CHRISTIAN WITNESS BEGINS AT HOME

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At the Baptism of Charlie Collins.

At first glance the demon possessed man doesn’t offer a great story to introduce Charlie to the Christian faith... Or maybe he does! It certainly shows us the way in which Jesus came to peace-less individual and gave him a fresh start.

Whatever we may think about whether or not it is possible to be possessed by demons, to the people of Jesus’ day they were very real. The man who lived among the tombs was wild, deeply disturbed and prone to ferocious bursts of strength (even worse than the Rector if he doesn’t get enough sleep...).

Not one demon, but a Legion. 6,000 soldiers make up a legion and again it’s a figure of speech indicating the depth of his illness. (Like 40 days means a long time.) So the bloke was in a bit of a mess and Jesus sorts him out: he gives him back his identity, soundness of mind and a future.

And in one sense that’s what we’re doing with Charlie this morning. I’m not suggesting he’s possessed by 6,000 demons, but Charlie’s being given an identity as one of God’s friends; he’s being given God’s peace and comfort (soundness of mind), and his future as a disciple within the household of God is assured.

Looking carefully at the story: What did Jesus tell the man to do? (Answer: go and tell what God had done in his life) What did the man do? (Answer: went and told what Jesus had done in his life...) So why d’you think Luke tells us this story? - Was it something to tell us who Jesus was in both his words and actions?

Luke includes this story to show us Jesus’ power of the forces of evil; to show something about who Jesus is; and to underline that identity, soundness of mind and a future are all tied up with Jesus.

But the people of Gerasenes weren’t impressed by Jesus. Why? Possibly because he had disturbed their peace and comfort. A herd of pigs were obviously more important to them than one bonkers bloke. It is said that the Holy Spirit comes to comfort the disturbed and to disturb the comfortable... and that is what we see in this story. The disturbed man is comforted. The comfortable Gerasenes were disturbed!

But the man who was cured was - naturally - very grateful to Jesus, and he was sent back to his home (not to a strange land) to tell his story. It might have been easier for him to go amongst strangers... but Christian witness, like charity - begins at home! Amongst those who know us best. And the words Jesus says to the healed man are the ones he says to us and to Charlie: “Return home and declare how much God has done for you”. We might not have been possessed by 6,000 demons, but we’ve been found when we were lost, we’ve been made whole and restored, given our dignity and new status as God’s friends, so we have much to tell in our words, in our actions and attitudes as we live out the Kingdom life: “Return home and declare how much God has done for you”.

Fr Andrew Perry
Rector, St John the Evangelist, Pevensey Rd, St Leonards on Sea