As preached by Brother Luke
Holy Wisdom Church
“The devil made me do it!” We may laugh when
we hear this excuse for someone’s behavior today, but when Jesus walked this
earth, being demon-possessed was no laughing matter. People strongly believed
that strange behaviors and illnesses were often the work of demons. Sin was
also viewed as the cause of ailments. And sin might be the invitation to the
demons. Our understanding of medical science has brought us a long way from
those views, but the feeling of being out of control of one’s own behavior is
still a reality and it has a biblical pedigree as St. Paul reminds us this
morning and laments in the next chapter of Romans that he doesn’t do what
he wants to do and does what he hates. [Romans 7:15]
The opening of this gospel scene presents us
with a powerful image of Jesus’ battle with evil in our world. Jesus didn’t
just happen to run into these demon possessed individuals, he went to this
place on purpose. And the demons knew it. They accused him of coming to destroy
them before time. And what time was that? Kairos time. In God’s time, the
demons had already lost their battle, but not here on earth in kronos time. Not
yet. All the images presented in this passage are of a place that was polluted,
the demoniacs were living among the tombs, the village inhabitants were not
Jews but pagans and they were raising pigs, thought to be dirty as well. And
Isaiah warns us of this too. The dialog in Matthew is virtually all by others,
the demons and the townspeople. Jesus says only one word: go! And by showing
these villagers that the evil of this world must GO, they responded as we often
do, instead of heeding his warning, they ask Jesus to leave. And he does.
Jesus can help us battle our demons,
personal, communal, and societal, but we need to say yes. Yes, to his teachings.
And we might think that should be easy, but we often find that it is not. When
I am engaged in a discussion with another person with whom I have differences,
how do I bring the peace of Christ to that situation? Listen. But my inner
voice, [maybe my ego?], is telling me I’m right, why do I need to listen? But the
better question is: why do I need to be right? That is where my inner work is.
Agreeing or disagreeing isn’t the problem, needing to be right and for the
other to accept that I am right is at the forefront of the dispute. And how far
can the dispute go? A shouting match? As scary as the demoniacs in Gadara? Or a
fight or a rupture of relationships. And this little drama can be carried out
at any level of society all the way up to war between nations, as we see in
many places today.
In the Gadara story, and equally in our lives
and our world, Jesus seeks out evil to combat it. But those caught up in the
moment need to be willing to accept Jesus’s example. Jesus said go and the
demons went and took other evil forces with them. But if people or nations are
more concerned about power, money, and influence over others, then they will
complain about the loss of the pigs [the things they think are valuable] rather
than celebrate the healing of the “demon possessed,” the peace of Christ.
True medical illnesses need the wisdom
and skills of trained medical professionals. This story is not about a magical
cure, this is much more basic. It is about confronting and combatting evil.
Jesus didn’t
come to bring peace but a sword. [Mt 10:34] In other words we do not make peace
with evil, but the combat with evil is about following the teachings of Christ
that conflict with the ways of the world. The more aligned with Jesus’ teachings
the more likely true peace will grow in us and in our world.
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