Daily Devotional • October 14
A Reading from Luke 8:26-39
26 Then they arrived at the region of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 As he stepped out on shore, a man from the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had not worn any clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him, shouting, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me,” 29 for 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.) 30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31 They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.
32 Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding, and the demonsbegged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd stampeded down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
34 When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then 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 became frightened. 36 Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed.37 Then the whole throng of people of the surrounding region of the Gerasenesasked Jesus to leave them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone out 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.
Meditation
Was the first missionary to the Gentiles a tormented cave dweller called “Legion.”?
Three gospels tell how Jesus crossed the lake of Galilee to one of the 10 Greco-Roman city-states (probably near the Umm Qais ruins in the region of Jerash) and met a maniac blocking his path. The man’s hair and beard must have been matted; he was naked, filthy and scarred from cutting himself. Recognizing demonic infestation, Jesus commanded the evil spirits to leave. Their resistance was so excruciating that Legion begged “Jesus, Son of the Most High God” not to torture him.
This confrontation is dramatic and mysterious. Why did the demons dread “the abyss”? Why did Jesus allow them to infest a huge herd of pigs? Why would pigs stampede into a lake?
News of the suicidal herd brought a crowd to the lakeside, where they were astonished to find “Legion” clothed and sane. Perhaps the disciples had helped him wash in the lake and found a spare tunic for him. Instead of raving, he was sitting at Jesus’ feet.
Whether the townspeople were most alarmed by the amount of pork on the hoof that had drowned, or the transformation of a lunatic they had never been able to control, they feared the divine power in their midst. What would Jesus do next? “Please leave us alone,” they begged.
Are we also unnerved when the power of God manifests in our midst? It could be a remarkable healing, a conversion, or efforts to care for the needy that interrupt business as usual. When the Holy Spirit shows up, may we say, “Jesus, help us spread the news,” not “Let’s get back to normal”!
Instead of taking Legion with him, Jesus sent him on a mission to his own people. Legion “proclaimed throughout” the region how Jesus, Son of the Most High God, had freed him from evil and made him whole.
Dr. Grace Sears is past vice president of the board of the Living Church Foundation and past president of the Order of the Daughters of the King, as well as former editor of its magazine, The Royal Cross.
♱
Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
The Episcopal Church of St. Alban the Martyr, St. Albans, New York
The Diocese of Kajiado – The Anglican Church of Kenya