What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?

Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!" For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was drive by the demon into the wilderness. Jesus asked him, saying, "What is your name?" And he said, "Legion," because many demons had entered him. And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.

Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.

When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed. Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned. Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you." And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

- Luke 8:26-39

In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued teaching the lessons gained from the parable of the Sower. He taught about keeping our inner lamps lit and bright -- and to take care how we hear! Then we were given the story of Jesus' mother and brothers coming to see Him, but Jesus taught again a reference to the parable of the Sower: that His mother and brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it. Finally, we were given the story of Jesus' disciples as they set off across the Sea of Galilee. Jesus fell asleep, and the meantime, a terrific storm came up so that they were all afraid of perishing. Jesus asked them, "Where is your faith?" Again, a reference to the lesson in the parable of the Sower, about the seed taking strong root in good soil within us. See My mother and my brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.

Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. In yesterday's reading, we read of the disciples setting sail across the lake (which is also known as the Sea of Galilee). Now they are in Gentile territory.

And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!" For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was drive by the demon into the wilderness. Jesus asked him, saying, "What is your name?" And he said, "Legion," because many demons had entered him. And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss. This poor man cannot even live in his own home city, but must dwell here in the country beyond -- even among the tombs. It is the only place that his community has deemed fit for him. He wears no clothes, a sign of his isolation from community. He often has a guard, is bound with chains and shackles -- literally as a prisoner. But even so he broke the bonds and, we are told, was driven by the demon into the wilderness. The question, "What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?" is a kind of echo of his forsaken life, his aloneness. Who is exempt from the realm of God but those entirely abandoned? Clearly the demon persecutes the man in every way possible, including complete ostracization -- even from the Son of the Most High God. His being driven out even into the wilderness beyond the tombs and chains and shackles is a sign of utter desolation. And, it is not merely one demon that binds and torments him, but a "Legion." He is so far driven from life itself that the great fear seizes him that Jesus has come to torment him. This is the perspective of the demons. The abyss remains the prospect of an even deeper and greater isolation, a bottomless depth.

Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned. The demons wish to join the swine, rather than the terrible emptiness of the abyss which is a bottomless depth without end. We have a key here, I think, to this life beyond or without the Christ: a terrible aloneness and isolation, where even to inhabit the swine is preferable to the torment of such isolation. It is a kind of key perhaps to ailments and conditions that make us vulnerable to bad ideas, bad company that leads us astray in life. The demons, however, prove destructive and lethal even to the swine (considered unclean animals by the Jews), and show their true nature.

When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed. The spectacular healing of this possessed man causes a storm of publicity in this community. He is now clothed, and in his right mind, sitting at the feet of Jesus. He has a place to be -- the picture of the man at the feet of Jesus is one of love and discipleship, of belonging. We remember Jesus' words yesterday about what constitutes His family: "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it."

Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned. Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you." And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him. Striking an echo of the response of the demons, these people greatly fear Jesus. They do not welcome the healing but think only of the loss of the swine. This is surely no place for the healed man. But Jesus does not take this new disciple with Him across the sea again, but instead tells him to return to his home in the city -- to his own house (that is, his own people), "and tell what great things God has done for you." He becomes, in effect, an evangelist, a witness to his own people of the good news of Christ. He is returned as a restored and transformed person, now a part of a community beyond even his own house, but of the kingdom.

It's my opinion that the terrible fears and loneliness and isolation we read about in the demonic influence is a key to something powerful and important in this Gospel, in the mission of Christ for kingdom. We read and hear His words about family from yesterday's reading, and we come to understand its inclusion. But there is a deeper reality here, of the terrible isolation of being without it, excluded from it. There is a profound spiritual depth to this kind of isolation and loneliness. It is an alienation not only from community, but life itself. The abyss of the demons is so far beyond any form of community that to occupy the swine is preferable -- and so they spread their destructive influence. There's a saying in Twelve Step programs: "Don't get too Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired" -- and I think there is great wisdom in this. What do we turn to in loneliness and isolation? Let us think, then, about the great healing and restoring powers of Christ, and His inclusion in His family. Whatever our problems, He asks us to be transformed in Him, to relate through Him and His power. We don't go back to the same situation, but we remain changed and a part of His understanding of family as we are restored to the life He asks us to live. We lose our fears in Him. Can we apply that to our understanding of loneliness, fear, isolation -- and find His power of life for us?