Proper 7 :: Isaiah 65:1 – 9 / Psalm 22:18 – 27 / Galatians 3:23 – 29 / Luke 8:26 – 39
This
is the homily given at St. John’s, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania by Fr. Gene Tucker on
Sunday, June 19, 2022.
“ON LIBERATION, CONVERSION AND A NEW IDENTITY”
(Homily text: Mark 8:26 – 39)
The
season after Pentecost begins in earnest this morning. Its arrival also means
that we will return to reading Luke’s Gospel account, which is the focus of
much of this current year, Year C, in our three-year lectionary cycle.
This
morning, we are presented with Luke’s report of the healing and deliverance of
a man whose condition had destroyed his place in his community, and which was also
destroying his health and welfare. This man lived on the eastern side of the
Sea of Galilee. The community from which he came is known in Matthew’s account
of this incident as Gadara, while in Mark and Luke, it is known as Gerasa[1].
(It’s possible that either place could be the correct one, because the two
communities were located on the eastern side of the sea.)
If
we are to identify the main aspects of this account, we would do well to say
that Jesus’ deliverance of this afflicted person is one of liberation, of
healing, of Jesus’ breaking down the barriers which separate us from one
another, and an outward-looking perspective on the Good News of God (Gospel)
that Jesus’ coming among us represents.
Let’s
set ourselves, then, to an exploration of each of these parts of the account.
We
begin with the theme of liberation and deliverance. Jesus’ actions often amount
to a liberation from some sort of bondage or life-limiting/threatening
condition. Consider, for example, Jesus’ healing miracles. True to say, each one of them represents the
truth that God’s power to create and to re-create is demonstrated as Jesus
touches and heals. But there is another aspect to these healing acts, and the
truth here lies in the attitudes of those who lived in those biblical times
long ago, for in that day, time and place, a diseased person was regarded as
being a sinner, one who had forfeited their place in society by some grievous
misdeed or another. Moreover, touching or coming into contact with such persons
often rendered the person who had done the touching unclean, unable to enter
the Temple for worship in Jerusalem. The basic attitude back then was that an
ill person was to be avoided. Consider then that Jesus is the one who willingly
touches the leper, the one who lays hands on the sick and the suffering. Jesus
breaks down the barriers which separate, both physically and spiritually.
It
is in this context that the deliverance offered to the Gerasene demoniac (as
this person is often known) was a deliverance in his physical condition
(whether that condition was due to demonic possession, or to mental illness of
some kind, or to some other condition[2]),
but it was also a deliverance in his social standing.
We
mentioned that Jesus broke down the barriers which separated sick or ill
persons from the rest of society. Jesus also broke down barriers by His
crossing the Sea of Galilee to go to the eastern shore, for this was Gentile
territory. Back in biblical times, Jews normally didn’t associate with
Gentiles, and if Jews lived in Palestine, they would often avoid contact with
Gentiles if such contact could be avoided. Jesus, however, goes into this Gentile
area. His actions foretell the spread of the Gospel to the Gentiles. Luke would
have been quite interested in all aspects of today’s incident, for Luke was a
Gentile who had come to faith in Christ; he was a physician, so he would have
been interested in Jesus’ healing acts; and he delighted in relating Jesus’
concern for the downtrodden, the poor and the powerless, whose fortunes were
reversed by Jesus’ presence and power.
As
the Good News went out into the world, the early Church put Jesus’ actions into
practice. The Church welcomed all persons, from all backgrounds. They called
each other “brother” and “sister”, even if one of them was a noble person and
the other was a slave. Each one found a new identity in Christ, which meant
that their former identities faded into the background. Their former identities
didn’t disappear, but those former ways they were known by were superseded by a
new identity as a Christian believer. Coming to faith in Christ meant that
there was a hope for the future, as part of a community of faith which offered
the same radical welcome that Jesus offered. The Church followed Jesus’
practice of breaking down the barriers which divide one person or group from
another. The Church’s message was, essentially, “Come as you are, but be
prepared to be changed”.
Today,
the nation observes a new national holiday, Juneteenth, which celebrates the
message to slaves in Texas that they were free from slavery. On June 19, 1863[3],
Union General Gordan Granger issued an
order, freeing the slaves held in Texas from their bondage. His action followed
the Emancipation Proclamation, which President Abraham Lincoln had issued in
September, 1862, and which went into effect on January 1, 1863. Those today who
are descendants of slaves brought to these shores from Africa and elsewhere
remember this day with fondness, and its observance dates back quite a few
years.[4]
How
might the Church today regard Juneteenth and its significance to marginalized
and oppressed peoples, both here in our nation and elsewhere in the world?
Perhaps
the early Church’s model provides an excellent model for us to implement.
We
could, for example, remember that Jesus’ concern and care was most often
directed toward the poor, the down-and-out, and the oppressed of the earth. (No
wonder that Luke is so fascinated by the overturning of the tables of normal
expectations as the poor are lifted up, while the high and the mighty are sent
away empty![5]
Then
we would do well to recall that the early Church offered a radical welcome, a
welcome that declared that each person who had come to faith in Christ now had
put on a new identity, a child of God. That new identity superseded whatever
former identity that new believer had, even though that one’s former way of
being known didn’t disappear. The emphasis in the early Church was on the unity
which Christ brings. Such a unity is possible only through personal conversion
of heart and mind in each individual believer.
Allowing
God’s Holy Spirit to work to make these things a reality doesn’t require
another church program. Allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts and
minds brings about personal conversion in our attitudes, our behaviors, and our
approach to and regard for others, particularly those who might differ from us
in one way or another. Allowing the Spirit to work ensures that the Church
today won’t be “Balkanized” into separate groups whose identity might seem to
take precedence over our oneness in Christ.
AMEN.
[1] To add to the mystery of which community was the man’s former one is the fact that, in biblical times, there were two towns which were known by the name Gerasa. One was located on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee, while the other one was located about 34 miles southeast of the sea. Today, the Gerasa which was located further southeast is known as Jerash, which is one of the best-preserved Roman cities in the world. It seems logical to believe that, if the man had come from Gerasa, it would have been the one which was located closer to the sea.
[2] Sometimes, in the Bible, a person’s condition was attributed to possession by demons or by some sort of evil power. Demonic possession is real, and isn’t to be discounted. However, at other times, it’s possible that a person’s condition was due to mental illness.
[3] The Civil War ended about two months before General Gordon’s order. But apparently Texas, which was at the edge of the former Confederacy, had few Union troops, so the effects of the Emancipation Proclamation took awhile to become reality.
[4] Some observances date to the nineteenth century. Texas has observed it since 1938, while that state formally recognized Juneteenth as a state holiday in 1979. It became a national holiday in 2021.
[5] I think here of Mary’s Song, the Magnificat, which celebrates the role reversals inherent in Jesus’ message. See Luke 1:46 - 55.
