Musings on a Man
Last Sunday we looked at the Luke chapter eight. It is an intimidating story about Jesus’ encounter with a demon possessed man. I will admit, it is a story that creeps me out. Yet, it also brings me much comfort. It is scary to think there is such a malevolent force that is out there. There is comfort in knowing that it is forced to submit to the authority of a God that calls me His child. What has really caught me off guard when I read the account this time is not the demon’s response or Jesus’ response, It is the response of the people.
They were afraid of him before. That is understandable. He was naked, screaming, bound in broken chains, slept among the dead, mad and unclean. But afterwards the fear didn’t dissipate. In fact, the fear spread. Look at verses 35, 36 and 37 (ESV):
and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear.
He lived among the dead, now he sits at the feet of the living
He was mad, but now he is at peace.
He was bound, now he is free.
But the one that get’s me is that he was naked, and now he is clothed. Where do you think the clothes came from? God once again using his disciples, his people to provide for that which he loves.
God restores, his people care for that which he restores.
But what were they afraid of? Why wee they intimidated by the clothed, calm, man?
Because change on that level in intimidating. That level of change is terrifying. What is greater than darkness? What is more powerful than death? What has the power to calm the storm and drive the evil away?
Can it really be for me? Can it really seek me?
Can it love me?
Can it cloth me?
Better to push it off and face the evil I know than take a chance of the rejection from that which I don’t know. It sounds crazy, but it is a choice that many make every day.
So what does that mean for us? First understand that Jesus comes to you, and He loves you too much to leave you the way you are. That can be intimidating. Then I also want to remind you that God has surrounded you with a church, people who will do more than just give you a change of clothes. They will remind you that you are loved. You are called by name, you are trained, you are equipped, and you are sent. Clothed in the robes of Christ to a world that thinks this can’t be true. That darkness is all there is.
That is why we gather. Not in fear, but in worship
Our sin exposed and pardoned
The Joy of the Lord on our lips
-See you Sunday my friends,
-Pastor Dan