Heal the sick. Throw out the demons.
A number of things are mentioned here, but these two are mentioned multiple times. For emphasis. Healing the sick and throwing out the demons - these are the ones that are repeated.
What are we to make of these things - healing the sick, and throwing out demons?
Healing the sick - well, that one’s not too hard to figure out. What sickness do we have in our society today? The answer to that is obvious...The pandemic has killed well over 120,000 people in this country, and over 420,000 people around the world. Many, many more are sick. Most will recover, but still, too many have died. This sickness has also caused fear, it has disrupted lives, and it has greatly limited our activities.
So: when Jesus says, “heal the sick,” we’ve got our work cut out for us. You don’t need me to tell you that we need some healing today.
Throwing out demons - that one’s a little harder to make sense of. Among 21st century Christians (like us), there are different ideas about demons. Some believe in them literally. Others explain them away, saying that ancient people didn’t really understand things like mental illness, so they came up with the idea of demons to help explain it.
But what is a demon?
When you get right down to it, the definition of a demon is an evil power that oppresses. That's what demons did. They oppressed people. They robbed people of their freedom, their freedom to live lives of abundance, lives of wholeness.
I'll say it again: demons are evil powers that rob people of their freedom to live lives of abundance, lives of wholeness.
We've got a lot of demons like that roaming around today. Evil powers that oppress, that rob people of their freedom to live lives of abundance, lives of wholeness, are very much alive today.
And chief among them is racism. Systemic racism is perhaps the most powerful demon of our time, because of its awful power to oppress.
Which means this scripture speaks directly to two of the most urgent issues of our day: sickness, and racism.
Jesus told his disciples to go and confront these two evils in Israel. Don’t go to a Samaritan city or a Gentile city, he said. Go to the lost sheep, the people of Israel.
This sounds like Jesus is prejudiced against Samaritans and Gentiles; it sounds like he’s favoring Israel over those other places. “Israelite exceptionalism,” one could call it. But if we pay close attention, we’ll see that’s not the case.
The reason Jesus tells the disciples to go to the people of Israel is because that’s where the lost sheep are. The people of Israel are lost. They are like sheep without a shepherd. There is no one to lead them.
The shepherd is the one who leads the sheep, but they have no shepherd. They have no real leader. The shepherd is the one who leads them beside still waters, and to lush fields. The shepherd is the one who provides for their needs and who protects them.
That is what a shepherd does. That is what a leader does. Provides for and protects.
But where is Israel’s leader? He’s off colluding with the Romans to make himself powerful. He’s oppressing the people in order to make himself rich. He’s not leading the people. He’s not doing what’s best for them.
The people have no shepherd… no king who is for them… no leader. The one who rules from the palace does not have their best interests at heart. The people are not his priority.
Which means the kingdom over which he rules is a far cry from being the nation God desires. It is a long way from being God’s beloved community.
It’s as if this whole scripture passage is a parable written just for our own time. Is it not? There is sickness and oppression and no real leadership to guide the people.
But a new kingdom is arriving - the kingdom of God. And these acts of healing and exorcism are signs of that kingdom. For in that kingdom - in the kingdom of God:
there is healing,
and there is freedom.
Healing is given freely, without demands for payment. It says so right here in the scripture! A sign of God’s kingdom, a sign of God’s beloved community, is free health care! In God’s kingdom, in God’s beloved community, healing is provided.
Every time someone in my family needs to go to the emergency room - it’s happened a few times over the years - I always worry about what the bill is going to be. I always worry about what amount the insurance company will say is my responsibility.
And for many people who live in poverty, who are underinsured, or who don’t have insurance, they won’t go to the emergency room or to a doctor when they need to, just because they know they can’t afford the bill. And some of them die as a result.
They die, because they can’t afford to be healed. They die, because they live in poverty in a land that has no good news for the poor.
That is immoral. It is sinful. It is something that Jesus commands us to fix.
But in God’s kingdom, good news is preached to the poor, and healing is given freely.
And freedom is likewise given freely, without demands for payment. In God’s kingdom, the people are set free. All the people. Not some. All.
Do you know that I have never, in my life, been pulled over by the police? I used to think that this was because I was such an excellent driver. But now I realize that being a good driver is only one factor, and probably not even the biggest factor in this. The biggest factor is probably the color of my skin.
And in those times when I did see a police car in my rear view mirror and a flash of panic went through me before he passed by, what I feared most was getting a speeding ticket, and the expense I would incur as a result. It never even occured to me to be afraid for my life.
But eventually, I learned that others are not so fortunate. Because their skin is darker than mine, they have a lot more to fear when they get pulled over by the police. Now, it’s certainly possible that the police officer who pulled them over will be just and fair and decent, like so many police officers are. But there are also too many who are not just and fair and decent; not when it comes to people of color.
And I used to think that people saying things like this were exaggerating. Because after all, the civil rights movement which happened just before I was born fixed all the racial problems in this country.
That’s what I was taught as a kid growing up.
But I was lied to. I was lied to then, just as we’re all still being lied to today, by those who still downplay the continued oppression and injustice against Black people in this country.
And you can interpret this however you want - metaphorically, or literally - I don’t really care. But it’s clear that the demons who oppress people and rob people of their freedom to live lives of wholeness, lives of abundance - those demons are alive and present in our society. They are an evil in our society that we need to do something about.
And perhaps we are starting to do something about it. Perhaps this time, society as a whole is listening. Perhaps this time, #BlackLivesMatter won’t be something that is trendy for a week, and then forgotten. Perhaps this time, we all will be serious about throwing that demon out.
And right now, we may not have a shepherd in this country who is willing or able to lead us in this task, but we do have Jesus. Now, and always. Jesus our shepherd, Jesus the one who leads us, Jesus the one who shows us the way to life in the kingdom of God - where the sick are healed, and the demons are thrown out.
And Jesus is calling laborers to help him in this task. Harvesters, who will help him establish God’s kingdom on earth. There is plenty of work to be done, but too few who are willing to do it. Healing the sick is difficult work, and throwing out demons is even harder. Demons don’t go down without a struggle.
And yet, we are called… to use our power… to use our privilege, to whatever extent each of us has privilege… to heal the sick, and throw out the demons.
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