Do You Believe in Demons? (Reflections on Pentecost 5)

So where are you on the subject of Evil Spirits? This Sunday's gospel lesson in the Revised Common Lectionary is a spooky tale from Luke's gospel (Luke 8:26-39) better suited to Halloween than the breezy days of summer. It concerns a wild man with superhuman strength who runs around naked in a graveyard and is possessed by a "legion" of demons.

In Jesus' day, those who suffered with mental illness were considered to be possessed by demons. I have to confess that I have always been--as I suspect you are too--uneasy around the mentally unhinged. The loss of one's faculties is, after all, a pretty scary thing. Maybe seeing craziness in others makes me fear it in myself. When I was a chaplain at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania I was often called to enter the locked psychiatric ward, and I did so with a sense of dread as if I were entering a House of Horrors. It took me a long time to see the mentally afflicted as God's children. Today I'm happy to report that I can enter the secured dementia ward at the Veteran's Home where I volunteer without hesitation. But it took me a while to get to this point.

(Maybe being a parish pastor for so many years helped me get used to craziness. I don't have enough space here  to tell you about all of the whack-o characters who have found their way to my church door over the years, but--believe me..!--the word "eccentric" doesn't even begin to apply!)

But back to my question: Do you believe in demons? Are there any evil spirits in your life? Some describe those addicted to alcohol and drugs as being possessed by a demon. There are also demons of fear and anger. I've heard that those suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder feel as if something unnatural has invaded their minds and forced them to behave in ways they've never intended. Is an eating disorder a demon? Such a disorder is a destructive urge which robs a person of self control.

And then there are the demons of our own insecurities and wounded egos. Even when life seems to be going well, a sinful desire to turn from gratitude to God and curve in on ourselves makes us ruin the blessings we've been given.

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But on to the Lectionary. Here are a couple of thoughts I had while reading this gospel story:

First, the people in the country of the Gerasenes try to restrain this poor demonically possessed fellow with chains and shackles--which seems pretty cruel if you ask me. Still, it suggests to me how hard we try to subdue the destructive urges of our loved ones to no avail. The demoniac breaks the chains (v. 29). No one can be healed of their demons by another person.

It seems that the very nature of these demons is self-destruction. They drive the man into the tombs, the place of death. Everything they do defies life and wholeness. They find the forgiving and loving presence of Jesus to be a "torment," (v. 28) preferring the misery they know to the wholeness which they do not know. Strangely, the demons want to be known. They beg Jesus not to send them to the abyss (v.31) and desire suicide rather than obscurity (v. 33). Sometime I think that our fame -obsessed culture--in which young people tout their most embarrassing moments on facebook--is a sort of demon.

No good deed goes unpunished. The Gerasenes are afraid when they see the demoniac healed (v.37). Maybe they felt better having a poor soul upon whom they could look down. The man's new-found wholeness reflects their own stagnation, their own demon of complacency. Similarly, the demon of their greed values the monetary worth of the herd of swine more than the wellness of their brother. Don't we find this demon running loose in our American culture in which a balanced federal budget is prized more highly than the health of the poor or the education of the young? The Gerasenes want nothing to do with this man, Jesus. The one who casts out the demons is himself cast out (v. 37). I'm reminded of saying by a Baptist preacher from North Philly, Bill Moore: "If the Devil ain't botherin' you, you ain't botherin' the Devil!"

Finally, the former demoniac is filled with a missionary zeal and begs to be one of Jesus' followers. Jesus, however, advises a more cautious path. It's one thing to be newly cleansed and want to make a spectacular change in our life's direction. But Jesus tells him to stay at home and let the gift of healing sink in. "Return to your home," he says, "and declare how much God has done for you."

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I'll be honest. My demons attack me from time to time. I get depressed, angry, and anxious. My ego afflicts me at the worst times. What can I do? I try to take Martin Luther's advice and "fart at the Devil." That is, I try not to take myself so seriously. I look for the comedy and I remember that it is God who made me, and God who makes me whole. It's not about me.

Thanks for reading, friends. May God protect you from the demons, and may you live in light and the joy of the Lord!