Service on the Sea of Galilee

Service on Sea of Galilee

Scripture Reading: Mark 5:1-20

They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. Constantly…night and day..he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones. Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; and shouting with a loud voice, he said, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he said to Him, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” And he began to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now…there was a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the mountain. The demons implored Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.” Jesus gave them permission. And coming out…the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea. Their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the country. And the people came to see what it was that had happened. They came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down…clothed…and in his right mind, the very man who had had the “legion”; and they became frightened. Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. And they began to implore Him to leave their region. As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was imploring Him that he might accompany Him. And He did not let him, but He said to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.

Homily:

This miracle…performed by Jesus…happened on what was known as the far side of the sea. What is now known as the Golan Heights…just over there. At the time of Jesus…it was a completely pagan, gentile area known as the Decapolis….a loose confederation of 10 cities on the Eastern frontier of the Roman Empire. Because this area was thoroughly Hellenized, Jews would never have a reason to visit. And yet…Jesus had urged His disciples to get in their fishing boats and said. “Let us go over to the other side.” In the dark…they made their way across this lake to the far side as Jesus slept. The Bible tells us that there “arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up”– they were taking on water – and without a Jesus sized miracle…they would drown.  They awoke Jesus, and with one mighty command, He rebuked the winds and calmed the sea.

At this point, He chastises his disciples using a word that essentially called them cowards. You see, they were on a Jesus mission and nothing could deter them. There was a man on the other side who had a divine appointment with the Son of God. Jesus never missed an opportunity to demonstrate Kingdom thinking to his disciples. They needed to know that He had the power to calm raging storms, and very soon they would meet a man who was controlled by a six thousand demons and they needed faith to understand that Jesus had power over that as well.

As Jesus steps out of the boat on that far side, He is met by a man possessed by many demons, he has terrorized the community, an angry, wild, naked man, cutting himself with stones. So fierce that nobody could walk by the area without fear of being attacked. The people of the village drove him out of their town. The tried with no success to tie him down with chains and he lived among the graves of the dead. This community had responded to this problem among them in every way they could think of but in the end..they were ineffective in reaching him. The Bible tells us the he “cried out night and day”…terrifying to the locals, but those cries also reached the heart of God. When that demon possessed man… staggered out from among the graves, Jesus saw beyond the problem that the community couldn’t effectively deal with. He saw beyond the fear and rejection and saw a soul longing for help. Immediately the possessed man understands that there is no question of who is in control. Jesus clearly has the power and control just as he did in the midst of the storm. The 6000 demons know in an instant that they don’t stand a chance in this showdown. The contrast is remarkable when you consider that even Jesus’s closest disciples can’t seem to fully understand who exactly Jesus is and the extent of His infinite power. But the demons knew exactly who He was. They said. “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” When it becomes clear that Jesus will expel the demons from this poor unfortunate man, they negotiate with Jesus, asking Him to send them into a nearby herd of 2000 pigs. Jesus permits this but then causes the herd to rush down into the Sea of Galilee and drown.

Isn’t it interesting that the response from the community isn’t gratefulness for the miracle of the healed man. Nor is their response clearly anger over the loss of the valuable herd of pigs. I think this is because…at its essence…this is not a story of pigs and villagers…but instead its a story about the Kingdom of God. And one thing we can gather from scripture about the Kingdom of God is that it is an upside down….radical…other than what we know…kind of Kingdom. The Kingdom of God refuses to play by our rules. In this story the storms needed to be dealt with. In this story the darkness needed to be dealt with. In the boat that night Jesus called his disciples cowards for failing to recognize His Kingdom. On the far side… the villagers had also failed to recognize His Kingdom. They had found a way to marginalize a man…Out of sight out of mind. They had separated themselves from the darkness. But…when the Kingdom showed up it showed up despite the way humanity had chosen to deal with the darkness. The chosen method of humanity to deal with the dark…and the difficult…was separation. The way the Kingdom of God deals with darkness is to take away control away from humanity. The Kingdom comes with power to do all things. The Kingdom demonstrates the power to do things that we cannot do on our own. In many cases in scripture and indeed in our lives…God’s Kingdom best takes root in those that are separated…marginalized…those labeled insignificant. This is in opposition to the worlds kingdoms that prioritize power and influence.

This story also answers for us a question that was left unanswered in the chapter just before. Do you remember the parable of the 4 kinds of seeds planted? You will recall that 4 seeds are planted and when the disciples ask for an explanation of the parable Jesus tells them that the Farmer is God and the Seeds are the Word of God. In our story from the far side of the lake we find an example of a well planted seed. Let’s read that story and see how our man from the far side answers the question of the good seed.        

“Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But…since they have no root…they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others…like seed sown among thorns…hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others…like seed sown on good soil…hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”

At the far side of the lake, Jesus healed a man and the seed clearly has taken root in the least significant and least likely place imaginable. His change comes about through no human initiative whatsoever. In our story of the demonic possessed man, we meet an example of the good soil. And…this is not a temporary blooming, later to wither away. The man earnestly asks Jesus if he might go with him, follow him. The phrase that he uses to ask Jesus this question is the same phrase Jesus used to call His disciples in chapter one. But...unlike the disciples, who needed a lot of direction, correction, and attention from Jesus, the fertile soil of this redeemed man needs no help whatsoever. Instead…Jesus sends him immediately on a Kingdom mission, which is wildly successful. The Bible tells us that everyone was amazed. When Jesus later returned to that far side he was greeted with people of faith coming from every village.

The Kingdom of God certainly works through flawed and imperfect people and institutions and that’s certainly good news for us… But the Kingdom of God also works at times despite flawed individuals and institutions. Sometimes we set up roadblocks which the Kingdom simply ignores. Sometimes like the demon possessed man, the thing we fear is transformed and brought right into our midst. And it produces a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.” Amen