Audrey and I preached together for the first time at Karl Road Christian Church. Here is a copy of what we said.
Strange
story to preach on today –
Jesus
meets a man who haunts the places of the dead.
Every night he is shrieking in the tombs.. It is a
story of a naked man, talking demons and suicidal swine and a instantaneous
healing which results in Jesus being asked to leave the town.
It is a
strange story.
When I
suggested preaching with Audrey – I didn’t know what we were getting into. As we started to plan we realized there were
many parts to emphasize. We are a mother
and daughter of obviously different generations and we each have a separate but
shared impression of what is meaningful to us.
And you get to hear them.
The
question I bring to this – where am I -
where are we – in this story. And it
doesn’t take long to find myself everywhere. It speaks to me about the human condition and the reality of evil within
in and around us and the power of the love and presence of Jesus.
So I want
to just start with this sad and wretched creature. And explore what we might actually have in
common with him.
. Jesus asked him his name – and he said
LEGION. Which is a military term and
kind of a clue that Jesus is embarking a path of what some might call spiritual
warfare. “I am too many to name and too many to handle. “ And
actually, in this dialogue - who is
Jesus speaking to – the demon or the man.
Have they taken him over”:
I have
heard people say of a person who
struggles with substance abuse disorder– that is not him speaking but the disease.
Can’t control themselves.
And I
think you can say addiction for some people can be demonic. It can take us over and prevent us from being
who God created us to be.
But hard
addictions are hardly the only problem
which prevents us from living in peace and love and and working for a just
world. Nobody knows the ways in which we
are bound.
Sometimes
it is feelings – over which we are powerless –
Like harboring
guilt or shame about past events that continue well beyond the place where it
is healthy or harmful–
Like being unable
to forgive someone who has betrayed you – you want to in your head – but you are
powerless in your anger
like being held
hostage by our perfectionism based on
toxic messages from family or culture – not satisfied with yourself or others.
Or our people pleasing that causes us to be
silent when she should speak because we are afraid to offend.
One of my
favorite quotes from Paul – which I greatly identify with -" Is I
do not understand my own actions. For I
do not what I want but I do the very thing I hate." Romans 7
It is
like we are possessed
–
We can expand the definition of possession to include
everything that conspires to keep us dead whom God wants us alive. , then
the story of the Gerasene demoniac is not an ancient oddity - it is us and it is the air we breathe.
We are all
– every one of us vulnerable to forces that seek to take us over, to bind our
mouths, or take away our true nam,es and separate us from God and each other.
Maybe you
find your self in this poor soul alone in the tombs. But there are other people in the story that
we might identify with at other times.
There are
the people who don’t know what to do
with this man. Try to lock him up but
really they reject him and want him out
of sight.. Who do we ignore and label
and dismiss? It is so easy .. Mentally ill and Immigrants and people
suffering in the world in places like Gaza, Sudan, and it also can be people we
know intimately and keep at arms length.
We are afraid they will ask too much of us. They can – if we are honest scare us.
Fear is
all over the place in the story.
The
townspeople hear something amazing has transpired on this day. They find this
man in his right mind and with a bunch of drowned pigs – valuable pigs. And
THEY BECAME FRIGHTENED and then the WHOLE THRONG OF PEOPLE ASKED JESUS TO LEAVE. Are they are afraid of
Jesus? What kind of power he has?. What more change is he going to bring.
The gospel
does not always bring peace – it can bring upheaval and mess with our moral
categories and economic condition.
So where
do you find your self in this story today?
Audrey:
As I
hear this scripture, I am reminded of who God is - the liberator.
The
story happens so very fast.
Jesus
comes out of the boat and immediately orders the demons out of the naked
man.
It must
have been a split second decision for him- no committee needed!
We don’t
even hear the words Jesus uses - only the demons bargaining for them to stay
out of the abyss AFTER they are ordered out of the man
I wonder
what Jesus saw when he laid eyes on that naked possessed man.
I wonder
if it was like the things I have seen in the world - utterly awful things
that immediately affected my heart
- whether it was
a person obviously in distress asking me for money
- or seeing
shanty towns outside cities when I traveled abroad and witnessing extreme
poverty.
I know
what it is like to have my heart hurt and want to help swiftly. And I know that
swiftness is not always best.
When I
was in divinity school, a lot of field education was about studying these
things.
1.
As a student, we considered how best to give money to those
in need and discussed creative ways of finding the money
2.
We learned about the power of education - of all genders -
to empower societies to help themselves.
3.
a. We
learned the hurt that saving people can create hurt when they can save
themselves.
4.
I was inspired also to hear about non-profits creatively
empowering communities with modern inventions to promote clean water and health
care in poor nations.
Big
hurts do deserve big problem solving.
But if
we stay with this scripture, we are learning about Jesus’s heart more than
anything
Seeing
the man bound by the demons hurt Jesus' heart. … hurt God’s heart.
the son
of God’s actions were swift.
He saw
the shackles of the naked man and he freed him.
Jesus
the liberator.
When the
demons begged Jesus not to enter the abyss, he freed them too. The abyss must
be terrible. I don’t really understand that. But their voice to it tells us a
lot. So Jesus puts them in swine. Perhaps they are able to peacefully die
there? Unclear.
I don’t
know - what I know is that the faithful life is about having a right heart
– a heart that puts liberation of every person first.
We can
see Jesus’ heart in our world today
- It was
witnessed in this world like on June 19th, 1865 - when the Union Army let
the 250,000 black slaves of Galveston, Texas know they had been freed 2
years before.
- We can see
Jesus' heart when the parent says to child who just came out - I love you
and so does God - no matter your sexual orientation or gender
identity
- We can see that
same spirit of Jesus heart when the doctor is able to tell the patient, we
have a match for your liver or heart or kidney or genetic marker protein
for your chemo treatment….
I love
this scripture because it helps me understand the character of God in this
world and it reminds me that God is still present - liberating people in all
kinds of ways. And it makes me know - I want to be part of that - and only that
- part of God;s movement to help free all people
++++++++++++++++++
But the
most important part of this story for me is Hope that is at the core of our faith. Living in hope is to life trusting in the
power, presence and the mystery of a life following Jesus.
–It is
often called a healing story and I resonate with that. I need healing in my life as you all do I am
sure. But I see it is more than
that. It is about a changed life,
changed values, changed purpose.
The story
ends with the formerly demon filled man BEGGING that he might grow with Jesus. Instead
he wants him to DECLARE HOW MUCH JESUS HAS DONE FOR YOU. Going to the people that have rejected him and tell them
the good news. There is a life of
freedom and love that is available to us.
There is a power in the most horrific situations to go into the tombs
and rescue and re name all of us. We can
trust Jesus.
What is
challenging with this text is the sudden change for this man. I believe that to be in the presence of Jesus
might bring instantaneous healing. But
my experience after 76 years on the earth is that we usually learn slowly how
to let go of our self protections and addictions and attachments and allow
Jesus to release our demons. It takes a lifetime to surrender and trust
God. Resistance is real.
However
God never leaves us alone. There is the
hope – God uses everything to try to show us God’s presence, power, and
call on our lives
Much has
changed in my life since I left this pulpit in 2015. I was widowed on Christmas Eve in 2018 when
Chuck passed on to be with the Lord. I
worked part time at another church during the pandemic and in 2023 I remarried
John Anderson. Ups and downs. But the biggest challenge has been an ovarian
cancer diagnosis a year ago – on the 4th of July.
It has
been a year of struggle – I’ve had 11 chemo treatments and two surgeries One of which was stopped early when they
realized my cancer was too extensive and I needed more chemo. And in January of
this year John fell and hit his head and was hospitalized for three weeks. After that I had a second surgery. It has
been a hard time.
And it has
been a time of miracles as he has healed and I have been supported by a legion
of friends and family. Bringing to this day when Wednesday I began a new
regimen and chemo that brings hope.
God shows
up all the time. I could never forget my identity – I am a beloved child of God
- because of the love and witness of
people like you. And without a doubt it
has been a time of spiritual growth as I keep learning God is faithful to me
and still calls me to serve and love even in the midst of being the recipient
of so much love and care that I can hardly speak of it without tears. This is
called living in the realm of God.
Giving and
receiving - loving and being loved - forgiving and being forgiven and always
seeking to be guided by God and part of the movement of God's love.
Here is a
story about our truest name –Beloved. Here is a story about resistance and
resurrection. Here is a story about
Jesus who finds us named among the tombs, clothes us with dignity and wants to
tell and live the story of transformation and love to change world
We concluded with this reading by Teihard De Chardin
Patient Trust
Above all, trust in the slow work of God.
We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new.
And yet it is the law of all progress
that it is made by passing through some stages of instability—
and that it may take a very long time.
And so I think it is with you;
your ideas mature gradually—let them grow,
let them shape themselves, without undue haste.
Don’t try to force them on,
as though you could be today what time
(that is to say, grace and circumstances acting on your own good will)
will make of you tomorrow.
Only God could say what this new spirit
gradually forming within you will be.
Give Our Lord the benefit of believing
that his hand is leading you,
and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
in suspense and incomplete.
