Luke 8:26-39 2024/11/10 Osaka Church
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
A man possessed by evil spirits who howled and raved in the tombs day and night, terrifying people, fell down before Jesus and cried out, “Jesus, Son of God, what have I to do with you? I beg you, do not torment me!”
When Jesus commanded the evil spirits to “come out of him,” they entered a large herd of pigs that were kept on a nearby mountain. What happened to the herd of pigs? The Gospel tells us:
“The herd ran down the cliff into the lake and was drowned.”
It was a truly amazing, yet eerie event.
However, what is most surprising is that the people of the town who had rushed in to see the man, demanded that he leave. But can we simply judge this as outrageous?
Christ is “light.” He shines upon this world and upon the hearts of men. At that time, can humans really bear the true state of their own hearts which are illuminated in this light?
In our evening prayers, we read, “Forgive us for the terrible things we have done more than the birds and beasts.” We commit sins that are worse than those of the birds and beasts. Birds and beasts do not eat more than they need. They do not mate except to reproduce. They do not fight except to protect themselves. And certainly they do not killing each other by brandishing the names of “God” and “justice.” We humans are the only ones who live like this. In today’s Gospel, the Evangelist Luke describes the demon-possessed man as “a man who remained for a long time without clothes, away from home, and in the tombs.” Mark’s description of the same event is even more vivid: “He was often bound with fetters and chains, but no one could hold him down, for he tore off the chains and smashed the fetters in pieces. Night and day he cried out in the tombs and on the mountains, and cut himself with stones.” This overlaps with the image of a person whose nose is drawn by desire, whose anger is raging, whose heart is torn apart by hatred for himself, and who stumbles and rolls about aimlessly on the earth. We would like to turn our eyes away from the reality of such people, our own reality, but the Lord, who is light, mercilessly illuminates it and places us before it.
The Lord also commands us to “be perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect.” He teaches us that a heart that mocks others by calling them “fools!” will lead us to hell. He urges us to gouge out our eyes if we are seized by evil thoughts when we see a woman, and to offer the other cheek if we are slapped on the right cheek. He commands us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. …But this leaves us discouraged. We give up.
Even though we are discouraged and give up, and we refuse, saying, “Your light is too bright for me to bear. Please leave the room of my heart,” the Lord never abandons us. He does not punish us. On the contrary, He gently and patiently calls out to us, saying, “I will forgive you everything, so come out of the closed room of your heart and enter the joy of true life.” It is God’s love, the call of Christ, that torments us. When we cannot accept it honestly, love is a blazing flame that torment us in our hearts.
However, if we feel that love burns as the torments of hell, then that pain is only felt because we know that it is love that is being offered to us. Therein lies hope. It is the “hope in God” that I, a sulky person, would like to keep hidden even from myself if possible. And it is the hope for us that God patiently calls out to us.
The Holy Apostle Paul said, “God desires that all men should be saved.”