NAMING AS PREREQUISITE FOR HEALING
Mark 5:1-20
Rev. Paul Wrightman 6/9/24
THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL HEALING STORIES
THAT WE FIND IN THE GOSPELS,
WITH SOME SIGNIFICANT IMPLICATIONS FOR US
AND OUR OWN YEARNING FOR WHOLENESS.
BUT IT'S EASY TO GET SIDETRACKED
BY A COUPLE OF VERY UNFAMILIAR ELEMENTS IN THIS NARRATIVE.
FIRST, THERE'S THE WHOLE ISSUE OF DEMON-POSSESSION.
MANY OF OUR CONTEMPORARIES FLAT-OUT REJECT THE POSSIBILITY
THAT SOMEONE CAN BE "POSSESSED" BY EVIL.
RATHER THAN GETTING INTO A LENGTHY DEBATE
ABOUT THE EVIDENCE FOR AND AGAINST
THE REALITY OF THIS DIAGNOSIS,
LET'S SIMPLY PRESS "PAUSE" ON THE DIAGNOSTIC ASPECT
OF THIS PERSON'S ILLNESS AND FIND COMMON GROUND
IN THE FACT THAT WHATEVER THE CAUSE
OF HIS ALARMING BEHAVIOR -- BE IT MENTAL ILLNESS,
EPILEPSY, DEMON POSSESSION, OR SOMETHING ELSE --
I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE THAT WHATEVER THE CAUSE
OF HIS ILLNESS, THIS GUY IS DESPERATELY ILL.
SUFFICE IT TO SAY THAT IF THIS PERSON BELIEVED
THAT DEMON POSSESSION WAS THE CAUSE OF HIS TROUBLES,
THEN IT WAS DEMON POSSESSION THAT HAD TO BE DEALT WITH.
AS WITH ALL HIS HEALINGS,
JESUS DOES NOT GIVE A MEDICAL LECTURE TO SET THINGS STRAIGHT,
BUT SIMPLY MEETS THE SICK PERSON WHERE HE OR SHE IS AT,
AND HEALS.
SECOND, MANY OF US, INCLUDING MYSELF,
FIND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE HEARD OF PIGS SO OFF-PUTTING
THAT WE WANT TO REJECT THIS STORY AS A WHOLE.
ACTUALLY, WE HAVE GOOD GROUNDS IN REJECTING
THIS PART OF THE STORY.
MANY BIBLICAL SCHOLARS SEE THE PART ABOUT THE PIGS
AS EARLY CHRISTIAN POLITICAL PROPAGANDA AGAINST ROME.
THEY AFFIRM THAT THE HEALING PART OF THIS STORY
ACTUALLY HAPPENENED, BUT STRONGLY SUSPECT
THAT THE PART ABOUT THE PIGS WAS A FANCIFUL ADDITION.
THE WORD THE GUY USES WHEN JESUS ASKS HIM HIS NAME
WHICH EUGENE PETERSON RENDERS AS “MOB,”
IN TRADITIONAL TRANSLATIONS IS "LEGION," THE SAME WORD USED TO NAME
THE ROMAN MILITARY LEGIONS OF THE TIME.
THE GUY DESCRIBED IN OUR TEXT AS "DEMON-POSSESSED"
HAD, AT SOME EARLIER POINT IN HIS LIFE, PROBABLY SEEN
AN ACTUAL ROMAN LEGION LUMBER BY.
HE FELT THAT HE HAD AS MANY PROBLEMS OR "DEMONS"
INSIDE HIM AS A ROMAN LEGION,
AND ADOPTED THIS AS HIS ACTUAL NAME.
THE WRITER OF OUR SCRIPTURE TEXT FOR TODAY, MARK,
WAS PROBABLY DEEPLY FRUSTRATED AT JESUS' UNWAVERING
COMMITMENT TO NONVIOLENCE -- EVEN TOWARD THE ROMANS.
HE WANTED TO SEE THE ROMANS GET THEIR JUST DESSERTS.
SO ONE THEORY ABOUT THE PART OF THIS STORY ABOUT THE PIGS
IS THAT MARK USES THE GUY'S GIVING HIS NAME AS "LEGION"
TO DO SOME WISHFUL THINKING OF HIS OWN:
LET'S HAVE THE "LEGION" OF DEMONS LEAVE THE GUY
AND ENTER THE "LEGION" OF PIGS,
AND LET'S STAMPEDE THEM OVER THE CLIFF
TO MEET THEIR UTTER DESTRUCTION.
JUST ABOUT EVERYONE LIVING IN THE ROMAN POLICE-STATE
THAT WAS ISRAEL AT THE TIME,
WOULD HAVE BEEN DELIGHTED AT THE PIGS' DEMISE.
THE PIGS REPRESENTED THE POWER OF ROME,
AND THAT POWER WAS SYMBOLICALLY BROKEN.
I WOULD SUBMIT THAT THIS PART OF OUR STORY
WAS NEVER INTENDED TO BE TAKEN LITERALLY,
BUT SERVES VERY MUCH AS A POLITICAL CARTOON OF THAT TIME.
SO…LET'S NOT GET HUNG UP ON THE INS AND OUTS
OF DEMON POSSESSION OR THE VERY DISTURBING SCENE
OF THE PIGS SELF-DESTRUCTING.
THE "DEMON-POSSESSION" WAS PROBABLY A FORM
OF SEVERE MENTAL ILLNESS,
AND THE PLUNGING PIGS POLITICAL PROPAGANDA AIMED AT ROME.
(PAUSE)
IMAGINE A VETERAN KINDERGARTEN TEACHER
DURING HER MORNING ROUTINE.
FIRST SHE GREETS EACH CHILD BY THEIR FIRST NAME AT THE DOOR.
AFTER THE STUDENTS HAVE STASHED THEIR BELONGINGS,
SHE TAKES A VERBAL ROLL CALL.
SHE CALLS EACH STUDENT BY HIS OR HER FULL NAME --
FIRST, MIDDLE, LAST -- THEIR SERIOUS ADULT NAMES
THAT THEIR 5-YEAR-OLD BODIES HAVE YET TO GROW INTO.
AND EACH CHILD, APPARENTLY ACCUSTOMED TO THIS ROUTINE,
ANSWERS HER WITH A DECISIVE "PRESENT."
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR SOMEONE TO CALL US
BY OUR FULL NAME?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR SOMEONE TO KNOW OUR NAME
AND TO CARE THAT WE ARE PRESENT WHEN OUR NAME IS CALLED?
OUR SCRIPTURE TEXT FOR THIS MORNING
IS ULTIMATELY A STORY ABOUT THE POWER OF NAMING NAMES.
THE "DEMON-POSSESSED" MAN KNOWS EXACTLY WHO JESUS IS,
NAMING HIM, "JESUS, SON OF THE MOST HIGH GOD."
AND WHILE THE MAN IS IN THE PROCESS OF BEGGING JESUS
NOT TO TORMENT HIM, JESUS ASKS A QUESTION
TO WHICH HE SURELY ALREADY KNEW THE ANSWER:
"WHAT IS YOUR NAME?"
IT IS THIS QUESTION,
AND NOT THE ANSWER THAT THE MAN GIVES,
THAT REVEALS THE TRUE LESSON OF THIS STORY.
NAMES IN THE ANCIENT WORLD CARRIED GREAT VALUE
AND IMPORTANCE, FOR NOT ONLY DID A NAME IDENTIFY SOMEONE,
IT EXPRESSED THE ESSENTIAL NATURE OF ITS BEARER;
IN OTHER WORDS, TO KNOW THE NAME WAS TO KNOW THE PERSON.
WHEN JESUS ASKS THE GUY IN OUR STORY HIS NAME,
HE PROVOKES THE MAN TO IDENTIFY
HIS TRUE NATURE AND ESSENCE,
TO PROCLAIM HOW HE UNDERSTANDS HIMSELF.
WHEN THE MAN ANSWERS THAT HIS NAME IS "LEGION,"
THE READER KNOWS THAT NOT ONLY HAS HE FORGOTTEN
HIS TRUE NAME, BUT ALSO THAT HIS VERY IDENTITY
HAS BECOME HIS DEMON-POSSESSED CONDITION.
USING MILITARY LANGUAGE, THE TERM "LEGION"
REFERS TO THE VARIOUS CONFLICTS AND INNER TURMOIL
THAT HAD SO AFFLICTED HIM
THAT HE HAD BEEN SHACKLED IN CHAINS
AND FORCED TO LIVE APART FROM HIS COMMUNITY.
THESE INNER DEMONS WERE SO GREAT IN NUMBER
THAT THEY WERE LIKE A ROMAN MILITARY FORCE
ENCAMPED WITHIN HIS SOUL.
SO WHEN THE MAN ANSWERS THAT HIS NAME IS "LEGION,"
WE KNOW THAT THIS IS A MAN WHO HAS LOST EVERYTHING --
HIS IDENTITY, HIS FAMILY, HIS FRIENDS, AND HIS TRUE NAME.
THIS QUESTION "WHAT IS YOUR NAME?",
PROMPTS THE VERBAL IDENTIFICATION OF THOSE FORCES
THAT HAD STOLEN THIS MAN'S JOY, PEACE, AND SANITY.
IN HIS OWN DAY LABELING THESE FORCES AS "DEMONS"
MADE SENSE.
WHEN JESUS ASKS A QUESTION, HOWEVER,
WE KNOW THAT THE QUESTION WAS NOT INTENDED
JUST FOR HIS OWN TIME AND PLACE,
BUT WAS INTENDED TO REVERBERATE DOWN THE CENTURIES,
TO APPLY TO ALL PEOPLE IN ALL TIMES AND PLACES.
THE CONTEMPORARY READER OF THIS ANCIENT TEXT
IS INVITED TO THINK ABOUT WHAT IS LEGION
IN HIS OR HER OWN LIFE.
WE, THEN, ARE INVITED TO NAME OUR FEARS, OUR BROKENNESS,
AND OUR TROUBLED INTERIOR PLACES.
WHEN JESUS ASKS THE "DEMON-POSSESSED" MAN
"WHAT IS YOUR NAME?",
HE BEGINS THE FIRST STEP IN THE HEALING PROCESS:
NAMING THAT WHICH HAS CAUSED THE HARM.
THE FIRST STEP IN THE WORK OF HEALING, RECONCILIATION,
AND RESTORATION IS TO NAME NAMES.
AND IF WE'RE HONEST, THE QUESTION "WHAT IS YOUR NAME?"
OFTEN PUTS US FACE TO FACE WITH OUR OWN BROKENNESS.
IT GIVES US THE OPPORTUNITY
TO NAME THAT WHICH HAS BROKEN US,
WHICH IS ALMOST ALWAYS THE FIRST STEP TOWARD HEALING.
THE FIRST STEP, THEN, IN DEVELOPING A NEW IDENTITY,
IS TO SQUARELY FACE THE DEAD-END WHICH AN OLD IDENTITY
HAS BEEN FOR US.
THUS, THE TRADITION IN ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
OF INTRODUCING ONESELF AS AN ALCOHOLIC.
IDENTITY-THEFT, HOWEVER, COMES IN MANY FORMS.
ALCOHOL-ADDICTION IS ONE.
ANOTHER IS THE REQUIRED TATTOO WHICH ALMOST ALL GANGS
INSIST ON.
IT IS A VISUAL WAYS OF SHOWING THAT THE GANG MEMBER
NO LONGER BELONGS TO HIMSELF, BUT TO THE GANG.
FATHER GREGORY BOYLE, FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR
OF HOMEBOY INDUSTRIES IN EAST LOS ANGELES,
HAS PUT TOGETHER A TEAM OF PHYSICIANS
TRAINED TO REMOVE THE TATTOOS OF EX-GANG MEMBERS.
THIS SERVICE IS CRUCIAL FOR THEIR SUCCESS
IN MAKING IT OUTSIDE THE GANG.
GANG-RELATED TATTOOS PREVENT MANY FORMER GANG MEMBERS
FROM GETTING JOBS OR ADVANCING IN WORK.
FOR OTHERS, THE MARKING PUT THEM IN SERIOUS DANGER
ON THE STREETS.
THERE IS NO FEE OR COMMUNITY SERVICE REQUIRED
TO RECEIVE THE SERVICE OFFERED BY HOMEBOY INDUSTRIES;
TATTOO REMOVAL IS STRICTLY A GIFT.
THE SEEMING PERMANENCE OF A GANG TATTOO
FOSTERS THE ATTITUDE THAT THE GANG'S CLAIM
IS ALSO PERMANENT.
IT IS A MARK OF OWNERSHIP AS WELL AS IDENTITY.
THE EMOTIONAL CONSEQUENCE IS THAT THE TIE
SEEMS A PART OF A PERSON THAT CAN NEVER BE SHAKEN.
I SUSPECT SOME OF US HAVE FELT LIKE THIS
WITH PAST ATTITUDES AND ACTIONS OF BROKENNESS
IN OUR LIVES.
PERHAPS THE IMAGE OF TATTOO REMOVAL
CAN EVOKE A RENEWED SENSE OF OUR BLESSED ASSURANCE.
LIKE FORMER GANG MEMBERS
WHO HAVE HAD THE MARKS OF A FORMER LIFE REMOVED,
SO ATTITUDES AND ACTIONS OF BROKENNESS IN OUR LIVES
ARE GRADUALLY ERASED THROUGH OUR IDENTIFICATION
WITH OUR NEW LIFE IN CHRIST.
BACK TO OUR SCRIPTURE TEXT:
THE "DEMON-POSSESSED" MAN, THE STORY TELLS US,
WALKED AROUND A GRAVEYARD DAY AND NIGHT,
HOWLING AND BRUISING HIMSELF WITH STONES,
CONSTANTLY WRENCHING HIS SHACKLES AND BREAKING HIS CHAINS.
HE HAS BEEN OSTRACIZED FROM HIS VILLAGE
AND CONDEMNED AS RITUALLY UNCLEAN
AND THEREFORE NOT WORTHY OF BEING INTEGRATED
BACK INTO HIS COMMUNITY.
HIS FAMILY HAS ABANDONED HIM,
AND NO ONE IS ABLE TO SUBDUE HIM
OR EVEN GET CLOSE ENOUGH TO COMFORT HIM.
AND YET JESUS STILL CONSIDERS HIM WORTHY OF ATTENTION.
JESUS NOT ONLY SEES THE MAN'S DISTRESSING CONDITION.
BY ASKING HIS NAME,
JESUS SEES BEYOND THE MAN'S
PHYSICAL CIRCUMSTANCES AND PSYCHOLOGICAL STATE.
JESUS AFFIRMS THAT THIS BROKEN MAN
IS STILL SOMEONE WORTHY OF DIGNITY, RESPECT,
AND RESTORATION TO HIS RIGHTFUL NAME AND IDENTITY.
BY THE END OF THE STORY,
THE MAN WHO IS KNOWN IN THE BIBLICAL TEXT
ONLY BY HIS CONDITION, "THE GERASENE DEMONIAC,"
IS MADE WHOLE AND RESTORED TO HIS COMMUNITY,
PROCLAIMING THE GOOD NEWS OF WHAT JESUS HAS DONE.
BY FOCUSING ON THE "WHAT IS YOUR NAME?" QUESTION
THAT JESUS POSES IN THIS TEXT,
WE CAN SHIFT OUR ATTENTION AWAY FROM
THE BEHAVIOR OF SO-CALLED DEMON-POSSESSION
AND ONTO THE HEALING AND RESTORATION POSSIBLE
WHEN SOMEONE WHO HAS LOST EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE
IS FINALLY SEEN AS FULLY HUMAN
AND STILL WORTHY OF LOVE AND RECOGNITION.
GIVEN HIS OWN EMPHASIS ON COMPASSION, FORGIVENESS AND,
MOST OF ALL, LOVE THROUGHOUT HIS ENTIRE MINISTRY,
I THINK WE CAN SAFELY SAY
THAT JESUS WOULD DEEPLY RESONATE
WITH THE LINE IN ONE OF SHAKESPEARE’S SONNETS WHICH STATES:
LOVE IS NOT LOVE WHICH ALTERS WHEN IT ALTERATION FINDS.
LOVE IS NOT LOVE WHICH ALTERS WHEN IT ALTERATION FINDS.
ALL OF US, LIKE THE BROKEN MAN IN TODAY'S SCRIPTURE,
ARE DAMAGED GOODS.
WE'RE DAMAGED BY OTHER PEOPLE, IMPOSSIBLE CIRCUMSTANCES,
AND OURSELVES.
MANY OF US ARE SO DAMAGED IN CERTAIN AREAS OF OUR LIVES
THAT WE'VE LONG ACCEPTED THE FALSE NAME OF "UNLOVABLE."
THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT JESUS AND GOD BOTH REJECT
THIS SELF-DESIGNATION.
LIKE THE GUY WHO IDENTIFIES HIMSELF AS "LEGION,"
JESUS SEES OUR USE OF THE FALSE NAME OF "UNLOVABLE"
AS SIMPLY THE FIRST STEP IN THE PROCESS OF OUR HEALING,
THE FIRST STEP TOWARD THE WHOLENESS
THAT GOD WANTS FOR EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US.
REMEMBER THOSE KINDERGARTEN KIDS I TALKED ABOUT EARLIER,
AND HOW THEIR TEACHER ADDRESSED EACH OF THEM
BY THEIR FULL NAME,
TEACHING THEM THE REALITY THAT THEIR NAME WAS NOT ONLY
TERRIBLY IMPORTANT,
BUT SOMETHING TO BE GROWN INTO
OVER THE COURSE OF THEIR ENTIRE LIVES.
I INVITE YOU TO THINK OF JESUS AS EVEN MORE
THAT KIND OF TEACHER,
A "LIFE COACH," IF YOU WILL, WHO ENCOURAGES US,
CHALLENGES US, SUFFERS WITH US --
ALL WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF A LOVE THAT DOES NOT ALTER
WHEN IT ALTERATION FINDS.
JONATHAN, FOUR-YEARS OLD,
WAS TRYING TO LEARN THE LORD'S PRAYER.
HE LEARNED BY LISTENING AT CHURCH EACH SUNDAY.
ONE SUNDAY, AS THE LORD’S PRAYER WAS BEING RECITED,
HE COULD BE HEARD ABOVE EVERYONE ELSE, PRAYING
"OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN,
I KNOW YOU KNOW MY NAME."
“OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN,
I KNOW YOU KNOW MY NAME.”
NOT A BAD WAY OF PUTTING IT, NOT A BAD WAY AT ALL.
AMEN.