January 14, 2022 — “Graveyard Shift”, “Dead Ringer” (Mark 5:1-8)

“They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes.When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones. Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; and shouting with a loud voice, he said, “ What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” Mark 5:1-8

 “Graveyard Shift”, “Dead Ringer”

Has someone ever told you they are working the graveyard shift? Perhaps you have also heard someone referred to as a dead ringer? As an extension to yesterday’s devotion, if you were to be “saved by the bell” from your underground prison, someone had to stay among the graves at night to listen for the bell. That person who was hired to sit outside all night was working the graveyard shift to listen for these bells – to listen for the “dead ringer”.

There was a time when there was so much hysteria regarding this fate, of being “buried alive”, by mistake, that there were quite an array of devices invented so that the undead could escape their premature burials. Some of them were rather simple with spring loaded coffin lids that would open at the slightest movement inside. Others were much more complex — even using electrical switches, early dry cells and buzzers. For clarification purposes, there was never an actual documented case of any person ringing the bell and thus being saved. It must also be pointed out that this explanation is a bit of a controversy. Some disclaim this theory, saying that while the practice of reusing existing coffins did exist, it was a lot less common than reported. It has also been said that the term “graveyard shift” simply came from nautical origins when a person had the night shift on a vessel at sea and that the shift was named such for the extreme quietness and loneliness of the shift.

It has also been reported that the term ringer simply refers to an old devious practice regarding horse racing and betting in which a proven racehorse similar in looks was switched out for an old nag with a bad record in a race securing a long shot bet. Thus a dead ringer referred to an animal that you could not tell apart from the original without closer inspection.

The Gerasene Demoniac received a new life, just like those who might have been rescued from being buried prematurely in a coffin. In meeting Jesus, he received a new life, a new outlook, and a new mission — to tell others what G-d had done for him. My friends, what will it take for you to take on the mission of telling others what G-d has done for you? Will it take a near death experience? Or, will accepting that Jesus died for you be enough? Either way, Jesus rescues us nonetheless.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, we all worry about death. We know we cannot escape death, yet the unknown of closing our eyes in death scares us. Help me today to accept my mortality, to live in the new life you offer me today, and to share your news of new life with all I encounter. Amen.

Pastor Dave