An Act of Spiritual Liberation—Lectionary Reflection for Pentecost 2C (Luke 8)

 

Luke 8:26-39 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

²⁶ Then they arrived at the region of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. ²⁷ As he stepped out on shore, a man from the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had not worn any clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. ²⁸ When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him, shouting, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me,” ²⁹ 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.) ³⁰ Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. ³¹ They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.

³² 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. ³³ Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd stampeded down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

³⁴ When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. ³⁵ 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 became frightened. ³⁶ Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. ³⁷ Then the whole throng of people of the surrounding region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. ³⁸ The man from whom the demons had gone out begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹ “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.

                *************

                Progressive and liberal Christians get a bit skittish when you start talking about things like spiritual warfare and demons. Nevertheless, the New Testament is filled with stories and other discussions that address spiritual entities. We could follow Rudolph Bultmann and engage in a program of demythologization, removing the core message from the supernaturalist husk. I’m tempted to go in that direction, and yet, something inside me suggests that there are spiritual dimensions that we should be aware of. My co-author/colleague, Ron Allen, and I have a book on the way titled Second Thoughts about Hell. We wrote the book because the concept of hell poses serious problems for many people who can’t square hell with a loving God. You will have to read the book to know what we have to say, but we’ve toyed with the possibility of doing something similar with Satan. I’m not sure we’ll go there, but as you look around at the world, you have to wonder if there might be malevolent spirits at work in the world. As we ponder these kinds of questions in relation with the Gospel reading from Luke 8, we might keep in mind this word from the letter to the Ephesians: “ Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, for our struggle is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:11-12). This battle may have social/political dimensions (I believe it does), but perhaps we need to look deeper at the spiritual dimensions of these battles.

                As we read the Gospels, we quickly discover that, in the Gospel accounts, Jesus regularly encountered the demonic. While there might be natural explanations for many of these events, they do raise questions about whether there are malevolent spiritual forces at work in our world. As for Jesus, from the perspective of the Gospel writers, he was an exorcist; as such, he engaged with the powers and principalities of this world, powers that were both political/social and spiritual. As Richard Beck notes, “The reason the Bible mixes and matches human and spiritual powers is because the writers of the Bible didn’t think these were different sorts of powers. They are, instead, manifestations of the same power. In the ancient mind, spiritual and political powers were two sides of the same coin” [Beck, Reviving Old Scratch, p. 23]. Though I am a rational person who embraces science, that doesn’t exclude the possibility that there are spiritual powers at work.

                I raise these questions as we approach the story of Jesus’ encounter with the Gerasene (Gadarene) demoniac in Luke 8 (there are parallel versions in Matthew 8:28-9:1and Mark 5:1-20). This is an intriguing story because both the spiritual and the social/political dimensions are in play. The reading begins right after Jesus calms a storm on the Sea of Galilee (Luke 8:22-25). When they reach land, they find themselves in the “country of the Gerasenes.” There is confusion in the manuscripts, with some speaking of the Gerasenes (Gerasa) and others of the “Gadarenes” (Gadara). Gerasa lay some thirty-plus miles from the Sea of Galilee, while Gadara lay only around six miles from the Lake. Both were cities in what is known as the Decapolis. Whichever land it was, this was a predominantly Gentile region. Whatever the exact location, Jesus and his disciples land in a Gentile area, and as soon as they disembark, a man from the city who was possessed by demons meets them. Luke describes him as being naked and homeless, living among the tombs (and therefore outside the city). 

                This man fell before Jesus and shouted at him:  “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” The man (or the demons within him) recognizes Jesus, calling him “Son of the Most High God.” The man/demons beg Jesus not to torment him. One of the important elements of the Gospel stories is that while Jesus’ disciples don’t seem to understand who he truly is, the demons know. Luke tells us that the reason the man responded as he did is because Jesus had “commanded the unclean spirit to come out of him.” We’re then told that the demons regularly seized him, so that he had been kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles. However, he kept breaking the chains and shackles and escaping. Nevertheless, Jesus stayed focused, asking the demons to identify themselves. They answered “Legion.” Now, this could simply mean there were a lot of them inhabiting the man. But Jesus asked them to identify themselves, not tell him how many of them were inhabiting the man. Here is where things get interesting. First of all, this is a Gentile region that is under Roman rule. Legion was the name given to the largest Roman military unit, consisting at the time of 5200 soldiers. So, did this name have political implications? It is a question worth considering. Does it say something about Jesus’ authority when it comes to Rome? After identifying themselves, they begged him not to send them back to the abyss. Fred Craddock notes that “the abyss was the netherworld, the abode of spirit powers (Phil 2:9-11), the dead (Rom. 10:7), imprisoned spirits (1 Peter 3:19), and the place of Satan’s prison (Rev. 20:3)” [Interpretation: Luke, p. 116].

                Instead of being sent back to the abyss, Legion asked if Jesus might let them enter the swine herd feeding on the nearby hillside. He permitted them to enter the pigs, who subsequently rushed down the bank and into the lake, where they drowned. How this was a better solution is not revealed, though it is worth noting that pigs were considered unclean animals by Jews. So, that may have had political as well as religious implications. So, all is good, is it not? Perhaps not for the pigs, but at least the man was free of these tormenting spirits. You might even say he had been liberated from Roman tyranny. 

                When the herders saw what happened to their herd and the man, they ran into the town and told everyone what had happened. The people responded by heading out to the tombs to see for themselves what happened. What they found was a man who had been tormented by so many demons he couldn’t be constrained. Now, he sat quietly at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. In other words, he wasn’t the same man as before. This scared the people. They weren’t sure what to make of Jesus. It was nice to see the man who ran around naked and who couldn’t be constrained sitting quietly and fully clothed. But they weren’t sure what to make of this Jewish stranger who had power over demons. So, the people told Jesus to leave the area. Jesus responded by getting back in the boat and heading to the other side. Wesley Allen comments on this scene: “Like the demons, they recognize Jesus’ power and are afraid. They prefer the demons they have normalized to the liberating power that is unknown. In a sense, they have experienced Stockholm syndrome, in which hostages identify with the evil and destructive powers that kidnap them” [Connections, 104]. Is this not the way it often is with us?  In this case, Jesus got the hint and headed home.

                So, what about the man whom Jesus healed? What happened to him? Understandably, he wanted to get in the boat with Jesus. After all, Jesus had liberated him from his demons. However, Jesus turned him down. Instead of integrating the man into his team, he told him to stay where he was, using his new situation to God’s advantage. Jesus told him to go declare what God had done for him. That is exactly what he did, sort of. According to Luke, the man proclaimed throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.” In Luke’s telling, this is Jesus’ first foray into Gentile territory. We think of Peter’s witness in Acts 10, where he preaches to Cornelius, as the groundbreaking moment. Perhaps this is that moment when the Gentile mission begins.

Perhaps this is the word we need to hear. In these difficult times, should we not stay put and declare to our neighbors what Jesus is doing? We might use words, and we might not, depending on the situation. As we do so, we should keep in mind that our ministry likely will mean engaging with the powers and principalities. Thus, we need to act with great discernment, because what Jesus calls us to engage in is spiritual warfare. With that in mind, we should take heed of this word from Richard Beck:  

“Spiritual warfare is putting love where there is no love. It is the action of grace in territory controlled by the devil, being true to love in a world that is cold and lonely and mean. It is the kingdom of God breaking into and interrupting our lives.” Yes, “spiritual warfare is Satan interrupted" [Reviving Old Scratch, p. 184]. Spiritual warfare can take different forms, but ultimately it is an act of love, such that the places where evil has taken hold are resisted. We engage in such a ministry not on our own, but in the power of the Holy Spirit. As Beck notes, “Spiritual warfare is Satan interrupted.”  This interruption takes place as a result of the inbreaking of God’s realm into this realm.