Luke 8:26-39 was the scripture for our service this past Sunday. It is a passage that deals with a confrontation between Jesus and a man known as ‘Legion’ because he was possessed by so many demons. A sermon on the passage can be found here.
Thankfully most of us have not become so overwhelmed by the evil in our world that we are in the situation of the unfortunate man whom Jesus delivered. But I suspect we all wrestle our own demons… though we may not call them by such a name. We may prefer terms like habits, compulsions or addictions. We may see them as illnesses of mind or body or simply human failings. Yet like the demons that possessed the unfortunate man in the graveyard, they haunt us and could destroy us unless we are delivered from them.
The Good News in the passage is that Jesus is the One who can deliver us. It is worth noticing the process by which deliverance takes place.
Confrontation. When the light of Christ’s presence falls upon the man his need is revealed. As through worship and prayer we open our lives to God, the dark places of our own lives can be revealed. We may not like what we see. We may feel like the man that such places are left well alone! But Christian growth involves dealing with those parts of life we’d rather forget about as well as functioning from our strong places.
Naming. Jesus is quite specific in seeking to identify the mans problem. “What is your name?” he asks the demons. So we need to be specific when dealing with things that threaten our spiritual growth. Name them and claim Christs victory over them. We try and work with God as we seek for the Holy Spirit to recreate what is currently in chaos! If our problem is ‘lust’, then we call it what it is. If its ‘avoidance’ then we acknowledge that when faced with our problems we try and run from them rather than deal with them! We name it so God can deal with it!
Sharing. The chances are that whatever we battle others are having the same battles. The existence and success of such groups as Alcoholics Anonymous and Gamblers Anonymous testify that we oftentimes can best fight our demons in the company of others. The man Jesus delivers is invited to ‘tell others what God has done’. Christian life is meant to be communal. We are encouraged to bear one and others burdens!
Prayer: “Lord, we don’t like to consider ourselves as possessed of demons, yet we see in our lives habits and practices that seem to control us. We pray for Your deliverance from all that would hinder our spiritual growth and prevent us sharing Your love with others. Amen.”
Footnote – At F.P.C. Baldwin groups for both AA and GA are in operation. Further information can be found at the following web sites.
This sermon really appealed to me. It’s been said often in the past few years that Jesus’ interest in social justice made him a Community Organizer, and COs are often social workers – like me, a social worker with an admin/CO education.
In the sermon, you said “Jesus separated the demons from the person. He did not, like the villagers, call him a Demoniac. He addressed the demons and called them out by name. He restored the man’s identity. In today’s terms He would not say to Mary, “Mary, you are a hopeless anorexic”. He would say to Mary “It appears as though anorexia is trying to take over your life.” That gives Mary the opportunity to see how it is that anorexia creeps into her life and to explore ways in which she might be able to hold anorexia at arm’s length.”
That’s such a social-worky thing to do – meeting the person where the person is, seeing him as an individual, not calling him by his diagnosis… it’s Social Work Intervention 101.
Now if I could break my Internet addiction and go outside to enjoy the weather…