What Jesus Has Done

In the Gospel lesson for the 6th Sunday of Luke, we hear how Jesus cast out many demons from a man who had been tormented for years. The demons were so fierce, they “had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.” (Luke 8.29) He spent most of his life living in the tombs, naked.

At that time, as Jesus arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, there met him a man from the city who had demons; for a long time he had worn no clothes and he lived not in a house but among the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him, and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beseech you, do not torment me.” For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him; he was kept under guard, and bound with chains and fetters, but he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the desert.) Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. Now a large herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside; and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them leave. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. When the herdsmen saw what happened, they fled, and told it in the city and in the country. Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus, and 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. And those who had seen it told them how he who had been possessed with demons was healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gadarenes asked him to depart from them; for they were seized with great fear; so he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but he sent him away, saying, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

Luke 8.26-39

For those of us sitting in the comfort of our local Orthodox Church, it might be difficult to consider just how horrible this life could have been. We all have temptations, but most of us go about our lives in relative peace and quiet. Most of us have homes and a church to attend. For this man, though, his life was filled with torment, pain, and separation from his community.

When Jesus sent out the demons, everything changed. Suddenly, this man was “in his right mind” for the first time in years. He was sitting peacefully next to Christ just as most of us when we attend Divine Liturgy. The crowd was confused and afraid. They didn’t know how to understand what Jesus had done.

What did Jesus do? He did much more than send out the demons. He reminded the people how demons don’t stop at the chance of creating chaos and pain. As soon as they left the man, they entered the pigs. Even the pigs couldn’t handle their torture, and they threw themselves off a cliff and drowned.

Demons are a real threat to us and tempt us every day. We can either ask Christ to send them away, or we can ask Christ to go away. In fact, the crowd was so confused by what they saw, they did ask Jesus to leave, so He left them to fend for themselves.

I pray that our response will be the same as the man in today’s Gospel. “He went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.” (Luke 8.39) He didn’t tell everyone how much money Christ had given him. He didn’t tell everyone what a great house he was able to live in, finally after so many years. No! He told everyone that Jesus had sent the demons away, and he could now sit with Jesus in peace.

Jesus did it for this man, and He will do it for us. Don’t be afraid to ask Jesus to send the demons away. Don’t be afraid to ask Him for mercy. Just know that when Jesus does send them away, it will be up to us to sit with Jesus in Church, not to send Jesus away like the crowd.