For he was not only feral: he was naked. Not even human. But when they see him, he is clothed and “in his right mind.” Instead of feeling joy and excitement, they fear him. They fear Jesus. They fear that he actually is human.
A restored humanity and the work of restoring the whole community
Proper 7C | Luke 8:26-39
Legion.
This morning we get a fascinating story of a man tormented by many spirits. So many that they call themselves Legion. Legion. A strange name. Many spirits. This name evokes the Roman legion: a military term for a group of cohorts, amounting to close to 5,000 soldiers.
This man Jesus encounters immediately sets our minds to war and occupation: to conflict inside the body of this man, naked, living in the tombs. The very picture of torment. And we know what Jesus is going to do. He’s going to free him.
Let’s go back a chapter. Remember in Luke 7, after the Disciples were named Apostles and told how to love each other, Jesus showed them what real love looks like. He heals the Centurion’s slave. He raises a widow’s son from the dead. And then he even shows some Pharisees and disciples of John the Baptist that love is from GOD. Love restores and heals. Love is for everyone, even prostitutes and prophets.
Our lectionary then jumps over the parable of the sower. A parable which teaches how GOD’s kindom is heard, received, and then flourishes in the hearts of those who hear it. So don’t hide it. Don’t put it under a bushel basket and pretend it isn’t there. Share the good news. For those who receive it and share it are the true family of Jesus. It isn’t about the bloodlines or the tribe we’re a part of. It is about belief and the love that comes to us there.
So then they set sail for the country of the Gerasenes, and while they are crossing over, there is a huge storm. Waves rock the boat. The disciples, who have seen how much Jesus loves people, are looking to receive love themselves. They are scared. They know they are going to die. And Jesus is sleeping.
Then Jesus wakes up and calms the storm. Just like that. Poof. No more waves. No more craziness. It is all gone. Then they turn and they see Jesus for the first time. They look at Jesus in complete terror. This man isn’t just a man; this healer isn’t just a healer; this prophet isn’t just a prophet. He can control the elements of creation. He can control what GOD creates. They make the connection. And that scares them more than anything.
Fear.
Despite the Lectionary, this story isn’t just filler we can skip over. It explains what the disciples are dealing with when they arrive on the other side. When they see this man filled with an army of demons, more terrifying than any person in the world. He breaks chains. He destroys all attempts to contain him. He is a terrifying creature of a man.
But to the locals, he isn’t even a man. He’s a beast.
I wonder which persons we beastify. Who are those we not only fear, but build up into such creatures of vileness and destruction that they are no longer human to us?
I wonder what our excuses are for such disinterest in another’s humanity.
I wonder how we justify to ourselves this inhumane behavior to inhumane another. To feel better about locking them up, casting them out, or sending them to their deaths.
And I wonder where the love of Christ is in those justifications.
Naked.
This fear, anger, dehumanizing isn’t the only way to be human. It just sometimes feels like it is our culture’s preferred method of living life.
What strikes me in this story is the fear. Fear of the disciples at the storm. Fear of the people toward this man possessed by thousands of spirits. Fear in the people who actually know the man who are more afraid of him after he is restored. They are most afraid after he gets his life back. They were afraid of getting hurt by him as a wild beast, but now, a different fear has seized them.
For he was not only feral: he was naked. Not even human. But when they see him, he is clothed and “in his right mind.” Instead of feeling joy and excitement, they fear him. They fear Jesus. They fear that he actually is human.
It shouldn’t be that way. They should certainly be happy. They should also be relieved! For seeing nakedness brings shame and is a huge part of the purity code. Now, they cannot be harmed by him physically or ritually. But…they’re more afraid than ever!
And Jesus, instead of taking the man, restored, converted, as a follower and disciple, sends the man back amid his people to do his work with them.
This image of nakedness becoming clothed is a beautiful image of restoration for the man, for the one in pain and separation. For those of us who have eyes to see and ears to hear it is deeply inspiring. But it carries with it the touch of sadness because we know it is true of us, too. We accept our fear before our joy. We prefer our outrage to our reconciling.
Human.
In Bowen Family Systems Theory, we learn that families do not always reinforce the maturity and growth of an individual.
Often, personal work is necessary for healing and reconciliation. It just isn’t easy. The late Edwin Friedman warned that we should not expect our families to like or support us in our growth. Often our families reject it. They see our growth as outgrowing them and our changing of relationships as attacks toward their health. And as assaults against the family.
Families, out of fear, often lash out and retaliate at the individual who is growing. They hurt the loved one for positive change: when they have matured, grown strong, or left an unhealthy system.
In many ways, this is deeply human. And precisely why Jesus would redefine family for his followers. That family isn’t only about blood and parenthood. It isn’t about the baggage and the chains with which we punish and oppress each other. It is about support and love and committing to reconciliation.
Our GOD, who we often name as a parent, who comes to us as a person, and transforms us through inspiration and new opportunities is more powerful than creation, unbound by those chains we use to bind Her, and committed to a dream of a kindom in which we are not only equal, but makers of peace, sharers of love, and reconcilers of our fears and passions.
May we earn the right to think of ourselves as family. Not as most of us know it, with expectations of conformity and displeasure when we grow and mature in faith. But as Jesus knows it – in faith and hope and true love. A love which dispels fear and anxiety and restores our true humanity for all to see, naked and open, by the grace of GOD. And may we continue our work of sharing that intimacy in our world by the grace of GOD. Amen.
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