June 19, 2022 – Pentecost +2C

^“Then [Jesus and his disciples] 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.” Luke 8:26-39

Did you ever feel as if something was pulling you one way or the other? Did you ever feel as if someone or some place was calling you to come to them? Did you ever feel as if a situation was such a crisis that you had to drop everything and respond?

I know we all have had such experiences. This is what Jesus seems to be dealing with – he recently told his disciples they were getting into a boat and going to the other side of the lake. He gives no explanation – Jesus just felt some calling, I assume, to go to the area of Gerasa – across the Sea of Galilee – to a Gentile region. This reminds us, does it not, that Jesus was not just called to the people of Israel. Jesus was called to minister to all people – and this was hard for his disciples and the religious leaders to understand. Of course it is difficult for our churches, if not individuals in the church to understand the same – that we are called to go to particular places and to particular deeds without regard for the people we are ministering.

As such, Jesus was called – and you and I are called as well. As I think about my life, I have been called to do certain things and to talk about certain ministries that my family and the churches I have been called to have wondered why I felt called to do this or that. So, we are wondering this morning why Jesus felt called to go to Gerasa to offer ministry and healing to this one person.

According to the people of that region, this person was a nobody – or at least someone who needed to be kept under wraps. As long as he stayed away from the locals, and the locals stayed away from him, then all was right in the world. And as long as this dynamic stayed the same, then all would be within their control.  And who could blame the locals – for this person sounds just a little scary, Amen? Even from our 21^st century perspective and our modern understanding of mental illness, this man sounds like someone none of us would want to encounter in the real world. And yet, we have such people we encounter in the various manifestations of our lives who might be labeled “scary”, “untouchable” or “off limits”. Is this what Jesus trying to teach us this morning – that even the most off limits, the most unapproachable, the scariest of people are not beneath G-d’s love, mercy and grace?

You do know, as people of G-d, we are named and claimed by G-d in our baptisms. We are sealed with the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Jesus Christ forever. In other words, when they splash that holy water on our heads, we are named – by our name. G-d knows us by our names, and G-d wants to know all people by their names – because Jesus wants a relationship with us – an intimate relationship where we are known, not by a label, but by our names.

Pastor Dave