“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor………. To set at liberty those who are oppressed” (Luke 4:18).
Jesus’ mission was to preach and live the life-giving, liberating love of God. This Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 8:26-39) provides an intriguing narrative of the way Jesus liberated a man oppressed by many demons. We would expect that his community would be grateful for his healing, but Jesus’ life-giving ministry was not welcomed. Today, we read the unimaginable; “all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave.”
Jesus and His disciples sailed to the Gentile territory of Gerasa. There Jesus encountered a man overwhelmed by “legions” of demonic spirits. The unnamed man was so tormented that he lived among the tombs of the dead. His illness disrupted community life as well. So, often they restrained him, keeping him “under guard and bound with chains and shackles.”
With a powerful, authoritative voice Jesus commanded the unclean spirits to come out of the man. The spirits in the demoniac recognized Jesus as the Son of the Most High God and acknowledged Jesus’ supremacy over all spirits, all forces, even over an entire “legion” of spirits. Knowing they would be cast out of the man, they begged Jesus to send them into the pigs. With Jesus’ permission, the spirits entered the pigs who rushed down the steep banks and drowned. The healed man, formerly unclothed, is next seen “clothed in his right mind” and sitting at Jesus’ feet like a disciple prepared to follow the Master. But Jesus invited him into a different vocation. His calling was to return to his hometown and proclaim God’s goodness and his personal story of what God did for him. We can only imagine the challenges he faced, having been labeled a demoniac for years, but he found the courage to obey Jesus.
By God’s grace and mercy, the demoniac was healed but the townsfolk were unable to discern the loving, liberating, life-giving nature of Jesus’ action. The amazing exorcism exposed the townsfolk to the powerful, supernatural world of God’s spirit in Jesus. Their view of life was upended, and Jesus became the scapegoat for their fears, rather than the Loving Liberator. They asked Jesus to leave. The folks faced the choice of fear and resistance to change or reverent awe and an openness to journey with Jesus. They chose fear and resistance to change. When Christ appears we either allow our lives to be shaken up and remolded by His grace, or we dismiss Him and lose out on the rich blessings of our Lord’s abundant love and mercy.
Jesus sailed away as the people of the Gerasa remained fearful and unchanged. One man, the former demoniac, is healed, transformed, and endowed with a holy calling. Jesus is present to us in the Eucharist, in our private prayer times, in our outreach to others, and in the dailiness of our lives. May God grant us the gift of deeper discernment to sense His holy presence. And may we welcome Him with arms and hearts open wide, prepared for new blessings, new journeys!
