Merciful God, grant Your mercy and peace on this dear reader; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Our text for today is from Luke 8: 26 Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 As he 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. 28 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"— 29 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.) 30 Jesus then asked him, "What is your name?" He said, "Legion"; for many demons had entered him. 31 They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss. 32 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. 33 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. 34 When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. 35 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. 36 Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. 37 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. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 "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
The title comes from a sign I remember seeing on the campus of Texas A&I University in Kingsville. Their team is named for a local wild animal, the javalina, which is a wild hog and so their sign said, "Jesus said, 'Go Hogs!'"
In Biblical times two types of people lived among the dead; the lepers and those possessed by demons. In today's story this man for a significant part of his life had been tortured and tormented by demons. It is safe to assume that so had his family and those of his village. It is also safe to assume that he would tear off his clothing once he freed himself from the chains and shackles and would run back to the tombs. His possession was by many demons, thus the name given to Jesus' question of his name. His quality of life was a terrible one and like the lepers, his only hope was to stay among the dead until death might perhaps free him of this torment. Then Jesus comes along with an offer of a new life and new hope. The demons opposed it immediately. They liked the warm body in which they were residing and the possibililty of having to wander in the spiritual realm was not an option they wanted to explore. But Jesus had other ideas; an invitation for a way to live free from possession; to go and come as one chooses and not be captive to the demands of this evil presence in one's life. The demons knew of Jesus' power and they also knew they could not fight to keep this home, so they made a request that they be allowed to inhabit the body of pigs, and that is where they went. And off the cliff they dive, finding death in drowning. Their death meant the life of this man, who is now given a second or third or ? chance of living a life that does not invite evil to reside within him.
The townsfolk see the man as a changed person and they get fearful of Jesus and ask Him to leave. How often have we done that? We see what good Jesus can bring to us and we still want that which kept us in the place where we felt better or didn't want to be. We prefer the option of living death rather than seeking the fullness of life that Jesus offers to us. Many times we so close to living with not only the dead but with pigs, and we don't even get bothered.
PRAYER: Come Jesus and deliver me from the places I sometimes find myself; among the dead, the evil and pigs. Lift me high off this level of blindness to the level of fullness, of life. I ask this in Your name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
PS We finally have internet and the space to sit down! Nellie and I thank you for your prayers for our move and we're now making headway in making this place our home. God bless you all!
