2nd Sunday after Pentecost
Isaiah 65:1-9; Psalm 22:19-28; Galatians 3:23-29; Luke 8:26-39
Luke 8:26-39
26 Then [Jesus and his disciples] arrived at the region of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 As he stepped out on shore, a man from the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had not worn any clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him, shouting, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me,” 29 for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) 30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31 They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.
32 Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding, and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd stampeded down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
34 When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they became frightened. 36 Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. 37 Then the whole throng of people of the surrounding region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone out begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.
What have you to do with me, Jesus?
Grace to you, beloved of God, and peace from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
What do you have to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?
I have not lived among your faithful people. There is too much going on. There are too many contracts, too many commissions, too many projects, too many classes, too many games, too many work functions, too many family functions, too many school functions. I am too tired and too busy. I am not worthy. I am the shame of my people, a disappointment, a disgrace. I have squandered your blessings in irresponsible living.
What do you have to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?
Your word does nothing to me. I don’t see you in this miserable world. There is too much pain. There is too much violence. There is too much evil. Your word does nothing anywhere. Nobody really believes. They would rather get a twisted and corrupted version of it. Words that are repeated in social media posts and other echo chambers. Words that you did not mean. Words that were not written. Words that you did not say.
What do you have to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?
I don’t need this meal of yours. I don’t need your mercy. I am no sinner. My transpasses are something that you invented, that others invented. I have the right to be my own person, to do my own thing.
I don’t need this meal of yours. I do no wrong. I do everything right. I am a self-starter, a go-getter. I pull myself from my bootstraps. I don’t need this nourishment. My faith is strong enough!
What do you have to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?
What is it you want me to proclaim? What is your good news anyway? Don’t we pay someone to do that for us? What deeds? Don’t I do enough for you already? I do things nobody sees. I do things nobody else does. I am here all the time. I have done those things for a long time. Your church stands because of me. I have earned my salvation.
What do you want me to say? Is anybody going to hear? I am too young. I am too old. I don’t have the energy. I don’t have the voice. I don’t have the knowledge. I don’t have the wisdom. I don’t have the influence. I don’t have the power. People scare me.
What do you have to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?
What do you mean by “serve all people”? Haven’t I told you already that I am too busy? Haven’t I told you that I do too much? Again, can’t someone else do it? What about the person we pay?
Define all people for me, Lord. I talk to my neighbors, watch their houses when they are away, pet-sit for them, and volunteer at the community, school, and church.
What do you have to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?
With all due respect, some of your examples are impossible to follow. How can I love and care for those who are actively working against me, to push me away, to make me look like a fool, to make me invisible, to kill me and my heritage? Haven’t you heard, Jesus, of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth?
How can I bless the meek and the poor in spirit? We must earn our living. We must come across strong, excellent, and exceptional, masters of our destiny.
How can I not worry about anything, Jesus? Bills must be paid, more functions must be attended, and grades must be kept. Look at the birds in the air! I barely remember where my keys are.
What do you have to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?
Oh, come on, be an agent of justice and peace in all the earth? I can’t enforce justice and peace in my own house. Have you listened to anything I told you? I need a breather. I need safety and security. There are gates, walls, fences, and borders. Plus, isn’t that your job anyway —to love everyone and be the good news for all people?
What do you have to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?
I am Saul, a murderer and a persecutor of your church. I am tormented, naked, kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles.
What do you have to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?
The Lord said,
“1d Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you,
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
3a For I am the Lord your God.
4a Because you are precious in my sight
and honored and I love you,
5 Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you;
6 I will say to the north, “Give them up,”
and to the south, “Do not withhold;
bring my sons from far away
and my daughters from the end of the earth—
7 everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made (Isaiah 43).”
I want you to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. I want you clothed. I want you fed. I want you in your right mind, free, your demons gone. All of you. All who were baptized in my name and have come to believe. All of you belong to me. All of you are one with me. You are all Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise. My children, said the Lord our God. Amen.
Bridging Faith 