Many Israelites felt the Roman legions were a form of demonic occupation.
So it’s possible that this story of a man possessed by demons is a metaphor for the city being possessed and occupied by the armies of Rome….
What are we to make of all this?
If we interpret demon-possession as mental illness, well, we can lift up and support those living with mental illness, and advocate for better mental health care. That is an important task and challenge facing us today.
If we interpret this demon-possession as the region being possessed by the demonic powers of Rome, then perhaps we are being called upon to challenge present-day demonic powers at work in our world today, to stand up to those demonic powers the way Jesus did...
However you understand demons, it is clear that the man in this story was not in control of his own actions. No sane person would behave the way this man behaved, shrieking, walking around naked, roaming among the tombs and in the wilderness. Whether it is mental illness or some other form of demon possession, this man was enslaved to that demonic power. He had no control over his own life. And then he was placed in chains and irons by the people of his community, deprived even more of freedom.
No matter how you interpret or understand this story, this man was enslaved, imprisoned, to a power that controlled him.
The power of Jesus sets people free. This has kind of been the theme of our scriptures and sermons these past few weeks. Jesus breaks every chain. Jesus sets people free. And that is certainly the case in today’s story.
Jesus set this man free from the powers that were controlling him, and when some more people from town came out to see what was going on, they saw this man sitting calmly, fully clothed and in his right mind. He had been set free, and those who saw him were amazed, and they wondered what happened; and when the people who saw what happened explained it to them, then... everyone was filled with fear, and they shooed Jesus back into his boat and sent him back across the sea.
They wanted nothing to do with him.
Which is not really the reaction I would have expected!
Why would they be afraid, now that this man had been set free from the demons that controlled him?
I can only conclude that they themselves wanted this man to stay the way he was. Why? Because they benefited in some way from this man being controlled by demons. In the metaphorical story-world of the Bible, maybe the chains they placed on this man symbolized their role in keeping this man enslaved, bound to the powers that controlled him.
This shows the difference between how Jesus uses power, and how the demons use power. Jesus uses power to set people free; demons use power to imprison and enslave.
How you use your power determines whether you are on the side of Jesus or on the side of demons.
The demonic powers of this world see people as property, or as consumers, or as sub-human workers whose only worth is to contribute to the wealth of the elite and powerful.
And when a person is seen only as property, or as a consumer, or as someone whose labor can contribute to the power and wealth of the ruling class, then it’s easy to treat that person as less than human. It becomes far too easy to enslave that person, or to pay that person less than a living wage, or deny that person their rights.
When we see people this way, as less than human, it then becomes easy to tell them to go back to their own country, no matter what horrors await them there. When we see people this way, it becomes easy to deny them food or water. When we see people this way, it becomes easy to separate children from their families and put them in cages and concentration camps. When we see people this way, it becomes easy to deny them the right to vote without obstacles, the right to fair treatment by police, the right to a fair trial and sentencing, and so on.
This is how the demonic powers view and treat people. As property. As consumers. As less-than-human.
Jesus sets people free from these demonic powers! Which is why those powers are so afraid of the gospel; why they will fight to hold on to their own power, and why they will distort the truth, turning the gospel of freedom into a gospel that enslaves, which, of course, is no gospel at all.
But the gospel of Jesus is what we are called to follow. And it IS a gospel that sets people free from all the demonic powers of this world….
At the end, this man who had been set free is given a job: Jesus tells him to go and proclaim to the world what Jesus has done for him. Jesus has set him free. Jesus has made him whole…. Now he needs to go and proclaim freedom to others.
The job Jesus gave to him is our job as well.
Which is why Christians are compelled by the gospel to speak out against the mistreatment of so many in our world today… and to continue the work of liberating people from all that enslaves them.
It’s why Christians must continue to offer a drink of water to whoever is thirsty, no matter who they are or where they come from.
It’s why Christians must continue to insist that we improve access to health care for everyone in this country.
It’s why Christians must speak out against an economy that sends all its wealth to the ruling class, and keeps far too many in poverty.
It’s why Christians must hold our government accountable for each and every act that treats people as less than human. We must speak out for every child locked in a cage or separated from their family.
We must speak out for refugees escaping unimaginable horrors in their homelands. We must speak out against transgender discrimination. We must speak out for the earth itself, and the destruction wreaked upon it by those who only care about profit and production… the lives of us all depend on it, and especially the lives of those who are most vulnerable. Their lives mean nothing to the demonic powers of this world, but those who are aligned with the power of Jesus and his gospel see each and every person as a beautiful, beloved child of God, a human being first and foremost……………..
Next week, I’ll be at Loch Leven, directing a week of camp for middle school youth. There are so many powers in our world today, seeking to control the minds and the lives of people - especially our youth.
And many of these powers that seek to control their lives are demonic, and they teach them to hate, and they teach them to not love all neighbors as they love themselves, and they teach them that they themselves are not worth full acceptance and affirmation and welcome.
And my #1 goal as camp director is to create a camp that sets them free from those evil, demonic powers that seek to control them, and to help them connect to the power of Jesus that sets them free, the power that allows them to live lives of wholeness, lives of abundance, lives of overflowing love and goodness.
It really is a spiritual battle that we are waging, even if demons don’t look like the image I showed you earlier, with big horns and glowing eyes.
Pray for me. Pray for our children. Pray for our church.
We’ve all got important work to do.
No comments:
Post a Comment