Jesus must have
loved summer. He spent much His time by the Sea of Galilee. On one occasion He
crossed the sea of Galilee and went to the Decapolis (a region of Ten Cities).
He was confronted there by a man who was demon possessed. Jesus our Lord
confronted with authority and boldness the
demons in this man whose name we do not know. Jesus said, "Come out of the man,
you unclean spirit!" Jesus still speaks to the evil in us, telling it,
“Come out of that person.” We all have evil voices, evil impulses, and evil
thoughts in us. We are weaker human beings than we often allow people to see.
Jesus wants to heal us of our inner demons. This concept is basic
and still relevant for us and our world today.
Then Jesus asked him,
"What is your name?" He replied, "My name is Legion; for we are many."
There are many evil thoughts, evil impulses, evil shadows in our
minds. The word, “legion,” properly describes the myriad of evil impulses in us
as human beings. C. S. Lewis, said that we human beings are a “myriad of
impulses, a cauldron of evil desires.” Sometimes, and far too often, life can be permeated with great evil that
is almost beyond human comprehension. In those moments, we as human beings are
tempted to give in to the intensity of evil around us. Jesus brings His
healing , wellness, and peace in those situations where a person or a society
is permeated by a legion of devils. There is no situation so bad that Jesus
does not bring his healing power. Jesus wants to bring healing to the worst of
all the situations we can encounter.
We all know about the miracle
Jesus performed in the Gentile Region called Decapolis. The man who had so long
been possessed and tormented by the legion of demons was fully healed and
restored with sound mind and a clean heart. A
Roman legion consisted of six thousand men, so it was as if this man had six
thousand demons living inside of him. People could not wait to come and
see what it had happened there.
They came to Jesus and
saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very
same man, and they were afraid. “He was clothed in his right mind.”
As Jesus was getting back
into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he
might stay with him, but
Jesus refused, and said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them how much
the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you."
This sentence feels as if it were
written yesterday. At the heart of being a Christian is telling how much the
Lord God has done for us and how much the Lord has had mercy on us. Each of us
has stories about how the Lord has healed us, been with us, and strengthened
us. We know where our healing and strength have come from and we want to share
what has happened to us with our friends and family. In this Gospel
narrative we are invited to share our personal healings with family and
friends.
The man went away
and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and
everyone was amazed. The healed person not only went to his family and
friends but he went out to his whole city to tell about the healing miracle
of Jesus in his life.
As we gather this coming
Sunday in the Lord's house let us share about the mighty deeds the Lord has done
in our lives. Let us also declare about the mighty deeds He is in the process
of doing very possibly unknown to us, yet to be seen, yet to be known and yet to
be revealed. Blessed be His Name.
In Christ,
Brown
