“They came to…the country of the Gerasenes. And when (Jesus) came out of the boat, there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who lived among the tombs; and no one could bind him any more, even with a chain; for he had often been bound with fetters and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the fetters he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. Crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” He begged him eagerly not to send them out of the country. He gave them leave. And the unclean spirits came out, and entered the swine. People came to see what it was that had happened. And they came to Jesus, and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the man who had had the legion. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood” Mark 5:1-17

It is much harder to believe the miraculous when we do not witness the event than it is when we do. If someone tells you that they can make the Empire State Building disappear, you would most likely say something like “I will believe it when I see it.” In the text above the opposite seems to be true. Those who find the demoniac “…clothed and in his right mind” do not want to believe what they see, and so they ask Jesus to leave. Either they are just angry that they have lost all of the swine herds, or they believe Jesus has done something evil to the whole community – so they demand Jesus leaves them alone.

“Nay sayers” – they are all around us. Whether they can’t believe what they have seen, or just refuse to believe in miracles, nothing seems to sway them from their disbelief.

There has been an explosion of shows in 2020 which are seeking to discover “Big Foot”. They offer grainy films with long-distance pictures of an “unknown” creature and seek to do DNA studies on hair and feces from more “unknown” beasts. Truth is, until we get a carcass of a Big Foot, there is no proof that this creature exists – and the “nay sayers” will continue to doubt. And even if they capture the creature, many will just say “I cannot believe it.”

When we listen to the eyewitness accounts about Jesus, about his miracles and his healings, we have those who believe, and those who refuse. One thing that Big Foot and Jesus have in common is this: their stories have been handed down to us for thousands of years — even without much physical evidence. But believing in both requires faith – even if that faith will not necessarily clear things up. That is where trust comes in. G-d promised to send the Messiah – and so we trust that Jesus is the One. For me, that is all I need. But as for Big Foot, I will need more….

Pastor Dave

“But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” Ephesians 2:4-10

How have you been made alive together with Christ this week? Every Sunday, during the seasons that are not Lent, we hear these words, or similar words, as part of the absolution – the corporate forgiveness of sins. What helps us to be alive in Christ is that “by Grace we have been saved.” “What is Grace?” you may ask. Grace is a gift – it is Jesus going to the cross to die for us so that we can be made right with G-d. There is nothing we can do to earn such grace – as I said it is a gift. It was given freely to us.

So what do we do with gifts? We open them – we take time to assess what they might mean to us, how valuable they might be to us – and then we put them to use. If we get a cheap flashlight from a dollar store, we may find that we do not cherish that gift very much, and if it breaks, we most likely will discard it. But if we get a gift that is priceless, or at least very, very expensive, then we treat it with care, we protect it, and if it is damaged, we spend the money to get it fixed.

Once I received the gift of a “OOga” horn. What is that? It is one of the old horns that was on a Model A or T car. It has a lever on the top of the horn that you press and you get that classic “OOOOOGA” sound. The gift came from my parents. It may not be worth much to some people, but to me it is priceless. When my father had the horn, it did not work – it was broken. He either worked on it himself, or he had someone else work on it, took it completely apart and reassembled it, and now it works beautifully. This gift connects me to my parents: it comes from my past, and more importantly it connects me to the now, and so the gift is priceless.

The greatest gift we ever received was the cross of Jesus Christ, who died for us so that we all may be saved. This of course is the season of gift giving. As such, the gift of the cross connects you and me to G-d: it connects us to the past, but is ever-present in the now. If this gift means something to you, the gift of the cross of Jesus Christ and your relationship with him, cherish this gift: take time this Advent to repair it – if it is broken; to protect it, if you have been careless with it; and to show that you value it, if you have been taking it for granted.

Pastor Dave