Proper 7 - Isaiah 65: 1-9; Psalm 22: 18–27; Galatians 3: 23–29; 8: 26-39
This
is a homily by Fr. Gene Tucker, given at St. John's Church; Huntingdon, Pennsylvania
on Sunday, May 29, 2016.
“THE
EFFECTS OF EVIL”
(Homily text: Luke 8: 26-39)
Quite often, when we read or hear a text from Holy Scripture, there’s
one central theme or idea that is conveyed. That’s not always true, of course,
and stating this truth isn’t meant to suggest that we should boil down a
passage so as to neglect the details contained in it.
This morning’s Gospel text, which recounts to us Jesus’ encounter with
a man who had been possessed by a legion of demons, contains within it a
summary of the effects of evil.
To study the ways in which evil – and the Evil One – work, let’s back
up to the Book of Genesis, chapter three, to examine just what happened when
the Evil One, coming in the form of a serpent, approached Adam and Eve in the
Garden of Eden:
Recall with me that the serpent suggested that God’s prohibition about
eating the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden wasn’t really the truth
God had said it was. Eve takes of the forbidden fruit, then offers it to Adam,
and both eat of it. The text then tells us that their eyes were opened. As a
result, they both hid themselves from God.
Now, here are the effects of evil we should notice:
·
They both are separated from God,
·
They are separated from one another.
Now, with
these two points in mind, let’s look at this morning’s Gospel text.
Luke tells us that the man who was possessed was from the region of
Gerasa. Gerasa[1]
was located southeast of the Sea of Galilee, and it was Gentile territory. Luke
correctly points out that the east side of the Sea of Galilee is a steep
hillside, and the man had lived there, alone and out-of-control.
Jesus’ intervention in the man’s life does two things: (1) He
restores the man to a connection with other people, and (2) He restores the man
to a connection with God.
The powers of evil had separated the man from God and from others.
Notice that the ways of evil are consistent from the pattern we saw in Genesis
to Luke.
Down through time, whenever evil is able to gain a foothold among human
beings, the result is separation from God and separation from others.
Let’s consider just two examples from recent history:
The Nazis hated the Jews, and managed to kill about six million of them
before the allied nations defeated Nazi Germany and put a stop to the
slaughter. Viewed from a very basic level, the Nazis considered the Jews (and
others they also hated) as being “other”, that is to say, not one of them. In
the process, the common bond of humanity between them and the objects of their
hatred was destroyed. And, as history has shown, the Nazis were a totally
godless group who engaged in evil of the worst kind. To determine to kill and
exterminate a group of people is to engage in totally godless behavior.
Twenty-some years ago, tribal strife broke out in the nation of Rwanda
in Africa. Before the genocide was over, about one million people had been
killed, many of them hacked to death with machetes. To engage in genocide is to
kill others simply because they are the “other”. Separation between groups of
people is the result, and separation from the love God expects us to have for
others is the other result.
In our own day, the Islamic State, following a radical understanding of
Islam, is engaged in brutality against Christians and against other Muslims who
follow a different strain of Islam. Their ways are reminiscent of the things
the Nazis did some seventy or eighty years ago. ISIS engages in these acts
because the objects of their hatred are – in their eyes – the “other”, people
who differ from them. As they engage in acts of brutality, they separate
themselves from all that is holy and desirable.
Now, the ways of ISIS have come to our own shores, most recently in the
massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. A self-proclaimed admirer of ISIS
killed scores of people in what has been described as one of the worst mass
shootings in American history. The shooter’s motivation - judging from what has
been reported in the news media - stems from a hatred of America and from a
particular hatred of the clientele of the Pulse club, which was known to cater
to gays and lesbians.
So the effects of evil are seen in the actions of Omar Mateen: He considered gays and lesbians to be
“other”, and so he broke the common bonds of humanity that should connect us
one to the other. He also separated himself from the ways of the divine will
(whether those ways are the ways of Islam, Judaism or Christianity), for we are
called to walk in the ways of peace.
The list I provide in the following paragraph is – I will admit – my
own short list of things to consider. Hopefully, what I follows steers clear of
politics and political considerations.
Much discussion and reflection has begun in the wake of the Orlando
attack. It is essential that we – as a people of this nation – consider the
various implications of incidents such as took place a week ago in Orlando. We
are called to examine realistically the threat of terrorism, and how best to
prevent and thwart future attacks. We should consider how best to prevent those
who are motived by hate from gaining the means to kill many people, whether it
be with a deadly weapon like an AR-15 assault rifle, or with bombs or some
other means. Part of our discussion ought to engage a proper respect for the
provisions of the Constitution and for individual freedoms and privacy,
balancing those needs with the overall needs of the country and its people. We
should work to build a consensus for solutions to the threats posed by ISIS and
other radical groups between government and the nation’s citizens.
As we move into the future, we can be sure that whenever the effects of
evil are encountered, separation from God and separation from one another will
be present.
Perhaps it’s appropriate to close with this prayer:
Almighty God, you have created us in your image, endowing us with
reason, wisdom and skill. Enable us to see how dependent we are on our
connection to you. Empower us to overcome the differences which might otherwise
divide and separate us one from the other. Guide us in the ways of peace. Open
our hearts to love others with the love we receive from you. Grant your peace
to the families and friends of those who suffer the effects of terrorism, and
especially to those loved ones of the victims of the Orlando shootings. Enable
us to work to bring your kingdom into being here in earth, even as your kingdom
has been established in heaven. AMEN.
[1] Gerasa’s modern name is Jerash. It is
located in which is, today, the nation of Jordan, and it is the most
well-preserved Roman city in the world.
