Luke 8:26-39

26Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27As 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. 28When 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”— 29for 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.) 30Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. 31They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss. 32Now 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. 33Then 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. 34When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. 35Then 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. 36Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. 37Then 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. 38The 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.

I love things that are subtle, understated, things that most people overlook. I am the kind of person who enjoys the long arduous process of putting puzzle pieces together

The Thing about miraculous healing episodes in the Scripture is that often we get attracted to the phenomenon of the miracle and forget the real subject of the matter. This story about the man who happens to be possessed by demons is one of my favorite “encounter with God” stories in the Gospels. It is dramatic, scary, steeped with social and religious taboos, and unlike most other illness, this one is in total view of everybody in town. True to the name that this man had acquired, there are multiple layers of things happening directly related to the illness not only in this man’s life but also in the life of the whole town that it is almost impossible to see the man himself. His story is truly bigger than the man himself. In all probability people from the neighboring towns came to catch a glimpse of the madness and the supernatural strength this man exhibited. The spectacle of it all works perfectly to distract everyone from the real needs of this tortured soul.

There is much poignancy in just how the external surroundings and the external appearance of this man become the metaphor of his internal life; which, by the way, the people in the town as well as this man himself seem to miss altogether. In the midst of all the noise and spectacle, Jesus comes and immediately sees the desperately bonded condition of this man and proceeds to free and restore him to wholeness, but amazingly the man wants to cling to his circumstances. At the healing offered to him, he says, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” It is tragic how the man recognizes and acknowledges Jesus’ power and authority as the Son of the Most High God, but refuses to recognize the healing given to him. And is it not ironic that this deeply tortured man should be telling Jesus, “do not torment me” when in fact Jesus is offering freedom and healing from all that had managed to destroy his physical body as well as his mind and spirit.

“Jesus son of the Most High, I beg you, do not torment me.” Do not torment me for I have long lost any hope of being healed. Do not torment me with talk of healing, restoration and hope; for who would possible want to heal me leave alone come close to me and see my need? I beg you, do not torment me for it is too good to be true. Indeed, this is often our tragic story. For God, healing and restoration is not about performing miracles as and when the situation demands nor is it a matter of dispensing healing touches to some people who deserve them. Healing and restoration is who and what God is, and it is impossible not to be healed and restored in the presence of God. The miracle begins when we realize that God is not asking our name because He does not know us, He already knows who we are, He formed and created us. The question is, do we recognize who we really are? Do we recognize that we are His children and He our true Father? This man had a name, but he chose to call himself the “Legion” identifying himself with the demons that had managed to take over his life. But somewhere from amongst the many voices inside this man, Jesus knew and heard the true voice crying for help. Remember what Jesus said, “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?”

The good news that Jesus came proclaiming is about God coming to us, not so much because it was time but because God knows it is impossible for us to find Him by ourselves. I have a tough time remembering and finding things I have kept in my own home, how can I expect to find God on my own? And how can I find healing and restoration if I cannot find God? The impossibility of us finding God is exactly why God sent his own son to us. The Gerasenes were people living in and around the gentile city of Gerasa. At this point in His ministry Jesus was concentrating in the region of Galilee, he really had no reason or urgency at this point to venture out to the gentile countryside across the river. His popularity and fame were beginning to spread amongst the populace and there was enough and more healing to be done amongst the crowds that always managed to find him. But if you read earlier in the chapter, Luke writes, “One day Jesus said to his disciples, “let’s go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out.” Jesus knew exactly where he was heading out. On the way there was a storm, his disciples who were accomplished fishermen thought they were surely going to die, but Jesus calmed the storm and lands on the shore of the Gerasenes. As soon as he steps ashore Jesus is met by the man who calls himself Legion. And forget about this man seeking a miracle to heal him, he had even forgotten his real name. But there is deliberateness in Jesus’ Journey toward this man. Jesus knew he needed to find this man who had nothing to look forward to and in fact hung out mostly amongst the dead. When the man recognizes Jesus for who He is, he cannot help but fall at His feet. The man is tormented by the thought of standing face to face with the Son of God realizing that it is now fully up to him to believe and receive the healing offered to him by Jesus. Could it be that at last he could be free of all the torment and his sorrow. It is interesting that the demons try their darndest best to stay as close to the man as possible! They beg Jesus not to banish them forever! And wonder of wonders, Jesus agrees to their request. Isn’t it also true that suffering and sickness are never really too far from us? But the point is, the miracle has happened! The man is healed, clothed, restored and in his right mind. And the continuous unfolding of that miracle is that the man obeys Jesus and goes out to proclaim the good news of God’s unfathomable love. The man thus becomes and goes out as the true miracle of God. We allow ourselves to be swept away by all the razzle-dazzle of what we define as miracles. And those who seek the spectacular and the miraculous will always remain spectators, but for those who are willing to recognize that God has come seeking us and that He in fact is standing right before us the miracle has already began. Our lives can become the miracle that God longs and desires for us if we are able to believe that He from whom all healing comes from has chosen and desired to love us with an everlasting love.

Many years ago, one of my dearest friends who had many issues about love and intimacy was courted and pursued by someone who was not only handsome, but very responsible, funny, affectionate, crazily in love with her and equally passionate about serving God. She went out with him for a few months, but never really believed that he truly loved her. He was willing to move and find a job where she lived, he was trying to learn her language, he did everything to show just how seriously he was in love with her. But my friend never really believed in that loved he showed her so she declined his marriage proposal and dumped him. Couple of years later, she landed up marrying a man who had no job, years younger than her so he is even today rather immature, and to top it all he chose to stay in his home town rather than move with her job, which happens to be the only job between the two of them.

God has come seeking us, to heal and restore us. To recognize His presence and fall at His feet is the miracle that needs to happen and healing and restoration is how we live out that miracle. May God give us faith to believe. Amen.