JESUS RESURRECTS AND RESCUES THE DISCARDED
TO MINISTER TO THE DISCARDERS
Luke 8:26-39
Second Sunday after Pentecost, Year C
Analysis by James Squire
26Then they arrived at the region of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27As he stepped out on shore, a man from the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had not worn any clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. 28When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him, shouting, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me” – 29for 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.) 30Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.
32Now 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. 33Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd stampeded down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. 34When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. 35Then 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 became frightened. 36Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. 37Then the whole throng of people of the surrounding region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38The man from whom the demons had gone out begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39“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.
Mosaic of the exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac from the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo.
From Wikimedia Commons
“We are called to bring the healing presence of Christ to the discarded who we encounter and to the ones who have been discarding them.”
DIAGNOSIS: Demonic drama infects us
Step 1-Initial Diagnosis (External Problem): Discarding and Discarded
A broken person lives in the tombs, where the dead are, ostracized by his community. They cannot relate to him; he only inspires uncertainty and discomfort. His outward affect is too rough for them to handle. He is not human to them; therefore, he must be demonic. The man is unable to make himself more appealing to others. A case of understandable ostracization, yet a regrettable one nonetheless.
Difficult people become throwaway people to the rest of us. It hurts too much to interact with them. How difficult do they need to be before we resort to this measure? Left to our own whims, who knows? Furthermore, throwaway people become perfect targets for insecure people. We favor those who make us feel comfortable.
Step 2-Advanced Diagnosis (Internal Problem): Demonic Fear
The healing of the broken person strikes fear, not faith, in the hearts of both spirits and the townspeople. When the latter ask Jesus to depart from them, they too are saying, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” How many other demons might Jesus uncover if he stays? Is this man who was healed the only broken person in that community, or is the whole community broken?
We discard “difficult” people to assure ourselves that we are whole. But what we are really doing is glossing over our own brokenness. We may not be running around naked and loudly incoherent, but we are still deeply disturbed and in need of healing. If those who are healed come back to us, we may not know how to interact with them, so we don’t. It’s just easier that way. Besides, how do we know for sure that they aren’t just pretending to be healed? What egregious demons are in us?
Step 3-Final Diagnosis (Ultimate Problem): Lacking Power Over the Demonic
Most of all, we do not have the power to control this demonic force. How many times did the townspeople wish that they could seize this man the way the demons did, so that they could keep him “under guard and bound with chains and shackles” and he would stay that way, so they could hide him away and pretend he doesn’t exist? Unfortunately for them, the demons were stronger than they were. They insisted that he be on full display. When Jesus came along, they were exorcised and allowed to drive some animals crazy instead. Suddenly there was no longer any reason for the man to be hidden away, but old habits die hard.
When Jesus rescues discarded people from their brokenness, it may seem to us that we’re supposed to think they are better than we are. God favors them more than us. This torments us. Suddenly, we are the demons begging God for mercy because he is more powerful than we are and he favors “them”. We are locked in our captivity and cannot free ourselves.
From Canva
PROGNOSIS: Jesus drives out the demons
Step 4-Initial Prognosis (Ultimate Solution): Jesus Torments the Demon of Death
Jesus was found to be demonic himself by some folks – ironically because he was casting out demons (Luke 11:15). Truly, he was labeled this way because they could not control his behavior. Their way of performing exorcism was to hand him over to the Roman government – in the presumed interests of keeping the peace and returning to normal. To them Jesus was the demon to be exorcised from their midst.
Instead of destroying other life forms on his way to death, Jesus took all our death into himself. To everyone’s surprise, his death ended the demonic nature of death and all its judgment – both for him and for all of humanity. He rose from death to a new life free from death. In his own way he returned to the community that discarded him to give them the gift of new life.
Step 5-Advanced Prognosis (Internal Solution): Jesus Exorcises and Heals Our Fear
With death and judgment overcome, we are no more afraid. That gift through Christ exorcises the one demon that haunts us all: “Is there a place where I can experience wholeness and trust? Is there a place where I am truly loved and belong?” Jesus, with power enough to frighten the demons to death, says, “Yes there is, and I am here to give it to you. Stick with me and the demons that haunt you deep down inside will beg me for mercy.”
Step 6-Final Prognosis (External Solution): Jesus Sends Us Back to Our Community
The other demon that we all share to some extent is the one that pushes us to discard others to build up our own self-worth. This demon too is no match for Jesus who welcomes us into the kind of belonging that is truly fulfilling. This other demon has no hold on us once Jesus heals us.
Jesus does not want us to retreat from our community to avoid confronting those who have discarded us. Through his mercies, we join in “casting out demons” for all who have been discarded. Jesus said to the healed demoniac, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” We, too, are sent back into the community that majors in discarding undesirable people, to use the good news to cast out demons of despair and self-centeredness. We are called to bring the healing presence of Christ to the discarded who we encounter and to the ones who have been discarding them. We are not called to bring drama into their lives, but if drama naturally ensues, our focus is on calling out the demons that motivate such drama so as to heal the ones infected by them.
