Thinking back throughout history, such misconceptions haven't been restricted to the young or the drugged. The persuasion that the earth was flat, for instance, led to resistance to Christopher Columbus and his proposed voyage of discovery - he might come close to the edge of the world and fall off! Or we think of the followers of Jimmy Jones and their mass suicide in Guyana, or those who believed in David Koresh and died by fire in Waco, Texas...
In all such instances we readily recognise that, at some point or another, people who otherwise seem mentally balanced, have become detached from reality.
I recall our first visit to New Life Pastures. Early last year we were coming to a Presbytery Retreat. Heading north from Ingham, we realised we didn't have the "mud map" we had been sent. But we had looked at it and the route seemed uncomplicated. We didn't anticipate any problems. We came to Kennedy, turned left at the store and expected that there would be signs to guide us from there. But there weren't - and the further we went along Kennedy Creek Road, the more convinced we became that we had missed a turn. The folk at the store gave us good directions, and we have had no trouble since.
We sometimes have the idea that what matters is to have a sincere belief in some kind of spiritual reality. Some say we're all headed for the same place. But let me assure you - not all roads lead to New Life Pastures. And Jesus said quite plainly that there is only one way to come to the Father - and he is that Way (Jn 14.6).
When we are disconnected from reality, separated from the truth, we get lost.
Our reading mentions two kinds of people who were disconnected from reality.
Jesus and his disciples had crossed the Sea of Galilee - through a fierce storm (Lk. 8.22-25) - to "the region of the Gerasenes" (v. 26). There is some uncertainty just what Luke wrote and exactly where these events took place. The footnote says that some manuscripts read "Gadarenes" and others "Gergesenes." Then the experts have difficulty identifying where these places were. In February our Jewish guide showed us the only place she knew where the events recorded could possibly have happened.
When Jesus got out of the boat, he was met by a demon-possessed man. He lived without clothes, in the tombs, cried out... People had tried to control him with chains, but he had unusual strength and always broke the chains.
We aren't told anything about the origin of this man's condition. Modern-day psychiatrists on the one hand and teachers on deliverance ministry on the other might profess great knowledge of these things. The demon possession described in the Bible isn't just an old-fashioned description for what we would call mental illness. There is evil in the spirit world as well as good. There is a devil as well as God.
You have probably heard the old saying -
This man runs in front of Jesus, falls on his knees and shouts out, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don't torture me!" (v. 28)
We recall the slave girl in Philippi who ran after Paul and Silas calling out, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved" (Acts 16.17). The devil is a liar and the father of lies. But when confronted with Jesus, he can only speak the truth.
This man is possessed by a "legion" of demons. We might say he is "unhinged" - detached from reality. His view of things is controlled and warped by the evil forces within him. He is unable to relate to other people - his family and the community in which he has grown up. His life is totally "dysfunctional" - to use another of our "in" words. "No one is strong enough to subdue him" (v. 29). That's the best they can hope for - some measure of control so that his presence and behaviour won't disturb their community any more.
Jesus cast the demons out of the man, allowing them to go into a large herd of pigs (2000 of them, we read in Mark 5.13b) who "rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned" (Lk. 8.33). Some people have asked what happens to demons who go into the water like that. We aren't told such details, but can note that it wasn't yet time for the final judgment of the evil one in which he and all his evil angels will be cast into the lake of fire.
The man was healed - brought back to reality, "dressed and in his right mind (v. 35). (A spare set of clothes from among the disciples?)
What a wonderful healing! Can't you imagine the reaction of the locals? The presence and behaviour of this man had been a concern to them for years. Someone must have made sure he didn't starve. But their interaction with him had been filled with fear. They would have made sure their children came nowhere near him. Only their herdsmen would have seen him from time to time and their reports served to confirm the howlings they could hear day and night.
What a wonderful healing! We can just picture the locals coming in large numbers to see the man who has been delivered and healed, to welcome him back into their community, to thank the man responsible for this miracle...
But it wasn't like that at all. "When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid" (v. 35). Why so? They were told about the healing and "about the pigs as well" (Mk 8.16). Two thousand pigs - good riddance from a Jewish point of view - these animals were "unclean" anyway - but for the locals a major economic loss. The healing had cost them a great deal. What was the value of having this man restored to them, of having the fear for their safety and the safety of their children secured?
Yet it was the presence of Jesus that they feared - they "began to plead with Jesus to leave their region" (Lk. 8.37). They had feared the demon-possessed man, yet, uncomfortable as he was, disturbing as he was, potentially dangerous as he was, they had lived with the situation for years.
But this Jesus... what else might he do? what other changes might he bring? The whole established fabric of their community life might never be the same again!
They were comfortable and secure - yet disconnected from reality. The problems of this man were so obvious - highlighting that they were OK. It was the healing of this man that revealed their own need of the transforming grace of God.
Having Jesus leave their region was really the last thing they needed. The man was comfortable in the presence of Jesus. Surely he should now go with Jesus. But Jesus said to him, "Return home and tell how much God has done for you" (v. 39).
And in 2001 there are many who are disconnected from reality - and comfortable, not wanting their lives disturbed. Some are seeking the spiritual, but afraid to admit the transforming reality of Jesus.
Have you been made whole by the grace of Jesus Christ? You are a living witness in your community. Jesus is counting on you to tell your family, your friends, your neighbours, your acquaintances, about how much the Lord has done for you.
Back to Sermons