"Reclothe us in our rightful mind"
Commentary
Once again the lectionary provides rich soil for homiletical gardening. A magnificent declaration by the Apostle Paul is sandwiched between two fertile narratives, Elijah's flight into the wilderness and the encounter of Jesus with the man named Legion.
If preparing to preach from the Elijah story it would be well to read 1 Kings 18 to sharpen awareness of the emotional roller-coaster ride the prophet is going to experience. Luke intentionally links the account of the stilling of the storm (8:22-25) with the exorcism of the demoniac. The two accounts are connected.
Is there any common link between the Old Testament and Gospel readings? I am drawn to this thought: a Hebrew prophet and a Gentile demoniac, both vulnerable to violent outbursts, are brought to their right mind through an encounter.
Sermon Seeds In The Lessons
1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a
All of us experience mild manic-depressive cycles. We have our up days and our down days. Preachers know, for example, that some weeks your cup is full and you have something to say. Some weeks your cup is empty, you are in a dry period, yet you have to say something come Sunday morning.
The highs and lows can vary in intensity and length of time. Through the centuries those who have enriched our treasury of devotion have warned us about the dark nights of the soul, assaults upon the spirit, dark times when we may feel God has let us down or cut us adrift. This is Elijah's condition as we meet him in our reading. The scene contrasts to his zeal and physical energy during and after his contest with the priests of Baal. The French speak of the "contre-coup," the counter blow we can experience after a time of enthusiasm and exhilaration.
Jezebel gets word to Elijah that she has marked him for death as a result of his part in the killings of the priests of Baal. It was Elijah who gave the order to massacre the priests just as he was riding a real high. Does his participation in the carnage on Mount Carmel have anything to do with his fright and flight or even with his wish to die? What does he mean when he says to God in his prayer, "I am no better than my ancestors"? That he heads for the wilderness and the mountain of God can well suggest to us that this is a severe time of internal doubt and conflict for him. We read that in this awful period he is sustained by angels. If you have ever come through such a dark time and wondered how you found the strength to last, you will have no trouble with verses 5-8.
Karl Barth in a lecture made an interesting comment on the theophany experienced by Elijah on Mount Horeb. He was dealing with the question of how we experience the transcendent God. "Fire, drought, earthquake, war, pestilence, the darkening of the sun and similar phenomena are not the things to plunge us into real anguish, and therefore give us real peace. The Lord was not in the storm, the earthquake or the fire. He really was not" (Church Dogmatics, Volume 3, Part 2, page 115).
The emphasis in the account is on the voice. We experience God through the Word that comes to us from beyond ourselves, the Word that addresses our conscience. We want to note how Elijah took himself too seriously by thinking he was the only true follower left. We can fall into that trap. We also want to note that God has not taken a course in pastoral counseling. He does not try to get Elijah to air his feelings. God issues a command, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus." That is a word of grace as well as command. God does not wallow with us in our self-pity. (See Jeremiah 12:5.) The planners of the lectionary have wisely ended the reading at verse 15a. It can be argued that the experience of Elijah reflects his own rejection of violence in the service of God.
Galatians 3:23-29
Paul, of course, is not speaking literally. What he means is that in the body of Christ there are no litmus tests imposed by ethnic, gender, cultural, or ritual biases. We are all equally brothers and sisters. Of course the church through the centuries has at times denied these words in terms of its deeds and structure, but the words span the ages and their judgment has had its sure and steady influence upon us.
Luke 8:26-39
Having told us how Jesus rebuked the sea demon and stilled the wind and waves, Luke now tells us of the stilling of the passions of the mind on land. Jesus has now moved into Gentile territory. The movement of the narrative provides the sermon direction as each scene offers its own unique suggestiveness for us.
Scene 1
It is an unusual scene. As soon as Jesus steps on shore he is met by a man without clothes. Nakedness is a multi-faceted biblical metaphor. There is a close association between nakedness, poverty, and dire insecurity. In this instance the man's nakedness suggests to us his violation of societal standards and his consequent social exclusion. His prostration before Jesus reflects the human condition before the holiness of God. His plea reveals not only the kind of treatment he has received from others, but also his expectation of Divine punishment. On the streets of any city in our nation we can encounter the radically insecure, vulnerable and often dysfunctional homeless. The man represents the brutalized in every time and place.
Jesus is also vulnerable, for this man could be violent and a danger to himself and others. Social control via chains and shackles could not contain his demonic outbursts. Are more jails, more chains and fetters the panacea answer to the dark side of human experience? What shape should a penal system take in a redemptive society?
Scene 2
Jesus asks the man his name. He answers, "Legion." A legion is a major Roman military unit of about 6,000 soldiers. Does the man identify with the Roman overlords? This is not an unknown phenomena in nations occupied by a foreign army. The Helsinki syndrome refers to the way hostages can begin to bond with their captors. A Roman legion was also an effective combat machine. Is the man obsessed by power? When he erupts does he think he is Julius Caesar?
The name Legion suggests other things also. I think of the person who said, "I am not a person, I am a committee." Check out the poem by E. S. Martin, "My Name Is Legion." Who is the real me or you? Are we all a composite of contradictions?
Scene 3
Jesus gives the demons permission to enter a nearby herd of swine who immediately rush down a steep bank and drown in the lake. This is an ironic twist. Jesus is the Lord of wind and wave who commands the sea. The demonic is ultimately doomed.
Scene 4
The people from the town and surrounding area arrive to see what was going on. There they see the lunatic sitting at the feet of Jesus clothed and in his right mind. This is the position of a disciple being instructed. It's more than that: The man is clothed and that suggests the garments of glory. He has put on Christ. (See 2 Corinthians 5:1-5.)
Luke tells us the people were seized by fear. Something they could not grasp was going on, something difficult to believe. They did not want it in their back yard. They were polite enough about asking Jesus to leave, but the bottom line was "Get lost!" We have all sorts of ways of saying that to him.
Scene 5
In this final scene the man who did not want Jesus to come near him begs that Jesus take him along. He is commissioned to return to his own home and declare how much God has done for him. He becomes a city missionary. And he is given the most difficult place of all to serve, among his own neighbors, the folks who knew him when he roamed the tombs.
Remember also that this is Gentile territory and Luke is writing to a Gentile. He wants us come-latelies to know that you do not have to be near Jesus in space and time to be a follower. Throw out that old hymn, "I Think When I Read That Sweet Story Of Old." Jesus calls us to be with him in the here and now. John Greenleaf Whittier's prayer hymn, "Dear Lord And Father," is a great one for this Sunday if you preach on this reading.
If preparing to preach from the Elijah story it would be well to read 1 Kings 18 to sharpen awareness of the emotional roller-coaster ride the prophet is going to experience. Luke intentionally links the account of the stilling of the storm (8:22-25) with the exorcism of the demoniac. The two accounts are connected.
Is there any common link between the Old Testament and Gospel readings? I am drawn to this thought: a Hebrew prophet and a Gentile demoniac, both vulnerable to violent outbursts, are brought to their right mind through an encounter.
Sermon Seeds In The Lessons
1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a
All of us experience mild manic-depressive cycles. We have our up days and our down days. Preachers know, for example, that some weeks your cup is full and you have something to say. Some weeks your cup is empty, you are in a dry period, yet you have to say something come Sunday morning.
The highs and lows can vary in intensity and length of time. Through the centuries those who have enriched our treasury of devotion have warned us about the dark nights of the soul, assaults upon the spirit, dark times when we may feel God has let us down or cut us adrift. This is Elijah's condition as we meet him in our reading. The scene contrasts to his zeal and physical energy during and after his contest with the priests of Baal. The French speak of the "contre-coup," the counter blow we can experience after a time of enthusiasm and exhilaration.
Jezebel gets word to Elijah that she has marked him for death as a result of his part in the killings of the priests of Baal. It was Elijah who gave the order to massacre the priests just as he was riding a real high. Does his participation in the carnage on Mount Carmel have anything to do with his fright and flight or even with his wish to die? What does he mean when he says to God in his prayer, "I am no better than my ancestors"? That he heads for the wilderness and the mountain of God can well suggest to us that this is a severe time of internal doubt and conflict for him. We read that in this awful period he is sustained by angels. If you have ever come through such a dark time and wondered how you found the strength to last, you will have no trouble with verses 5-8.
Karl Barth in a lecture made an interesting comment on the theophany experienced by Elijah on Mount Horeb. He was dealing with the question of how we experience the transcendent God. "Fire, drought, earthquake, war, pestilence, the darkening of the sun and similar phenomena are not the things to plunge us into real anguish, and therefore give us real peace. The Lord was not in the storm, the earthquake or the fire. He really was not" (Church Dogmatics, Volume 3, Part 2, page 115).
The emphasis in the account is on the voice. We experience God through the Word that comes to us from beyond ourselves, the Word that addresses our conscience. We want to note how Elijah took himself too seriously by thinking he was the only true follower left. We can fall into that trap. We also want to note that God has not taken a course in pastoral counseling. He does not try to get Elijah to air his feelings. God issues a command, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus." That is a word of grace as well as command. God does not wallow with us in our self-pity. (See Jeremiah 12:5.) The planners of the lectionary have wisely ended the reading at verse 15a. It can be argued that the experience of Elijah reflects his own rejection of violence in the service of God.
Galatians 3:23-29
Paul, of course, is not speaking literally. What he means is that in the body of Christ there are no litmus tests imposed by ethnic, gender, cultural, or ritual biases. We are all equally brothers and sisters. Of course the church through the centuries has at times denied these words in terms of its deeds and structure, but the words span the ages and their judgment has had its sure and steady influence upon us.
Luke 8:26-39
Having told us how Jesus rebuked the sea demon and stilled the wind and waves, Luke now tells us of the stilling of the passions of the mind on land. Jesus has now moved into Gentile territory. The movement of the narrative provides the sermon direction as each scene offers its own unique suggestiveness for us.
Scene 1
It is an unusual scene. As soon as Jesus steps on shore he is met by a man without clothes. Nakedness is a multi-faceted biblical metaphor. There is a close association between nakedness, poverty, and dire insecurity. In this instance the man's nakedness suggests to us his violation of societal standards and his consequent social exclusion. His prostration before Jesus reflects the human condition before the holiness of God. His plea reveals not only the kind of treatment he has received from others, but also his expectation of Divine punishment. On the streets of any city in our nation we can encounter the radically insecure, vulnerable and often dysfunctional homeless. The man represents the brutalized in every time and place.
Jesus is also vulnerable, for this man could be violent and a danger to himself and others. Social control via chains and shackles could not contain his demonic outbursts. Are more jails, more chains and fetters the panacea answer to the dark side of human experience? What shape should a penal system take in a redemptive society?
Scene 2
Jesus asks the man his name. He answers, "Legion." A legion is a major Roman military unit of about 6,000 soldiers. Does the man identify with the Roman overlords? This is not an unknown phenomena in nations occupied by a foreign army. The Helsinki syndrome refers to the way hostages can begin to bond with their captors. A Roman legion was also an effective combat machine. Is the man obsessed by power? When he erupts does he think he is Julius Caesar?
The name Legion suggests other things also. I think of the person who said, "I am not a person, I am a committee." Check out the poem by E. S. Martin, "My Name Is Legion." Who is the real me or you? Are we all a composite of contradictions?
Scene 3
Jesus gives the demons permission to enter a nearby herd of swine who immediately rush down a steep bank and drown in the lake. This is an ironic twist. Jesus is the Lord of wind and wave who commands the sea. The demonic is ultimately doomed.
Scene 4
The people from the town and surrounding area arrive to see what was going on. There they see the lunatic sitting at the feet of Jesus clothed and in his right mind. This is the position of a disciple being instructed. It's more than that: The man is clothed and that suggests the garments of glory. He has put on Christ. (See 2 Corinthians 5:1-5.)
Luke tells us the people were seized by fear. Something they could not grasp was going on, something difficult to believe. They did not want it in their back yard. They were polite enough about asking Jesus to leave, but the bottom line was "Get lost!" We have all sorts of ways of saying that to him.
Scene 5
In this final scene the man who did not want Jesus to come near him begs that Jesus take him along. He is commissioned to return to his own home and declare how much God has done for him. He becomes a city missionary. And he is given the most difficult place of all to serve, among his own neighbors, the folks who knew him when he roamed the tombs.
Remember also that this is Gentile territory and Luke is writing to a Gentile. He wants us come-latelies to know that you do not have to be near Jesus in space and time to be a follower. Throw out that old hymn, "I Think When I Read That Sweet Story Of Old." Jesus calls us to be with him in the here and now. John Greenleaf Whittier's prayer hymn, "Dear Lord And Father," is a great one for this Sunday if you preach on this reading.
