Deviled Imperial Ham

Luke 8:26-39

Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. As Jesus stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me”— for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; 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.) Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss. Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.

Summertime and the sermons get shorter.  Fish are jumping and Jesus makes Deviled Ham.  Jesus had just calmed a storm the night before and now, back on shore, he casts out a legion of demons.  Miracle upon miracle, right?  But only TV preachers do miracles just for show.  For Jesus, miracles are more like acted out parables meant to teach us something about the way God intends the world to work.  In the case of this Deviled Ham miracle, Jesus rolls three parables into this one, epic, herd of swine.  

The first parable teaches us about God’s desire for the larger world.  When Jesus comes ashore and commands the demon to come out, the demons ask for mercy, and tell Jesus their name was “Legion.”  Now, what we DON’T see just from this text, is that just over the hill from where this scene unfolded there was the actual Tenth Roman Legion (made up of 6000 men by the way) encamped there, ready to do anything necessary to enforce the rule of Imperial Rome whose symbol, not coincidentally was the wild boar.  Jesus, in making Deviled Ham on THIS side of the hill, was at the very same time telling that of Legion of Pigs on the OTHER side of the hill the best thing they could do would be to go jump in the lake as well!  

Casting out that demon was an acted out parable that reminded the people of the Gerasene that Might Makes Right and the oppression of our neighbors is NOT the way God calls us humans to order our lives… neither Jews NOR Gentiles!  Weapons of war and an overwhelming force using intimidation, bullying, and violence to get their way is NOT God’s way.  And Jesus I think, went even further than that.  I think he was saying that the way of bullying, intimidation and violence is frankly demonic! 

The second parable was for the people on THIS side of the hill.  Here, Jesus was trying to teach the Garesenes how to be better neighbors to one another… to teach them a better way do deal with their community troubles even when those troubles are running around town naked and living in the tombs!  The town, you see, had tried to solve their problem by hiding it away.  Not quite literally burying it, but you have to admit, chaining it up in the tombs isn’t very far off!  They had tried to push their problem out of town, out of their day to day lives, out of sight, and out of mind.  But when you deal with problems like that, they inevitably break loose, come back, and run around naked again.  Jesus though, showed them how to handle problems a different way.  He walked right up to the problem… face to face… and took it on head on.  Jesus didn’t show them an easier way but he did show them a kinder, more compassionate, and frankly more effective way of dealing with community problems.  

In that acted out parable Jesus tried to teach the local folks that throwing people away is NOT the way God calls us to order our lives… neither Jews NOR Gentiles!  Shunning, denying communion, ghettoizing, warehousing in prisons, chaining up, and de-humanizing others is NOT God’s way AND it doesn’t solve the problem.  And like before, Jesus went further, telling them that throwing people away is frankly, demonic!  The Jesus way… God’s Way… is to meet people right where they are, just as they are in all their naked craziness, face to face, and do everything in our power to give them what they need to live with dignity. 

The last parable Jesus taught with this miracle is one I know to be absolutely true, and one I absolutely don’t like.  Once Jesus had made sure the people of the town were crystal clear about how God intended the world to work and how God intended for them to live, this story tells us that the people were afraid and asked Jesus to leave “for they were seized with great fear.”  So what did Jesus do?  He got back into the boat and left.  They knew what Jesus had taught them was true.  They knew their own oppression by the Roman Legion and the oppression they dealt out as a town was wrong…  demonic even...  And yet… they were not ready to change.  The work to which Jesus had called them… casting out the demonic ways of the world and living into the Jesus Way of living was just too much for them to swallow and out of their fear, they asked Jesus to leave.  This last parable is really the hardest one.  Because it reminds us that NOT EVEN JESUS HIMSELF could make people change who were not yet ready to change.  

Folks, there are parts of this world that are sadly, best described as demonic.  You and I are called to name it and show the world a better way… the Jesus Way.  But we are also called not to beat our heads on a brick wall that is just not ready to fall.  In those times we ALSO need to follow Jesus and get back in the boat, go somewhere else, and see if that’s a place where the world is ready to change.  Amen.