Reflections for Youth - Jesus, and Demons, and Pigs! Oh my!

What's in a name? Our identity - what people call us and how we are known -  is important to us.  Having our preferred pronoun used is important.  And it doesn't feel good when someone gets it wrong. We all have that relative that can't ever call us by the right name - right?  And we all know how welcoming it  feels to have others remember our names. This is what I am thinking about when I read this passage from Luke. 

Ready for another weird and crazy story from the Bible? This one includes demons - lots of them. And pigs. Yes, I said pigs.  It's like something that would make a creepy action/horror movie.  This story about Jesus driving out the demons from a seemingly unstable individual  is actually subtitled "The Madman and the Pigs" in The Message version of the scripture. (It's subtitled "Jesus Heals the Gerasene Demoniac" in the NRSV Bible.) 

You can read the NRSV translation of Luke's Gospel story here:
Luke 8: 26-39

Here we go! 

So Jesus and his gang had sailed on to the country of the Geransenes, which the passage says is on the other side of the water from Galilee.  Jesus steps out of the boat and is greeted by what Luke describes as a "madman" who had come from the town.  I am sure even Jesus was taken a little by surprise by this guy who shows up. He is described as having demons, naked, and lived in a cemetery.  He's shouting at Jesus.  This is a guy that was so troubled that he was kept under guard and bound in chains.  The scripture says that he would escape these bonds and was driven by the demons into the wild. So, there's a lot going on there. 

Jesus asks, "What is your name?" 

The man replies "Legion" for the many demons that had entered him.  They (and by "they" I think the scripture means these demons) beg Jesus not so send them back into the abyss. 

Ready for the pig part?   

So, on a nearby hillside is a herd of pigs and the demons beg Jesus to let them enter the pigs.  Jesus agrees and the scripture says the demons came out of the man, entered into the pigs - who immediately rushed down a steep bank and into the lake where they drowned.  Crazy right? Can you picture the CGI version of this scene?

The herders in charge of the pigs saw what happened and ran off to tell everyone what they had seen.  So of course, this weird and kinda unbelievable news draws people to come and see.  The scripture says when the lookie-loos arrive they find the now calm man sitting at the feet of Jesus "clothes and in his right mind."  The people were told about how Jesus had healed the man and they were afraid.  They ask Jesus to skedaddle. 

Jesus gets back in the boat to return to where he came from.  The healed man asks if he can come along and Jesus tells him to go home and tell how much God has done for him. The story end with the man proclaiming throughout the city about what had happened with Jesus. 

Whew. That was an interesting one.

This story also appears in the Gospel's of Matthew and Mark. And as crazy as this story is - Luke doesn't tell this one as lengthy and dramatically as it is told in the Gospel of Mark.  According to my Bible commentary, this is Luke's one story about Jesus ministering outside of Jewish territory.  

So what's the deal with the demons? Well, we don't know exactly. Some people believe that people from these times that were described as having demons were actually people who were suffering from seizures or mental illness.  If that's true of our "madman" in this story  his was an extreme case of something.   In this story - the demons are called by name. "Legions" which means a large number.  This may also be a political reference referring to the legions of soldiers of the Roman empire. 

So whatever the meaning, these demons know Jesus and Jesus calls them by name.  Here is this marginalized person who is living out in the wild and Jesus asks "What is your name?" Jesus wants to know him.  Jesus allows the man to name his problem - and Jesus is then able to help him. They come up with a plan together, carry it out, and then the man experiences healing. 

I am thinking about how this can be true for all of us. Once we are able to name our problems or whatever the situation it is easier for others to help us or for us to ask for help. 

 I am also thinking about how important names are in this story.  Isn't true that once we know a person's name we can connect on another level - see people in a different light. I am thinking about the folks that I see out on the street asking for help or money. These are people who have names. They have histories and families and life experiences.  What could our community be like if we all, like, Jesus, stopped to ask someone their name.