Christ Episcopal Church
June 23, 2013
7 Proper C
A couple of weeks ago, I was the chaplain at Procter Camp for 4th and 5th grader camp. The week was full of songs, games, new friends, swimming, and other activities, but for the adult staff, the most memorable part of the week was none of the above. The most memorable part of the week was the storm that did not happen. Sure, we had a great thunderstorm in the middle of the night, but the predicted storm, the derecho, the storm predicted to spawn tornados and knock out power to a large part of the mid-west did not happen, at least not in the cornfields south of London, Ohio. All day on Wednesday, we watched the radar and read the weather reports and made our plan to keep our 45 young campers safe. We had a plan for what to do if the storm blew in quickly, as such a storm does, and the children were out playing. We had a plan for what to do if the storm hit in the middle of the night. We had a plan for activities to help keep the children distracted if we had to ride out the storm in a small enclosed space. Keeping the children safe was our number one concern and when we went to bed that night we all fully expected to see each other again before daylight when the storm hit. None of us slept particularly well, waiting for our cell phones to ring, and we were all thrilled the next morning when nothing other than a good thunderstorm had passed by.
The readings from I Kings and Luke don’t seem at first glance to have much to do with safety. The story of the Gerasene demoniac has something to offend just about anyone, but does not seem to be about safety. For those who prefer that the gospel not sound like a scene straight from The Exorcist, or Stigmata, this is a difficult reading. In as much as this reading appears to equate mental illness with demon possession, we are likewise offended. For those who work to protect the rights of animals, the thought that Jesus would cast a legion of demons into a herd of pigs is offensive. For those who are concerned about the livelihood of workers, with the loss of the pigs, Jesus has put an end to the income of the swineherders. All the way around, this is a difficult story.
The most curious part of the story, however, comes at the very end and has little to do with demon possession. If we put aside for a moment our reservations about demon possession, our concern for animals, or the known causes of mental illness, what we hear is a story about a man who is healed of a terrible affliction, an affliction that causes him to be completely cut-off from his community, his family, and even himself. We see the man who once could not be contained with chains and shackles, sitting calmly at Jesus’ feet. We see the man who had for a long time worn no clothes, now fully clothed and his dignity restored. We see a man who was once tormented beyond comprehension now thinking clearly. And we hear the man who was healed ask, even beg, to follow the one who has given him this great gift. And the logical answer to this understandable request is "yes." But Jesus says "No." "No, return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you." When the demons beg Jesus to let them enter the herd of swine rather than be ordered back into the abyss, Jesus says "yes." When the people in the surrounding country were seized with great fear and ask Jesus to leave, Jesus says "yes." When the healed man begs to follow Jesus, Jesus says "no." How does Jesus expect to get more followers if he won’t let people follow him?
I think the healed man wants to follow Jesus because following Jesus is safer than returning home. No doubt his wife had left him, and his children wanted nothing to do with him. We are told that the people were seized with great fear and there is no telling what they were saying about him. The owners of the pigs could not possibly be happy with him as they had just lost their livelihood on his behalf. The reality is that there is no happy homecoming in store for this man. The safe option is to leave his country and follow Jesus.
Elijah is also looking for the safe option this morning. Unlike the man in the gospel story, Elijah’s life has been going pretty well until recently. God had sustained Elijah through a drought, used Elijah as a vessel through which God raised a widow’s son from the dead, and led Elijah to victory in a battle with 850 priests of Baal and Asherah. Elijah’s resume is looking pretty good at the moment. This morning we hear Jezebel pledge to her husband, King Ahab, that Elijah will be dead in 24 hours, so Elijah flees for his life, first into the wilderness, then to a cave on Mount Horeb, where Moses had long ago spoken with God. When God says "What are you doing here, Elijah?," God is not asking a polite question about Elijah’s travel plans. God’s question is more like catching your child at the mall when he is supposed to be at school. Full of self-righteousness and more than a little self-pity, Elijah tells God that he is the only faithful Israelite left and that his life is in danger. God tells Elijah to go stand on the mountain, but Elijah cowers in the cave during a great wind, an earthquake, and a fire . Finally, the sound of sheer silence draws Elijah out of the cave. We are not told what Elijah was expecting God to say, but God asks Elijah again, in the same tone of voice, "What are you doing here?" And again, Elijah tells God that he is the only faithful Israelite left, and they are seeking his life, to take it away. If Elijah is expecting any sympathy from God, he is sorely disappointed, for God says "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus." Elijah is not being sent back to the country from which he came, but he is being sent on, away from the safety of the mountain, to continue the work God has given him to do.
Keeping children safe from a storm is one thing. Trying to protect ourselves from God’s call on our lives while maintaining the appearance of faithfulness is an entirely different matter. Both Elijah and the once-possessed man seek the safe route. Both of the safe routes appear to be faithful options. Elijah goes to the holy mountain on which Moses spoke with God. That is certainly a faithful place to be. The healed man wants to follow Jesus. That, too sounds like a quite faithful option. But in both cases, the answer was no, and both men were sent off to bear witness to God’s work in the world.
The safe option often has the appearance of being the faithful option. Left to my own devices, I will take the safe option every time, especially if that option has the appearance of being faithful. But Jesus does not call us to follow him because he wants to ensure our safety. In another place in Luke’s gospel, Jesus says "For those who want to save their life will lose it and those who lose their life for my sake will save it." The faithful choice, for Elijah, the man once possessed by demons, and for us, is to take a risk and make a difference for the Kingdom of God.
Amen.
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