'Jesus and his disciples arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me" -- for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) Jesus then asked him, "What is your name?" He said, "Legion"; for many demons had entered him. They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.
Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you." So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.'
-Luke 8: 26-39
Most of you know that I’m a bit of a movie buff. I enjoy putting references in my sermons, but one film I never really got into was The Exorcist, or any of its sequels, for that matter. I don’t really do horror so much, though I respect it as a genre. Still, there is one lesson that I remember from The Exorcist and other films of its ilk, and that is the first thing that a priest does during the rite of exorcism, in the film as well as in real life, is get the demon to say its name.
Why is this important? Because naming something gives one a sense of ownership or control over it, and as long as a person or thing goes nameless, then there is a sense that they or it is in control. Think about when you get a dog and how important it is to name it, in order to get it to eventually obey you. Getting the demon to say its name is really difficult, as any good exorcism movie will show you, but once that happens, then the work of removing the demon, of healing from it, can occur.
Mosaic of the exorcism of the so-called Gerasene demoniac.
When Jesus confronts a Gerasene man who has been possessed, he gets the demon to say its name. “Legion,” it replies. Once the name is spoken, Jesus can do his work; he cures the man, sending the demons into a herd of pigs, and leaving the man in his right mind, as the text says.
But what exactly was this legion? Biblical scholars say the name is a reference the Roman legions that tormented and tortured Jesus’ people, and all others whom they conquered, the way a demon torments one whom it is possessing. But many others have speculated that the Gerasene man was plagued by what we might today call paranoid schizophrenia, bipolar condition, or dissociative personality disorder, which are legitimate medical conditions. Regrettably, the Church for centuries dealt with people suffering from and living with such conditions as if they were, in fact, possessed by demons, curable only through exorcisms in the name of Jesus. And when the exorcisms didn’t fix the problem, society resorted to treatments like shock therapy, and or throwing them into sanitariums that hid the mentally ill away from the world, the way the Gerasenes hid the so-called “demoniac” in the tombs, and shackled him with chains.
Yet, as is often his way, Jesus bucks the trend. He meets the man with compassion, not fear or judgment. This man is not a drain on society, not an inconvenience to be hidden away, but someone who is fighting a great battle within himself. The text even tells us that he was dealing with the legion for a very long time. Here is a beautiful example that Jesus sets for us. He gets the man to name his demons – in this case, Legion – but he doesn’t treat him, or the demon, harshly. Whereas those around the man had shunned and shamed him, Jesus offers healing and peace of mind, and in an ironic twist, he actually grants the demons’ request by casting Legion into the pigs, rather than into the nothingness of the Abyss.
I wonder if, perhaps, Jesus did this because he recognized the strength within this man to fight and struggle for so long with something inside him that he could not understand or control. Consider that the moment Jesus steps onto land, the man runs out to meet him, pleading for Jesus not to torment him. This is his cry for help, his rock-bottom, if you will, and like most of our own cries for help it’s not as simple as, “I’m having a problem, please help me,” but instead it’s an agonizing plea of fear, which no one but Jesus understands. In the example of this man, we are reminded that there is no weakness, no shame, in seeking someone out for help. And our prayer today is that we may meet a brother or sister in pain the same way Jesus did, without judgment, shame, or fear, and with compassion, mercy, and love.
Many of us have struggled in similar ways to the Gerasene man for many, many years, and if we haven't, we certainly know and love someone who has. We might even use the word “demons” to describe those struggles; as in, "I'm dealing with my personal demons."We call them mental illness, addiction, PTSD, and so much more. It is here that I should reiterate that such conditions are not, I repeat, not demons, nor are they demonic in nature in any way shape, or form. They are conditions with which we all, on a spectrum, struggle. Though they may not be actual demons, the first step to facing and healing from them is the same as in this story from the Gospel; that is, to name them.
To that end, I want to share with you that I am only recently coming to grips with my own struggles with PTSD, and I have been fortunate to have a therapist who has walked with me and given me tools to help me heal. There is no shame in what has happened to me, or to any of you, and there is no shame in asking for help, though sometimes, like the Gerasene man, we may not know how.
After receiving his healing, the man sits at Jesus’ feet, clearly a new person, with a new outlook on life. He wants to go with Jesus, but he refuses, telling the man to stay where he is. Remember that the Gerasenes were not exactly pleased about this man’s healing. A whole herd of pigs were lost because of it – that’s an economic repercussion right there – and their response toward Jesus was to run him out of town, since the Gerasenes were Gentiles and didn’t appreciate an outsider coming in and upsetting their order of things. Sometimes our journey toward healing and wholeness takes us places that others don’t like very much. Loved ones may respond dejectedly when we come out of our healing process and emerge a new person – perhaps with a new name, an entirely new outlook on life. There is something holy and sacred in the call of this new person to remain with his people, to educate them, to love them, to help others heal the same way Jesus healed him.
We must, in spite of misgivings or fear, witness to the strength of those on the outskirts of society who have been made to feel shame and weakness, or told they are possessed, because of their conditions. We must honor the courage that it takes to face and deal with struggles of all kinds, to heal from them, whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually – all three of which apply to the healing Jesus gives to the Gerasene man.
Whatever kinds of struggles you might be facing, brothers and sisters, I pray you will have the courage to name them, the humility to ask for help, and the grace to show others around you how to do the same. And if you are one of the people who are “well” – whoever that may be, I don’t know – perhaps you will see the fears and struggles of others for what they are, something to be commended and uplifted. May you meet them with a loving heart, eager to help to be the healing hands of Jesus for them. And that is good news.
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