This is a weird story. (1) Not gonna lie. This is a really weird story. Jesus starts out in Galilee, gets in a boat, travels across the sea, walks at least 6 miles to a foreign city. There, he has a conversation with a naked guy who’s chained to a tomb. In Mark’s version the man howls to the moon. Luke, mercifully leaves that out. Jesus discovers the man is host for a legion of demons. A legion is 3-6000 roman soldiers, by the way. After this Jesus sends the man’s demons into a heard of pigs who run... have you ever seen a pig run? They run back the 6 miles to the sea and jump in. Then Jesus gets back in his boat, and goes home.

Now, if you were trying to convince a skeptic about the validity of Christianity, I’m thinking you shouldn’t start with this story... But then again, this story wasn’t written for skeptics of that day or ours. This story was written for you and me.This morning I want to spend a little time unpacking this story to see what God is saying to us.

First of all, this story is part of a series. It was never meant to stand alone. It is one of three. It starts with the trip across the lake. (2) Jesus and his disciples are in a boat, crossing the sea of Galilee when a storm comes up. Now it’s bad enough if you’re in a boat in the middle of the lake and a storm comes up. But this is the first century. And in the first century you have other things to deal with. For example. The earth wasn’t round. (Well, it was round, but everybody though it was flat). Creation looked something like this. (3) There’s a flat earth, with a dome over it. And under the earth, and over the dome there is water... the great deep, primordal chaos. Now when it rains, this infinite amount of water above the dome is coming in. You’re on a lake, which is the water from below the earth seeping up. So the issue is not just, there is wind and waves, we might go over and drown. It’s also wondering if the world might be ending. No wonder the disciples ran to Jesus and said, “Master, we’re perishing? They really meant perishing! And Jesus stills the storm. Brings things back how they should be.

Nowadays, in the 21st century, (4) we see the earth a bit more spherically. We understand storm systems and solar systems. But that doesn’t mean we don’t still stand in awe and fear of the mystery & power of it all... Just this week, floods in China have killed 90 people and 1.4 million have been displaced. Tornadoes cut through northwestern Minnesota. Landslides in Bangladesh buried people alive. Not to mention oil spills, threats of nuclear weapons and last season’s hurricanes. We may understand the creation better, but we still cry out for help to live within the incredible power of it. (5) We still yearn for Jesus to still the storm... we still search for hope and the sign that creation is still in the hands of a loving creator. And Jesus shows it to us. This is the first of the stories. Jesus restores creation.

Jesus and the disciples make it across the lake, and find their way to Gerasa. (6) They enter a graveyard...place of deep grief and isolation, where they find a man possessed by demons. (7) These demons keeps him from family, community, among the dead. He hurts himself. He tries to hurt others. The locals try to chain him up to protect him and them. But he breaks free. He is uncontrollable.

Once again, in this century we ‘ do “demons” very well. We make cheap horror movies about them, and those who are ill have medical issues or psychological issues, not demons. But the word “demon” is from the Greek, “daimon” which means uncontrollable force. This man is being pulled by forces beyond his control.

Now that we understand. (8) We understand what it’s like to be pulled by forces beyond our control -- Just look at the average family calendar. Demands from work, demands from family, all the things we’re supposed to do, and what was it I wanted to do with my life? Am I getting closer to that? Forces of health, forces of politics, forces of finances, forces of responsibilities...It’s enough to make anyone go out screaming in a graveyard. We too yearn for Jesus to help us find that center that Christ in me that allows me to look at those uncontrollable forces and say. No. This is who I am. This is what is important. This is what I will give my life to. We want Jesus to help us send the demons away. And he will. That is the second story, Jesus healing the possessed.

Then Jesus goes home. It’s a quiet trip home. But as soon as he sets foot on dry ground, an official named Jairus comes and says, “my daughter is dead. Come help me.” (9) We don’t need a translation on that one do we? In this century, we still understand grief: Losing a loved one, a friend moving away, a relationship broken, a job ended, an ability limited. Death comes in many forms, and we, to, want Jesus to come and speak like he spoke to Jairus’ daughter, saying, “Child, get up.” We want resurrection. We want new chances, new opportunities, new ways of seeing the world. Jesus raises the dead. And so we have the third story.

Three stories. Jesus restoring creation, Jesus banishing the demons, and Jesus raising the dead. THEN Luke brings us to the climax of this trilogy... what this whole thing has been building up to...the rest of the story. Restoring creation... banishing demons... raising the dead... and... can you just imagine what’s next???

Jesus calls all of his disciples together... (10) and he sends them out to do the same thing. He sends them out to heal, banish demons, and tell about the kingdom of God. This is from Luke 9 “Then Jesus called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.”

These stories aren’t just lovely tales about how powerful Jesus is. (11) This is what we are called to do as followers of Christ. We hear the stories about Jesus having power over these unknown forces in the world. We hear stories about Jesus healing and raising from the dead. Can we believe that God gives us the power, that God give us the ability to do the same thing? Can we believe that God is calling us to heal, to banish demons and to raise the dead?

I’m not talking about going to foreign countries and finding demon possessed guys in graveyards. That’s been done. This is about walking into your own life. This is about finding the people around you who are isolated, or driven to despair. This is about touching creation gently and standing up for changes in lifestyle & communities where you are now. This is about reaching out to bring new life to people you know who just can’t see their way to hoping anymore. This is about more than being nice, kind Christians... it’s about being Christ for this world.

Jesus has given us the power to restore, to heal and to raise the dead. Are we willing to do it?Can we see what Jesus has done in the past... can we see what Jesus has done for us... and can we reach out to the world?

May you witness Jesus power and care for this creation. May you find Christ at your center to gain control in your own life. May you know what it’s like to receive new life and new beginnings. And may you find the faith to take all of that out into the world to give to others in Christ’s name. Amen.

GUIDED BY THE GOSPEL: GATHERING • GROWING • GIVING