Abiding Challenge. Day 4. Haunted

DWELL:  LUKE 8:26-39

Then they 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.

REFLECT

We must not dismiss the supernatural parts of the gospel story as pure fiction or fantasy.  This is a haunting story with demons and graveyards and eerie voices and fear.  When I read the gospel stories of demonic possession, I read mental illness and deep suffering.  In this story, Jesus has wandered into Gentile territory, among pig farmers and cemeteries and a man who is not in his right mind.  There are boundaries that good people ought not to cross, right?  Places we ought not to go to avoid danger and harm.  There are people and places that frighten us.  Jesus risks his own safety and his religious piety by breaking the cultural and religious boundaries---crossing the sea to do so.   We see Jesus here as an infiltrator, an invader who goes on the offensive to engage with the potential dangers of the secular world beyond Judaism. Rather than remain in a safe, pious bubble among his friends, Jesus shows us the way of the cross---as a participant in human suffering.  What if more Christians acted like this? What if churches sought out those who were suffering in isolation, in order to bring healing and hope to them?  So many churches have chosen safe and comfortable habits rather than the way of Jesus. Churches establish boundaries and avoid crossing them to avoid any danger.  

Jesus does not see danger.  He sees a man who is suffering.  The man comes to Jesus as a homeless beggar, crying out from a place of torment.  And although it may seem like Jesus is the one who has gone rogue in the story, the perspective of the gospel writer is that evil has overtaken and overwhelmed humanity.  Like weeds invading a garden, the power of evil and death has crept into the whole human family, threatening to destroy God's good creation and send us all into the abyss (devoid of life and communion with God). Jesus goes to pull out the weeds, so that life might flourish again.

The notion that the demons' name is 'legion' is also a reminder that an occupying army violently plunders this place and these people.  The army is the physical manifestation of a deeper spiritual reality---God's kingdom is threatened by the kingdom of malevolence (wickedness) an oppression. Jesus comes to set us free from the powers of darkness that threaten to destroy God's world and God's children.  Fear holds us hostage to the things that threaten us. 

This homeless man battling mental illness had been imprisoned, chained, cast out of society.  He was alone in the tombs until Jesus came. What does Jesus offer the sociopath, the serial killer,the mass murderer?  Can they ever be free from the demons that haunt their minds?  

Are there people living alone in their suffering around us?  2,000 years later are we doing much better with those suffering from mental illness?  Is not our answer self-medication and professional help? 

Is it possible that the power of love and compassion, which demands risk-taking for the one who suffers, could bring about real social and personal change? Mental health professionals and medication are important and necessary.  But they do not address the deeper spiritual implications of isolation and loneliness that often accompany illness, homelessness, and/or incarceration.  If we follow Jesus, he may take us to those places we dare not go alone.  Let us go together and meet the children of God who have been suffering apart from family and friend. Let us loosen the chains of injustice and the yoke of suffering that so many people experience.  This is the calling of the church.

PRAYER 

Lord Jesus, you go ahead of us to the places and people that frighten us. Give us your deep compassion to boldly meet them where they are and invite them into your healing love.  We ask for healing for people struggling with mental illness today.  Amen.