Sermon for Proper 7 Yr. C: Facing the Legion

Proper 7 Yr. C: Facing the Legion

Isaiah 65:1-9; Galatians 3:23-29; Luke 8:26-39

The Reverend Paul D. Allick, Church of the Advent, June 22, 2025

Today’s Gospel reminded me of some of the language we

use in our Baptismal Rite.

The candidate promises to renounce Satan, all the spiritual

forces of wickedness that rebel against God, and all the evil

powers of this world that corrupt and destroy the creatures of

God.

I wonder how this language sounds to the modern ear. Even

to the modern Mainline Christian ear.

Surely we no longer believe in the devil and demons. Stories

of possession in the Gospels are really about some

explainable medical illness, aren’t they?

While some of that may be true, it certainly does not mean

that evil personified no longer exists. As if somehow our

increased scientific knowledge banished Satan and his

minions from the world.

The old saying is, “the best trick Satan ever played on the

world was convincing us that he does not exist.”

In today’s Gospel Jesus and his disciples enter the country

of the Gerasenes which is opposite of Galilee. The

Gerasenes are not only geographically opposite, but they

are also religiously, ethnically, and culturally opposite. This is

gentile territory thus the presence of the swine.

I can imagine how agitated this is making the disciples. Think

of the places and people you most reject. Think of your

Savior leading you there to minister. And then you encounter

demons.

The possessed man immediately recognizes the Son of the

Most High God. And even though his life is completely out of

his control, those tortuous forces within him cause him to ask

Jesus to let him be.

Jesus asks his name. It is Legion. The forces upon him are

myriad. These forces stealing his life from him are likely

psychological, maybe somewhat physical. And I have no

doubt they are supernatural. It all twists together.

Once he is healed, the man wants to stay with Jesus. But

Jesus sends him out as the first missionary to the Gentiles.

He is sent back to his community to tell them about the work

of God revealed in this teacher from Nazareth. He will not

only tell them, but he will also show them as they look at this

man who was once chained up now in his right mind.

We come to Christ to escape our legion. How many negative

forces of mind, body, and spirit, pull us away from our

Creator? Cause friction in our relationships?

This is why an exorcism of sorts happens at our baptism. We

are renouncing our rebellion, corruption, and destructive

attitudes which draw us from the love of God and from loving

others.

We humans always seem to need rebel in some way, to

corrupt the meaning of life to our own ends, and to operate

with an attitude of domination. The cultural sea in which we

swim tempts us toward self-regard and away from the

challenges of living in community.

Parish priest and Professor Chuck Alley in commentary on

this Gospel wrote,

“In the economy of evil, the commodity with the highest

value is the self. When that is the case, everyone else simply

becomes a tool of the almighty self. Relationships become

diminished to the level of the interaction between a plumber

and his wrench. We may be deceived into thinking that we

are autonomous, but our interactions affect all those around

us. Ultimately there are no private sins.”

In today’s first lesson, Isaiah is preaching to a people that

have just returned from exile. God delivered them from their

troubles and settled them in a new home. And the first thing

they do is rebel. They abandon their Covent with the God

who has rescued them time after time and go after other

gods. Other gods like the Golden Calf, which they hope will

be more easily manipulated.

They acquire rituals and potions to cure their problems. They

walk away from God and say, “I do not need any covenant

relationships. All I need is to explore my own personal

spirituality. I will make myself holy.”

And in no time, the community is full of conflict and idolatry.

Each person selecting what they believe and walking away

from the hard self-sacrificing work of being in community.

At her best, the Church is here to help us escape our legion.

To help us be in our right mind. She does this by inviting us

into a Covenant Relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Secondly, she calls us into the community of the faithful so

that we can work out our salvation with other believers.

And there is only one sufficient way to live out the promises

we make in our Baptismal Covenant. Only one way: we do it

with God’s help. It is by Grace that we are saved and it is by

Grace that we are able to respond to God’s call.

And each time Jesus casts our legion, we will want to stay

right next to him. And he will say, no, go out and tell others.

Go into the world in peace to love and serve God with

gladness and singleness of heart.