God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon is
entitled Declare How Much God Has Done
for You, and my focus is our Gospel (Lk 8:26-39). … Let us pray. Heavenly
Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced
when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we
rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds
and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most
Holy Trinity. Amen.
In less than two weeks, we will celebrate Independence Day,
a federal holiday commemorating Continental Congress’ adoption of the
Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. We declared that the thirteen
American colonies regarded themselves as a new nation, the United States of
America, and no longer part of the British Empire.
While we associate Independence Day with fireworks, family
reunions, parades, picnics and political speeches, we also celebrate our
nation’s history, government and traditions. All of this occurs annually
because of the Declaration of Independence.
A declaration is a public statement. When I declare
something, I say it in an official or public way, a strong and confident
manner, or I simply tell the government how much money I earned to pay taxes.
Directly from the Latin words de and clarare, it means
to make clear, reveal, disclose, announce. People declare their candidacy for
President of the United States and many others declare their support for a
candidate. Judges declare sentence on the accused. Champions declare victory,
and individuals declare bankruptcy.
In our Gospel today, Jesus ordered the man to declare how
much God has done for you.[1]
Before we declare how much God has done for us, my third point, I examine our
passage and what it meant to the Church. In short, Passage, People of the Way
and People Today.
First, Passage. The account is an exorcism and follows the
usual pattern for an exorcism.[2]
Demons inhabited deserts, large bodies of water, the air and subterranean
regions. They caused blindness, muteness, all kinds of physical problems and
mental disorders. Demon possession was physical or mental possession, not
moral. Luke wrote that seven demons went out of Mary Magdalene. We assume she
was immoral. She was not. All Scripture passages portray her as serving the
Lord.
In today’s passage, so many demons possessed the man that it
was named legion. He was naked and lived among the tombs, frightening local citizens
with his bizarre behavior, but there is no mention of their influence over his
moral life.
Since demons were from the supernatural world, they
recognized Jesus as a person of God and an opponent of all forces that hurt,
cripple, oppress or alienate human life. In his inaugural address, Jesus
announced his intention to relieve, release, heal and restore life. We read in
chapter 4, “The Spirit of the Lord is
upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has
sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed.”[3]
All persons or powers to the contrary must view him as an enemy.
Jesus was not the only exorcist working the land. In chapter
9, when John the Apostle reported, “‘Master,
we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him,
because he does not follow with us,’ Jesus said, ‘Do not stop him, for the one
who is not against you is for you.’”[4]
When some challenged his authority to exorcize demons, Jesus responded, “If I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom
do your sons cast them out?”[5]
We also read about Jewish exorcists in Acts.[6]
The demons recognized Jesus and his power. He could send
them to the abyss or netherworld, that is, Satan’s prison.[7]
They knew the abyss was their prison and that it was not beyond the power of
Christ. So, they begged to be sent into unclean animals to escape their fate.
Mercifully, Jesus allowed their request. He did not take
pleasure in anyone’s death or in torturing demons for “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in
order that the world might be saved through him. … But whoever does not believe
is condemned.”[8]
The unclean spirits entered the unclean animals that plunged
into the abyss and were banished. We hear nothing more of them. Instead, Luke
reports that the people of that village found the man sitting at the feet of
Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. Afraid, they asked Jesus to depart.
At this point, you might be wondering why the villagers
asked Jesus to leave. Luke’s second book, Acts, helps answer our question. In
chapter 16, we read that as Paul and Silas were in Philippi, they “met a demon-possessed slave girl. She was a
fortune-teller who earned a lot of money for her masters.
She followed Paul and the rest of
us, shouting, ‘These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come
to tell you how to be saved.’ This went on day after day until Paul got so
exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, ‘I command you in
the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’ And instantly it left her. Her
masters’ hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and
dragged them before the authorities at the marketplace. ‘The whole city is in
an uproar because of these Jews!’ they shouted to the city officials. ‘They are
teaching customs that are illegal for us Romans to practice.’ A mob quickly
formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and
beaten with wooden rods. … and then they were thrown into prison.” After the earthquake opened the
prison doors, the city officials begged Paul and Silas to leave their city.[9]
Philippi’s city officials and Gerasene’s villagers asked the
Apostles and Jesus to leave out of economic loss and fear. They learned to live
with the evil spirits but were afraid of an unknown power greater than evil
spirits.
The Gerasene villagers knew where evil resided and spent
considerable time and expense guarding and containing it. They tolerated and
managed evil, but the power of God disturbed the way of life they had come to
accept. People fear change, and in order to accept the changes God brings, we
must ask the Holy Spirit to help us see that a particular change might be God’s
good and gracious will.
Let me leave my first point, and segue into my second, People of the Way. People of the Way described the first followers of Jesus. They were
named Christian when Barnabas brought Saul to Antioch. We read, “For a whole year they met with the church
and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called
Christians.”[10]
What did the first Christians take from this brilliantly
told passage? Irony. Given Christianity’s origins in the Jewish world, Luke’s
Gentile readers were keenly sensitive to Jesus sending unclean spirits into
unclean animals. They enjoyed the fact that the demons unwittingly invited
their own banishment into the abyss.[11]
While that generated fear among the Gerasene villagers, the
first Christians also took courage from this passage. It gave them courage to
overcome any fear about proclaiming the Gospel and declaring how much God did
for them. Because Jesus, a Jew, was not afraid to cross into Gentile territory,
they too – baptized in His Name – could cross cultural, societal, racial and
economic boundaries to proclaim the Gospel.
Jesus, anointed with the Holy Spirit, faced demons and
enemies who opposed Him and His work – proclaiming good news to the poor,
liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and freedom to the
oppressed. People of the Way also faced demons and enemies who opposed them and
their work. They endured imprisonment, beatings, stonings, mockings and death.
They endured this from people who feared the power of the Gospel.[12]
The People of the Way learned a lesson in courage by proclaiming what God did
for them.
Finally, People Today. We are People of the Way today. The
word synod means walking together. Soon, a new man will start walking with you,
and there is a feeling of excitement in the congregation about his arrival. So,
let me close on this point by asking a question: What has God done for you
personally?
That is too difficult for me to answer, but I have seen what
God has done for us as a congregation. When I arrived for the first Divine
Worship Service at the end of April 2020, only a handful of us were present for
an online Service. At the end of May, we gathered on Pentecost for in-person
Worship. There were about 15 people wearing masks. It stayed that way for a while
and then grew to about 25 people. There was talk about closing because of past
mistakes and a shortage of funds.
There were some highpoints such as the confirmation of seven
teenage girls and moving the Christmas Vigil to 4:00 PM which resulted in 90+
people worshipping with us. After we moved into this building, I started some
new ministries: Ushers and Greeters, scheduled readers and regular acolytes. We
now have an active Women’s Group and a Men’s Bible Study. But the greatest
thing that God has done while I have been your Pastor is to increase membership,
including people who had left prior to my arrival. Weekly attendance doubled
since 2019 and 2020, from 30 to 60. I have been your Pastor, but the Holy
Spirit works through me because I ask God to do that. It is God’s good and
gracious will that He has been able to accomplish much here through me, through
us.
Eventually, as I started serving as Pastor of St. John’s, I
approached the District President about calling a younger man to serve two
congregations. I was directly involved in the call process because I really wanted
this to succeed sooner than later. More than wanting to retire, I wanted a
young, energetic man serving both congregations successfully. And he will do
that if you support him. Pray for him daily and tell him how God has worked in
our congregation over the past five years. Tell him how you are going to help
him double the current size of this congregation. Tell him how we, as a
congregation, will financially support the parish, and Lutheran ministries and
missionaries. If Lutherans do not support Lutheran ministries and missionaries,
who will?
Regarding how you should respond to what God has done for
you personally, there are opportunities for each of us to proclaim that. And
with that, I would like to say this. The older I get, the more I realize how
God provides for me and blesses me. Even on my worst days, God fills my heart
with joy because of what He does for me. At times, I wonder how to thank God
properly for what He has done and does for me. And our God, who simplifies
everything, even provides my response.
The Psalmist wrote, “I
love the Lord for he has heard the cry of my appeal; for he turned his ear to
me in the day when I called him.” He continued. “How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me? The cup of salvation I
will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.”[13]
Sound familiar? It is our traditional offertory.[14]
Friends, during the Lord’s Supper, we raise the cup of
salvation and call on the Lord’s name. That is why Christians have always
called the Lord’s Supper, Eucharist. Eucharist is simply a Greek word that
means thanksgiving.
Our post-communion prayer reads, “We give thanks to You,
almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we
implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in
faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another.”[15]
Friends, God simplified life and worship. We need not revise
praise and thanksgiving. Praise and thanksgiving occur every time we worship. Each
Sunday when you worship, you declare how much God has done for you. Do
that and may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
[1]
Luke 8:39
[2]
Fred Craddock, Luke (Louisville:
Westminster John Knox Press, 2009), 65f.
[3]
Luke 4:17-18.
[4]
Luke 9:49-50.
[5]
Luke 11:19.
[6]
Acts 19:13-17.
[7]
Philippians. 2:9-11; Romans 10:7; 1 Peter 3:19; Revelation 20:3.
[8]
Ezekiel 18:32; John 3:17-18.
[9]
Acts 16:16-23, 38-39. New Living Translation.
[10]
Acts 11:25-26.
[11]
Eugene LaVerdiere, Luke (Wilmington,
DE: Michael Glazier, Inc., 1986), 119f.
[12] Read
Acts and 2 Corinthians 11.
[13]
Psalm 116:1-2, 13-14.
[14]
Lutheran Service Book (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2006), 159.
[15]
LSB, 166.
