6-22-25        Luke 8: 26-39

26 Then [Jesus and his disciples] 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.       

Let those who seek the Lord recognize what God has done for them, take up that new strength and give praise.

You think you have troubles?  Compared to the poor man in this gospel story, I bet yours look a lot less overwhelming. I have often been told that when you feel most harassed, most down-hearted by your pain and troubles, your perspective is restored when you see what others must handle. The man from the Gerasenes had a world of suffering, a legion of difficulties. He was so overpowered by them that he seems to have lost sight of who he was. He had no one to help, having been driven away from his old neighborhood and confined to the graveyard. His hope was lost, and his only prospect was to be tormented further. Even as he confronted Jesus, is first expectation was rejection and more punishment. After all Jesus was a religious figure, a holy man, close to God, and certainly that would mean condemning judgment.  Isn’t that so often the way we think? We realize that we have not lived up to the standards set before us, so we assume that further accusations is all we will hear. This world is often not a friendly, welcoming place that is true. 

That is true for the youth of our communities and nation. The Connection’s publication contained this story of an exhibit that brings home the impact of how we find many of our own people living among the tombs of anger, hatred, frustration, and disappointment, dead ends to hope, productivity and joy.

It’s quite a sight: dozens of backpacks suspended at eye level from the ceiling of the exhibition hall — ordinary backpacks like the ones students lug to class everyday. 

 But attached to each backpack is a story. On one backpack is the story of a teenager who was an excellent student, active in her school’s extracurriculars and part of a wide circle of friends. But few knew of her struggle with depression. One day it overwhelmed her and she ended her life. 

 Attached to another backpack is the story of a high school football player. His mom and dad write about their terrific son who could make anyone laugh. He was passionate about his volunteer work with Best Buddies and Special Olympics. They remember, too, his talking openly about his OCD, depression and anxiety and the compassion and caring he showed to others dealing with mental illness. In 2018, their son’s ten-year battle with depression came to a tragic end. He was 19 when he took his life.

 The backpacks are part of a traveling exhibition called “Send Silence Packing,” sponsored by the national organization Active Minds. The “Send Silence Packing” exhibit travels to 60 to 80 schools and colleges around the country each year. 

 The exhibit makes a powerful impact on high school and college students. The backpacks are just like the ones they carry, enabling them to make an immediate connection between these stories of struggle and hope and their own anxieties. The issue of mental illness — a growing concern among teenagers and college students – suddenly becomes real and urgent to attendees. Trained counselors are available at each stop of the “Send Silence Packing” exhibit to discuss the importance of knowing the warning signs of suicide, of intervening when a friend is in distress, of getting help for themselves when the anxiety and stress in their lives becomes more than they can handle.

 One student said of the “Send Silence Packing” experience that the backpacks “made me realize how much more I want to be someone who checks in on friends, who listens without judgment, and who talks more openly with my family about mental health. It also made me realize that I sometimes take my loved ones’ well-being for granted, assuming that silence means everything is okay. I now understand the importance of being more intentional in my relationships and being present for others.”

 (Connections, June 2025)

That student really made the connection that we all need to make. We need to learn to listen with open minds and hearts, not judging, not comparing. To be truly present for others is a gift, it can make a significant difference and defeat the silence, as your caring is felt. It is through you that Jesus comes today to those who are stuck in living among the tombs. For the hard-pressed and suffering, there is healing and the possibility for restoration to the community. That is the promise shown us as the returns to his home and lets it been known what Jesus has done for him. There is another level or angle to this gospel story that needs to be exposed. In the ancient Roman world, the people knew one literal meaning for that term “Legion.” It was the unit of about 6,000 Roman soldiers of the occupying army. It is a legion of demons, we are told, who seize this man repeatedly and bind him in chains. That concept of seizing was used when Christians were arrested and brought to trial, as Luke described it in the book of Acts. We are given a picture of the experience of those early Christians as they lived under that brutal occupying power and also what the Jews had known decades earlier under that same military force. In fact, buried in the Gerasene tombs were numerous men who had been slaughtered by Roman legions.

Jesus was begged by the demons to not be sent back into the abyss. So, he agreed to let them enter the herd of swine. This aside makes very little sense to me, for those pigs immediately go mad and run into the lake and drown. But consider the derogatory implications that are being implied as you remember the legion of Roman soldiers. For the Jews pigs were unclean and so: disgusting. One of the local Legions used the pig as an emblem on their banners.  Even into modern times the label ‘pig’ is an insult and has been used to put down law enforcement and others in authority. We also see the sarcasm concerning their intelligence level, since to avoid the abyss, they trade one destruction for another – as they are drowned by their swine hosts. 

So, through this aspect of the story, we are given a glimpse that Jesus’ concerns and response to human need goes beyond the individual. We can recognize that he is responsive to all and any of the forces that can occupy and control us in our person, in our society, and in our world. You can make the appropriate social and political implications that apply to today’s world. Jesus has come to challenge and defeat every power that keeps us from living fully and freely as beings created in God’s image. Jesus is claiming sovereignty not just within our spiritual relationship but over the whole of our human, earthly lives. Jesus’ power is meant to free and liberate us which is the good news of the gospel. Then, we too, are to make that known in our cities and towns, as we acknowledge what Jesus has done for us. We are to believe that Jesus can work through us in this freeing and restoration task and act upon that belief.