Driving Out the Demons

Peace be with you !

In todays Gospel ( Mark 5:1 ) We get to review the story of how Jesus found a man who was running around the hillside and amongst the tombs living there.  No one was strong enough to restrain him and all the methods they had used to put chains and irons on him failed as he was too strong and eventually broke free.  

Upon Jesus arrival the man throws himself down and begs Jesus not to drive them from the place where they were.   The man was possessed by the “Legion” several demons all of whom were living in the man.  Jesus drove the spirits to inhabit a herd of swine and they threw themselves into the water and drowned.

The man tries to join Jesus and the apostles, but instead Jesus asks him to go out to his family and friends and tell them what had happened.

Consider for a moment all the sin that is in the world.   What about our personal sins ?   Was there not a legion of sins we have committed in our lifetime ?  

When I first read this passage I thought about those people who are chemically addicted.  They wander, their families have tried to restrain them, get them to change.  They have resisted those attempts to change and wander to their own detriment looking to find some kind of release.      During the withdrawl they beg not to be delivered but to allow them to stay in their addiction in fact to feed it.    If they finally break free and can see the light of truth, they want a normal life, they want to join society.     Eventually they do.  Most who go through some kind of 12 step program are required to go and tell their family what has happened to them, and to attempt to make amends for what might have occurred while they were under control of their own demons. 

That process of recovery does not end and if you know someone who has been an addict they tell their story alot.    So it is with the man in the Gospel.  He was freed from his demons and he went out to tell his story.     He was asked about it, and he told it over and over again.

As part of our mission given at Baptism we should also give testament about the things that God has done for us.   Does that mean we should stand in the town square and preach ?  No, it means that if the opportunity arises ( and it will) that we should take that time and give testament to the light that Christ has given in our lives, and not be afraid to proclaim Jesus as Lord.