mirror my malady

transform my malady

The holy Gospel according to St. Mark Ch. 5, v. 1-20)!

Faith is a counter-intuitive thing.

And nowhere is this more obvious than today’s scripture; the Gerasenes’ Demoniac. 

A frightening little episode. Beginning with this specter of a man running up to Jesus and shouting at him!

Begging Jesus not to torment him. Jesus isn’t much for negotiating, though, he just asks the man his name. 

But, instead of saying his given name, the demon speaks for the man. 

Standing up straight, the demon boasts, “My name is Legion,” for we are many.

…Which brings us to this habit Mark has, of equating people with their ailment. 

For instance, this man isn’t a person who’s possessed. He is his possession. So overcome is this man, that his entire identity is subsumed by his malady. 

He isn’t a person who’s possessed, he is a demoniac…

And one look at him could tell you that.

…Apparently this man was running around stark naked. 

After all, it’s not just seeing the man sitting there in his right mind that has the townspeople spooked, it’s that he’s sitting there CLOTHED and in his right mind!

And his uncovered flesh simply served to reveal all his bruises. 

Presumably his wrists and ankles were bruised from the shackles and fetters he was constantly tearing off. 

But, we are also explicitly told he bruised himself with the rocks he would find among the tombs and on the mountains he would roam, while the townspeople tried to ignore his howling.

Which brings us to the other possession…

Because, for as lost of a cause as this demoniac seems, it turns out there’s an even more pernicious kind of possession…

Like the demoniac, these possessed people run TO Jesus. Like the demoniac, there are also many of them. AND, like the demoniac, they plead with Jesus. 

Have you figured out who I’m describing?

Yes, the townspeople!

The townspeople who on the face of it couldn’t seem more different from the demoniac. But, who, upon closer inspection, turn out to act an awful lot like the demoniac!

However, unlike the demoniac, though, instead of Jesus not to torment them, the townspeople just beg Jesus to leave them.

How ironic is that?

The man who has been deemed a threat to himself, is the only one in town with enough sense to turn to Jesus! He’s the only sane one in Gerasenses!

…Faith is a counter-intuitive thing. Isn’t it?

To the eyes of the world, the demoniac is deemed a hazard. And the townspeople are deemed upstanding citizens of society.

But, when Jesus shows up everything goes topsy-turvy!

When Jesus sails on, everyone returns back to their homes. 

But, it’s only the man still bearing the marks from his bruises, that goes home set free by Jesus!

The townspeople, on the other hand, just wave good riddance, as the one who has the power to set them free sails away…

Begging the question, who's worse off? 

The man possessed by a whole legion of demons. Or, the townspeople possessed by their own self-reliance?

Conventional wisdom would suggest the answer is obvious, the man possessed by a legion of demons. 

After all, no one could subdue him. As far as the world was concerned, that man was past hope. He was a demoniac.

But, it’s that man, and that man alone, who goes home set free by Jesus!

Revealing that, when Jesus shows up, the more persistent demon, is the more socially acceptable one! The demon of our own self-will!

…But, the truth is, on some level you already knew that. Didn’t you?

Why, if you’re anything like me, you can just look at your own life. To those place where your need to be in control, took control of you!

…In fact, if we’re being honest, while no one could subdue that demoniac, none of us can subdue our own desire to be in control at all costs!

Like all those broken shackles and fetters, all our attempts to bring our self-will under control have failed. Haven’t they?

And, like that demoniac, we all carry bruises from it. 

Bruises left on our own lives, and the lives of others we have hurt, by the rocks of our need to be in control of our lives and the life of the world around us. 

…This story of the Gerasenes’ demoniac is a tale of terror. Isn’t it?

But the really scary thing, is the reflection it holds up to us and our lives. 

The revelation that the worst kind of possession isn’t the obvious one, it’s the socially acceptable one; the demon of our own self-will…

Faith is a counter-intuitive thing. 

On the face of it, it would appear the demoniac is the one who’s too far gone. But, as it turns out, it’s the people who are convinced of their own self-reliance, who are most to be pitied.

As it turns out, the townspeople and the demoniac are not so different. Are they?

But, neither are we. Are we?

We too have our own demons. And, like the demoniac, and the townspeople for that matter, we are all locked in a draw. 

In the end, the only difference is how many battles you’ve lost.

Is your life in such shape that you can pretend you have it all together?

If so, I fear when Jesus shows up, you will beg him to leave…

Or, are you in such dire straits that you know in your bones that unless Jesus is going to set you free, you are doomed to a life of torment by your own need to be in control?

If so, I suspect when you are invited to meet Jesus at this rail, you will gratefully bow down and beg Jesus to send your demons into the waters!

And he will! 

It’s what Jesus promised to do in your baptism! Kill everything that would consign you to a life among the tombs! And from that death, raise YOU up to new life where you would always be found with Jesus! 

Faith is a counter-intuitive thing. Isn’t it?

While the world may say you must constantly do battle with those demons, the kingdom of God promises that the further gone you are, the better!
For then you will quit relying on the faulty lever of your own will, and instead throw yourself on the mercy of Jesus! 

The one with the power to cast out your demons!

We’re all battling demons. And, on our own, we’re all losing, too.

But today, Jesus steps into our midst to go about his work. Run to him! Bow down before him! Beg him to end the match you’re caught it!

He will! 

He’s not too good! 

Neither is he waiting for you to get your act together and finally overcome your demons!

Jesus is the one whose come for the sick, for those who can’t help themselves! For the helpless and the hopeless!

So, if that’s you today, you’re right where you need to be.

And if you think that isn’t you today, it just reveals how far gone you are.
But, more than likely, you're like the rest of us, somewhere in between. And the Good News is, not a single one of us is too far gone for Jesus. For today he comes running to us. So possessed is he to save us. 
At these rails Jesus comes to you and possesses you with another sprit. Not an unclean one, but the Holy Spirit!