Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
June 23, 2019
7 Proper C
When I was in 6th grade, my family moved from a
suburb of New York City to Little Rock, Arkansas. The culture shift was huge, despite the fact
that both of my parents were from the deep south and my brother, sister, and I
were raised as southern children even in New Jersey. One of the many differences was that, in a
suburb of New York City, people moved in and out of the neighborhood at a
dizzying pace due to job transfers. We
had to get to know our neighbors quickly or they would be gone. But in Little Rock, the community was much
more stable and families there went back for generations. While no one in New Jersey cared who you were
related to, in Little Rock, that mattered.
A lot. Even to eleven year
olds. The simple question “What is your
name?” was a loaded question with implications far beyond a first and a last
name. The real question behind the
question was “who are your people?”
Fortunately for us, we did have roots in Little Rock, and I was Sarah
Polk’s granddaughter, Anne Banks’ niece, and Charlotte Brown’s cousin. We were related to someone, which gave us an
identity and roots there.
“What is your name?” is the question Jesus asks the man
possessed by demons this morning. This
is a straightforward question in a very odd story. First, how does the man know Jesus will
arrive on the shore of the country of the Gerasenes? When the man sees Jesus, why does he
basically say “Leave me alone” when the man is the one who came to the shore to
meet Jesus in the first place? Why does
Jesus agree to send the demons into a herd of swine? And why on earth, once the man has been
healed and asks to follow Jesus does Jesus say “no” and send the man home?
There is something here to offend just about anyone. Mental health is not an issue of demon
possession. Sending demons into a herd
of pigs which then rush down into the lake and drown does not constitute humane
treatment of animals. And is not
discipleship about following Jesus? How
does Jesus expect to attract followers if he sends them away? If you are confused or offended by this
story, you are not alone.
“What is your name,” however, seems like a straightforward
and even kind question. We have heard
about the plight of the man, how he wore
no clothes and lived in the tombs, and how “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.” We have been told that there is no longer
any distinction between the man and the demons as the man has asked Jesus not
to torment him when Jesus commands the demons to leave him. But Jesus takes the time to ask the man his
name. The man’s reply further shows the
lack of distinction between himself and the demons when he replies “Legion” and
we are told that this is his name because many demons had entered him. Rather than a name, the man has a label.
Interestingly, the reading from Galatians also deals with
labels. Paul is making an argument in
Galatians that Gentiles who desire to convert to Christianity do not need to
become Jews first. I think it is
important to note that Paul is speaking here to Christians about
Christians. Paul was a faithful and
zealous Jew at one point, so to think that Paul really believed that Judaism is
all about legalism would be to think that he did not know his Hebrew
scriptures. Paul’s point here is to
remind the Christians in Galatia that they are all one in Christ. Their
identity comes from being baptized in Christ and clothed in Christ. Their identity no longer comes from being Jew
or Greek, slave or free, male or female.
All are one in Christ. Labels
that divide and separate no longer apply.
The man called Legion had a label that indicated his
complete separation from everyone and everything, including himself. When Jesus frees the man from the demons, the
man is no longer separated. He is
sitting still, clothed and in his right mind.
He is free to go home. He is free
to be the person God created him to be.
And yet, no one is happy. The
swineherds are not happy. Their
livelihood has just rushed into the lake and drowned. The people in the surrounding country are not
happy. They were seized with fear and
asked Jesus to leave, which he does. Even
the man who has been healed does not seem happy. The man begs Jesus to let him go with Jesus,
and the fact that he begs indicates that he really, really does not want to go
home. My guess is that he is afraid of
his newfound freedom.
But Jesus says “no.”
He tells the man to return to his home and declare how much God has done
for him. Perhaps Jesus is asking the man
to claim his primary identity as a child of God. Living without labels and living with freedom
is hard, as the people in Galatia knew all too well. We can all too easily slip into labels that
divide, whether along ethnic lines, or age, or gender, or socio-economic
status, or education and use these to define ourselves and others. Living fully as people whose primary identity
is as a children of God means letting go of all the separates us from each
other and living as people who are connected or related to each other,
recognizing our common roots and the identity that comes from being made in the
image of God. Jesus calls us to go, and
declare how much God has done for us, and claim our fundamental identity as
children of God.
Amen.
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