A Homily Delivered 10/22/23
In Today’s Gospel we have a man, a strong man by all accounts, who has found himself possessed by demons. He is naked, violent, living in the tombs outside of town. His life is totally out of control.
The saints point out that his existence is very similar to the pigs who show up later in the story. Pigs look for muddy spots, and when they find them they play in them, they bathe in them, they live in the filth. And as they do, the pigs expand the filthy area. The area grows and grows, as the pigs wallow in the mire they’ve created. Soon there is mud everywhere.
This is what happens when we choose the path of sin when we are tempted. In each moment we have a choice: Will we choose a heavenly path of love serving others, or will we choose our own way. Are we here to do God’s will in the world which will result in peace and heavenly community on earth? or will we try to achieve our own desires, our own goals, our own hopes and dreams, and bring with us the conflict and violence that it takes to force things to go our way?
The demon possessed man in today’s story no doubt started out merely wanting the good things the world had to offer. But, as he chose to walk his own way, he sunk deeper into the mire, and his life slowly became consumed by the mire. Perhaps he used his strength to bully people to get what he wanted, but what began with mild pressure and manipulation to get what he wanted soon became out of control anger. He finds himself enraged at everything. Unable to control himself. Full of demons.
When we choose to sin we often think it is a minor thing, but many of us know from experience that one free choice to sin can often lead to a cascade of consequences we are not free to avoid. Sin doubles and triples itself as we seek to keep on that path.
Often sin will lure us in by making us feel like it was successful for us, that we managed it, only to grip us even tighter later.
Possession is a real thing. And it doesn’t always look like the movies. It can look like that, I'd guess. But most often it looks like alcoholism, it looks like addiction. It looks like uncontrollable rage, deep depression, or the tight heart of an Ebenezer Scrooge.
This is why in the Gospel today our Lord casts the demons into the pigs. It isn’t because he hates pigs, but because he uses the pigs to teach us a spiritual lesson. Sin isn’t fun. And it isn't our friend. Sin drains the battery of our soul and leaves us powerless against evil and temptation.
In the Gospel we see the pigs run off a steep cliff to their death. Showing us that sin wants us broken, disfigured, and dead.
Our Lord doesn't hate sin in our life because he's picky, or God forbid we think he is just self-righteous and judgmental. God hates sin because it darkens our light, it causes our anxiety, depression, fear, unsteadiness in our decisions, and eventually takes everything from our hands leaving us with nothing and no one.
Christ came to give life, abundant life. He wants us free. He wants us to be the fullness of who we made us to be. He wants us free, in our right mind, among friends and family, healed, redeemed, made whole, a son of God like Himself. Christ wants us to go and tell our neighbors, “all the good that God has done for us.”
But, to do this, we need to let go of our pigs. We need to let go of our belief that if we put enough coins in the slot, this world is going to pay out. We need to turn from the mire, turn from seeking the alluring pleasures this world offers, and turn toward true joy which is Christ and His Kingdom.
The Church is the place where this is worked out. This is the place for fellowship, a place where past mistakes are forgiven. A place to be with Christ, to serve the people around us, and spend time with those who need a little friendship.
This is a house of prayer, fellowship, forgiveness, and you and I have been invited to be members of it, and practitioners. We forgive. We share stories of joy instead of gossip. We spread the table of our Church with food to share, rather than spreading and sharing stories of people's failures and mistakes. We can make life at St. Elias heaven on earth!
Dear ones, St Elias Church possesses the very power of Christ Himself. We can do all things through Christ who stengthens us. Jesus Christ wants to drive the demons out of this world, out of Toledo, out of each of our lives but...
It’ll cost us our pigs, our sins, our opinions, our passions. Christ is offering today to heal us, to set us free to be healers and comforters of those who are hurting. The glory days of St Elias parish are still to come if we will come and receive his healing today in Holy Communion. All it’ll cost us is our pigs.