The Gospel for October 11, 2004 (Philip, Deacon)
Luke 8:26-39
They came to land in the territory of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. He was stepping ashore when a man from the city who was possessed by devils came towards him; for a long time the man had been living with no clothes on, not in a house, but in the tombs. Catching sight of Jesus he gave a shout, fell at his feet and cried out at the top of his voice, ‘What do you want with me, Jesus, son of the Most High God? I implore you, do not torture me.’ For Jesus had been telling the unclean spirit to come out of the man. It had seized on him a great many times, and then they used to secure him with chains and fetters to restrain him, but he would always break the fastenings, and the devil would drive him out into the wilds. Jesus asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He said, ‘Legion’—because many devils had gone into him. And these begged him not to order them to depart into the Abyss. Now there was a large herd of pigs feeding there on the mountain, and the devils begged him to let them go into these. So he gave them leave. The devils came out of the man and went into the pigs, and the herd charged down the cliff into the lake and was drowned. When the swineherds saw what had happened they ran off and told their story in the city and in the country round about; and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus they found the man from whom the devils had gone out sitting at the feet of Jesus, wearing clothes and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had witnessed it told them how the man who had been possessed came to be saved. The entire population of the Gerasene territory was in great fear and asked Jesus to leave them. So he got into the boat and went back. The man from whom the devils had gone out asked to be allowed to stay with him, but he sent him away saying, ‘Go back home and report all that God has done for you.’ So the man went off and proclaimed throughout the city all that Jesus had done for him. -- The New Jerusalem Bible. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1995, c1985
A Study
We should all give thanks that so few of us have actually encountered a madman like this. With what has been described as "maniacal" strength, he could not be restrained, so the townspeople of Gerasa effectively segregated him away from them. The catacombs, the tombs outside of town, were his jail-without-walls, where he could damage only himself. Short of killing him, this was the best they could do.
Enter Jesus the troublemaker. To first century people, demons were very real creatures; they caused all manner of disease and trouble. The New Testament is frought throughout with them. It would have been a literary "natural" for a first century author, like the writer using Luke's name, to have the demons -- unclean beings themselves -- sent into a herd of unclean animals who then self-destruct. Neat closure.
Unless, of course, the pigs belonged to someone, which they obviously did. And the people in the town were righteously upset. Who is this troublemaker from out of town coming in here and causing all this disruption? They did somewhat overlook that one of their own, the previously uncontrollable mad man, had been restored to them in good health. The soul of their peer could not be reckoned in silver, as could the swine....
A Reflection
Loving one another tends to be the hardest task set before us. Let's face it: we can, each of us, be almost perfectly un-loveable. We wake up on the wrong side of bed, or like the poor man of this story, we are the victim of disease and become inconvenient. Or we become poor persons, or have the wrong color skin, or speak the wrong language, or are born with our sexual identity different from what some call normal.
He, howver, still calls us still to love one another. He doesn't give us permission to hate, even to hate a behavior. Just to love one another.
That is mighty inconvenient. The Gerasenes asked Him to leave town. Some of us have not let Him into our personal little "towns:" our hearts. Or like the rocky soil, have let Him blossom for a brief bit and then withdrawn our support for Him so that He is blocked out of our lives.
Should we not instead ask him to stay with us as our honored friend, relative, and guest? Can we take the consequences?
The Collect
Holy God, no one is excluded from your love; and your truth transforms the minds of all who seek you: as your servant Philip was led to embrace the fullness of your salvation and to bring the stranger to Baptism, so give us all the grace to be heralds of the Gospel, proclaiming your love in Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
8:48:57 PM 
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