June 23, 2013
Luke 8:26-39
What is your name? How did you get your name?
I have friends who when expecting their first child they each picked out a name for the baby. If the baby was a boy, the dad would reveal the child’s name which had been placed in a sealed envelope and he was the only one who knew what it was. And if the baby was born a girl the mom’s name for her was sealed in a separate envelope that only she knew. This tactic for naming your child takes some trust in one another doesn’t it. Their first born was a boy, and therefore named by his dad.
My husband had no choice in the naming of our children. Ever since I was old enough to imagine being a mom and having children, I had picked out the names Hannah Elizabeth and Zachary. My poor husband had no say in the matter. We were blessed to have a boy and a girl. Hannah is 7 and Zachary is 10.
What does your name mean? Was it passed down to you? Does your name describe you? Does it define you? Does is belong to your family or passed down from one generation to another? Sometimes even our nicknames are more defining than our birth names. There is a lot that goes into one’s name.
Names have a lot of meaning in our gospel text for this morning as well.
Last week we heard the disciples wondering who Jesus was after he calmed the storm. This is contrasted today with the man possessed with demons, cast out by his family and community but yet knows who Jesus is – The Son of man most high.
This man who runs around his town doing wild things, out of control, possessed by demons, living on the margins, naked with only broken chains hanging from his wrists and legs – His name is Legion. Legion carries a definition meaning a very large number especially in terms of people. This is an accurate description of this man who in the only one to greet Jesus.
Of course Jesus is in a land in which it is very unlikely he as a Jewish Rabbi along with his 12 disciples would go to let alone be welcomed in. This is not a surprising stop for Jesus though is it. We have heard of Jesus doing things like healing on the Sabbath , talking to the woman at the well, Jesus is constantly going to places, being with people that are on the margins, that cause him to “break the rules”. Today proves to be no different.
The man Legion appears to be exactly why Jesus has come. The man knows Jesus and the demons knowing that they have no authority over Jesus begin to negotiate with him. They request to be sent into the swine in order to avoid the abyss.
What are the demons in our world today. All one needs to do is turn on the local, the national, or the world news and you will begin to see the darkness people live in today. A child needs a lung transplant and is held up because of rules. Bombs are planted at the finish lines of marathons, people enter schools with guns intending to hurt our children, senseless acts of murders, death, pain and suffering of all kinds litter our news and our lives.
Our world is broken and sometimes feels like everywhere we look it breaks more and more. We all have places in our lives that keep us from deepening our relationship with God. That’s what demons do. That’s what the darkness is. The things that keep us from knowing and seeing God. The things that take our energy away, keep us from sharing the Good News. What are the chains that bind you, the church, the community?
It is at these times, that we need to be reminded of who we are and whose we are. It is in this kind of darkness that we need to cling to our name which is Child of God. You are a child of God, created in the image of God, baptized into the family God. In our baptism we died to our self and became alive again in Christ. Christ lives in us and we in him. This is a big deal! This is good news in a world full of hurt and suffering. In a world where craziness is all around us.
Jesus breaks into my darkness, your darkness, our darkness and brings hope, healing and spirit and new life. He sets us the captive free. He drives out the darkness.
We think that at times we can hide from God. That we can take a break from following Jesus, but Jesus is always seeking us. God always has our backs. We can’t hide, but most of all we don’t need to hide.
Once Jesus drove the demons out of Legion, the man was completely healed and clothed and made new. He wanted to go with Jesus, but what does Jesus tell him he needs to do instead? Jesus tells him, “return to your home and declare how much God has done for you.” You see the people of the land were terrified after they say what had happened to the man. That Jesus had come and transformed the man. They were scared and ran away after telling Jesus he had to leave their land.
Sometimes people are afraid of the authority Jesus has over the evil in the world and they run away from him. Sometimes we get stuck in our own ways and forget that Jesus’ way is better. And sometimes we are just too afraid to face the changes that come with the radical transformation that Jesus’ offers our lives.
We are no different than the man who has been renamed and claimed by Jesus and so the request to go home, and declare how much God has done for you, is a request of us too. We praise the one who breaks the darkness indeed, but let’s not forget to tell others. Let’s be proud of who we are. Let’s remember whose we are and not be afraid to tell others too about all that God has done for us. As we sang this morning God of grace and God of glory From the fears that long have bound us free our hearts to faith and praise. Grant us wisdom, grant us courage.
Be courageous in your faith. Be proud of your name for you are a child of God that has a story to tell and world waiting to hear it.
Let us pray,
God we give thanks for sending your Son Jesus to live among us. To break into our darkness and show us the way out. We praise Him for showing us that to be named a child of God is not only worthy of praise, but is Good News that is intended to be shared. Open our hearts and minds so that we might tell others about all that you have done for us. Thank you God!
Amen.
