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The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, 06/19/2016
Sermon on Luke 8:26-39, by Evan S. McClanahan
Exorcisms are all the rage these days. Between the Roman Catholic Church training mass amounts of new exorcists to deal with record numbers of demonic possessions, to charismatics in South America making exorcisms as common as speaking in tongues, it seems everyone is worried about demons taking hold.
Almost exactly a year ago, an entire nation was exorcised. The right of El Exorcismo Magno was performed on Mexico last year by a Spanish exorcist and demonologist in an effort to end or reduce the stranglehold on that nation by the drug cartels. I certainly hope the effort worked, but I have to say, I’m doubtful. For it seems that we are looking for demons – and the ability to rid of them – in all the wrong places.
Now, I wish our struggle against sin, death and the devil were as easy as the exorcism rite. And I definitely wish that entire nations could be exorcised. How much better would our lives be! Because why stop at the borders of Mexico? There’s a lot of evil in all nations. Couldn’t they have included America in that rite? What about Canada? (Is there any sin in Canada that needs to be rid of?) If so, throw them in the mix or just cite North America instead of Mexico during the rite, and watch the demons scatter. For that matter, the next time there is a conclave of all the cardinals, if they could be so kind as to exorcise the whole world, that would be ideal.
If only. No, our adversaries will not be so easily scattered. Indeed, the one quick defeater of our enemy the devil is our own death. Because then, and not a moment before, the promise of the resurrection, won for us by Jesus Christ on the cross and from the grave, will be redeemed. So if you’re looking for a quick solution to defeating the devil, death is the only one I’m aware of, and only that because of the mercy of Jesus. But if you desire to stay alive, don’t expect a quick fix.
You see, I understand that it may be tempting to look at a text like ours today and want to duplicate the results. In dramatic fashion, Jesus exorcises a man possessed by a Legion of demons in Gerasenes, an act Jesus performed throughout his ministry, but usually not with this much fanfare. The apostles apparently have the same gift even after Jesus’ ascension into heaven, so perhaps this is one of those gifts that carries on.
But this is a classic example of a scriptural passage describing an event, not proscribing it for all time. While I do believe that demonic possession is a reality, albeit a very rare one, the usual course of this Christian life will not involve demonic possession and exorcism. And the church would do well to stop hoping for easy solutions to very difficult problems. For our sin – unless you start to speak in unknown languages, make your bed levitate, or vomit pea soup – is not the result of extraordinary possession, but all too common temptation, and a lack of love for your neighbor.
It should be obvious to us by now that we don’t need to be possessed to be in the throes of sin. That is to say, we can commit great acts of evil without superhuman abilities as evidence that we are possessed by a demon. We might even go so far as to be thankful when a demon does possess someone, for they are bothering to make their appearance known! How much worse is demonic influence that is hard to detect?
Last weekend, we saw the worst mass shooting in American history. And while the gunman was generally an unsavory character and was one of millions who have been influenced by radical Islam, he was not possessed. He was a man with a set of beliefs that is not rare enough, and he followed them through to their natural conclusion. Was he under the influence of demons? Yeah, I would say so. But he did not show signs of possession, and so there was nothing to exercise.
What exorcisms offer, it seems to me, is a false sense of security. They offer the feeling that we have evil under control. They help us believe that we will not be its victim because with only a word we can make it disappear. They’re kind of like the spiritual equivalent of court shows on TV. The People’s Court, and Judge Judy, Divorce Court, et al…they make us feel good because we get justice in 30 minutes. The judge is always decisive and has a good sense of humor to boot. We need shows like that precisely because our actual legal system is such a mess.
In this world, there is not 30-minute justice. There are not 30-minute solutions to evil. What hope have we then? Well, we have at least two avenues for hope. The first – and admittedly inferior – is the God-ordained state that protects us from evil. Paul writes in Romans 13:3-5: “For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.” So our first line of defense against those who would commit evil against us is not an exorcism, but the state. When the state commits evil…well, that’s a bit more complicated question isn’t it? Well-regulated militias, anyone?
Of course, this only, at best, prevents evil or serves as a deterrent to future evil. What is needed most of all are changed hearts and minds. What we need is a world of people who, one by one, are called to sit at the feet of Jesus, to serve God with their whole hearts, and to love their neighbor. What we need is a world of people who adore Jesus as their savior, and imitate him in praying for their enemies instead of murdering them. What we need is a theocracy. Oh, don’t lose your minds. Not a top-down theocracy. But a bottom-up theocracy, where the people of God willfully live by and obey God’s laws, and thus treat one another accordingly.
But since we don’t control the whole world, why don’t we reflect Christ wherever it is that we find ourselves? Among your colleagues and neighbors, your spouses and children, your parents and fellow disciples…reflect the mercy of Jesus and the good news of his Gospel. Demonstrate a life of peace and joy. Offer the person more interested in pursuing evil a different way to live. Help his heart to be broken for the Lord. Perhaps we will not end all mass shootings or other acts of murder. But for every person who becomes a follower of Jesus, not only do the angels sing, but the evil that surrounds us is dispersed as well.
So yes, evil surrounds us and it is real. But demons rarely possess people, and there is certainly no way to exorcise an entire nation. Rather, we proclaim that the most significant exorcism ever performed was when Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. For it was then that Jesus’ full authority over demons was realized. This young man in Geresenes was only the beginning. When the tomb could not contain Jesus Christ, demons had no chance with us either. Amen.