Jesus Heals the Gerasene Demoniac
The First Sunday after Trinity 17.45 Eucharist
In the name of God, who has power to perform miracles each and every day. Amen.
There are three reasons why I found writing this evening’s sermon difficult and irritating. The first is how do I come close to the stupendous sermon Canon Nick preached at our Trinity Sunday service last week? The second is that I had already written a sermon forgetting that it was a eucharist this evening. Canon Jo informs me that the evensong lectionary repeats every two years, so please do return. For someone who is organised and a slightly recovering perfectionist it was a bitter pill to swallow.
The third reason actually relates to our gospel reading, which you will be relieved to know as I’m getting to the point…! I wonder how many of you thought the same thing whilst listening to it? I feel sorry for the pigs!!! I have always been a sucker for an underdog, or an under pig in this case. People say that pigs are dirty and stupid, but they’re not; just because they are clumsy and a bit fat, doesn’t mean they aren’t clever. And whilst they may be piggy heroes for taking one for Team Gerasa, I can’t help but come back to the same question…what have they done to deserve this, apart from being in the wrong place at the wrong time? My research initially led me down a path that was happier for the pigs, but then ended up with further intellectual misery for me. You may almost wish that I read my first sermon despite it not fitting with this evening’s readings!
It all hinges on the pigs. Let me tell you why. As part of Kosher food rules – Kosher meaning fit or proper - Jews don’t eat pork. They must not eat anything that comes from the pig, e.g., pork, bacon or ham. Why? It says so in the Torah. “And the pig, because it divides the hoof but does not chew the cud, is unclean for you. You shall not eat their meat.” A cloven or split hoof is split all of the way through.
Considering our makeup, some of Jewish thought says that animals and humans have heads and hearts separated from the ground, with just our legs touching the ground. Therefore, we should avoid involving our heads and hearts in earthly pursuits, that’s the job of action, our arms and legs. Our hooves must be split allowing God to enter our lives and bless our actions. When a kosher animal walks each step connects to the ground with both sides of the hoof. When we deal with earthly matters, we should have the balance of drawing good closer with the right and pushing away the bad stuff with the left. We need to be kept on the straight and narrow path.
The pig ticks the box of a split hoof, but does not, unlike a cow, ruminate, as in chew food over, digest, then regurgitate it and continue chewing, which I think is disgusting! You are thought to be wise if you “chew over” (think deeply) an important idea, constantly thinking about the situation, making the right decisions rather than making rash choices. Or you could argue it is sitting on the fence.
The commentaries on the Kosher rules say that what we eat becomes part of us, affecting our bodies and personalities, so must ensure that what we eat is kosher, proper, not treyfah, or improper. Don’t think for one moment that I haven’t missed the irony that an overweight chocoholic stands before you today!
That there are swine and swineherds show us that Jesus is in Gentile, non-Jewish country. Jesus has travelled to them, heals, disrupts, send chaos into the abyss, and then leaves. Thanks! If Jesus is to exorcise the man, what is he going to do with the demons? If we prioritise humans over animals, it makes sense to use the swine, but I still don’t think it is very fair, because off they rush into the lake and drown. The people are afraid and want Jesus to leave.
Jesus is presented as giving mixed messages and I find that quite irritating. He tells the man he has healed to declare how much God has done for him. He does the same with the woman healed from a haemorrhage in the next passage, but not to the Jairus about the healing of his daughter. Though this may be because they are already ‘socially acceptable’ and don’t need their reputations and standing in society restored. I told myself off for being irritated and said that if God is personal and immanent to perform miracles, one miracle is not going to be the same as another, and nor is how it is reported.
So, what made me happier about the pig situation, or the pig sitch? A deeper exploration into the images and messages that lie behind the text. The first hearers and readers of this story would have perked up their ears at this: “Jesus then asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He said, ‘Legion’; for many demons had entered him.” Why? Because a legion is a unit of around six thousand soldiers. This would have resonated with them as this was the occupying army. So, the demon is part of the occupying army. Now we’re talking! This miracle – an exorcism, to be precise – is not just of significance in terms of faith, health and social context, but it is of political significance too. It’s getting exciting!
Elsewhere in the gospel and in the book of Acts – Luke’s Part II – the writer employs – or should I say deploys? - words that he uses in relation to armies, battles and the arrest of Christians. The language evokes life under a harsh occupying regime.
The Jewish historian, Josephus, wrote at the end of the Jewish revolt (around 60s First century) about how the Roman general Vespasian sent soldiers to take back Gerasa – where Gerasene comes from. The Roman legions killed one thousand young men, imprisoned their families, burned the city and attacked surrounding villages. Many of them were buried in the Gerasene tomb. Also, one of the emblems of the Legio Tenth Fretensis, the legion of the sea straits – found on banners, coins and bricks – was a pig. Duh duh duuuuh! Plot twist!!! This legion was stationed in Jerusalem and took a prominent role in getting control back from the Jews. Therefore, this story shows that Jesus can liberate people from mental and physical oppression. But freedom is also scary, and familiarity easier to deal with, hence the locals wanting Jesus to go away. What if the Roman Army returns, stronger and angrier than ever?
Jesus is being a cheeky subversive – or Luke is presenting him as one – with the aim of regime change. “Hold your horses” you might say. But that is the whole point of Jesus. It is about regime change. The Christian life must be lived as though you are living in the kingdom of God. If it isn’t we might as well not bother. He is challenging all of the powers / demons that stop us from living as God’s children.
I felt better about the swine, but then it got me thinking. Does it mean that this particular miracle isn’t real? I started to think about realist and anti-realist views of miracles. A realist interpretation of miracles leads you to conclude that either the events are true or false. Whilst we cannot prove this miracle and others to be true, we can’t necessarily prove they didn’t happen, and much of this is about faith anyway. An anti-realist view of miracles says that we cannot verify these events, but what is much more important is the significance is that they lift our spirits, they transform a group / community of people. The value is personal, the meaning symbolic. Is this enough?
This is why I was drawn into more irritation and angst, because whilst potentially saving those pigs, I had taken a route where the miracle was potentially being pulled apart into a clever literary two fingers to Roman occupation.
However, just because we see miracles as realist and anti-realist, it doesn’t mean they are. God doesn’t have those distinctions. Perhaps the challenge is that we try to see this miracle as both an exorcism of demons and a message about the oppression of an occupying force. Just because we can’t reconcile them, doesn’t mean God can’t. The Angel Gabriel tells Mary at the annunciation “For nothing is impossible with God.” We need to remember this. Whilst trying to understand, we miss out on the mystery. Perhaps we need to be a bit more Orthodox Church about this because they celebrate mystery.
Focusing on trying to solve this problem prevents us from celebrating the mystery and telling people of the good things God has done for us. What good things has God done for you recently? He has reminded me that in my wish to be super organised I can miss the point, and that I don’t necessarily have to worry about the pigs.
As I said earlier, it is about regime change. Indeed, it is because the Christian life must be lived as though living in the kingdom of God accepting the disruption that Jesus causes in our lives. If it isn’t we might as well not bother. Amen.