Lavender & Lace

In Mark 5 there is a story about Jesus healing a demon possessed man that has always stuck with me.

The story starts right after the famous moment where Jesus is aroused from his sleep and calms a raging storm. And the reason they are at sea is to reach this place called the Gerasenes which was a pagan land occupied by Greeks who worshiped the god Dionysus. This particular god was known for changing water into wine, being born of a virgin woman (son of Zeus) and was worshiped by the sacrificing of…pigs. Yep, you guessed it.

Stories like this one is one of the reasons I love the Bible. If you want to go down a really interesting rabbit hole I encourage you to dig more into the history and religion of this region back in the first century. It will help you to read this story in a different light. But for my purpose today I’m just going to focus on this guy, “the demoniac.”

“When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain.”

This was a guy who was ostracized from his community. The people who knew him tried desperately to restrain him with ropes and chains because they were afraid of him and didn’t know how to help him. So he lived in the lowest place a person could live, left all alone to suffer.

“When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!” Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.”

You’ll notice that whenever Jesus encounters demons they always seem to know exactly who his is. Demons have excellent theology. They believe but they don’t follow.

“A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.”

So the first thing that happens when Jesus heals this man from thousands of demons is that he is asked to leave. Very interesting.

But there’s one person who doesn’t want Jesus to leave, and I don’t blame him…

“As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.”

When I was a kid the Lion King was one of my favorite movies. I remember watching it in the theater with my family and I can’t even count how many times after that we watched the movie at home. My sisters and I basically had it memorized. And on long car rides we loved to listen to the soundtrack…and when the music turned to the saddest part of the movie, it would always transport us back to that very traumatic moment in cinematic history.

You know the part. It’s the part that traumatized an entire generation of young people and set us up for a lifetime of therapy; watching Mufasa die.

Some of you are going back there in your minds right now. It was so sad and so terrible.

But as you remember back to do also recall the other character present that day? The one who orchestrated it all. The one who slipped behind the scenes and (out of Simbas sight) was the actual cause of his father’s death. His name was Scar.

And in the aftermath of the accident what is the first thing Scar says to poor Simba?

“Simba, what have you done?”

Like many of us who have been in devastating situations isn’t it interesting how the enemy swoops in. Whispering things to us like, what are your friends going to think? What is your mom going to think? This is really really bad…

Run away Simba. And never return.

And when I think about my own life. I remember times where things would happen and I would immediately switch into panic mode. The walls start to crumble and all I want to do is get out and away from it as fast as I can. Just pull the anchor and go. It doesn’t matter what the reality of the situation is, I’ll figure it out when the dust settles. But for right now, I just want to run.

Sometimes we run because we don’t know what else to do.

And sometimes people come and cover us up with chains and ropes and heavy heavy weights to keep us in place. To keep us away. So that we don’t infect their peace with our demons.

Some of us are very familiar with this too.

But if you remember the rest of Simbas story, he get around a pretty cool monkey named Rafiki and after getting hit on the head a few times is told something pretty profound.

Your father is alive.

Simba of course, doesn’t buy it. But after some gentle coaxing he comes to realize that his father does in fact exist. He is alive inside of Simba. And this revelation awakens Simba to move into his true purpose of king and sets him off on a journey to reclaim what was stolen from him by the enemy.

Does any of that sound familiar?

I think about this guy, this demoniac, having encountered the living God. He’d spent years of his life living in oppression. And now he’s free. But what do you do with that?

Everybody knows me as the demoniac.

I can’t just go back.

My parents know me as “this”, my friends know me as “this”…I’m the guy who the parents told their kids, “don’t go near the tombs.”

Where else do I have to go but with you, Jesus?

But Jesus doesn’t let him go with him.

Jesus gently coaxes him towards living into his true purpose.

And when Jesus returns to the Decapolis a couple of chapters later where he healed one man and whom all the towns people begged him to leave…he comes back and 4,000 people show up to hear him speak. 4,000 people hear about Jesus and what he’s done for this one man and they come out to meet him with only the clothes on their backs.

I mean, I liked the end of the Lion King fine, but this ending…this ending is great.

Because what it says to me is that I am not too far gone.

I am not too messed up. Too broken. Too crazy. Too whatever. Because I’ve had an actual encounter with the living God as well.

Jesus came to me too. He crossed the lake with all the storms and all the scary obstacles, to get to me. To speak life over me. To touch me with gentleness and compassion. To transform me into a new creations who now sits at his feet in my right mind.

Me.

And now that I know that. Now that I know that the worst thing I’ve ever done does not define me. Now that I know the whispers of the enemy were just lies meant to hold me and keep me in bondage. Now that I know that Jesus lives and dwells within me as a new creation.

I can go back.

I can tell about all the things He has done for me.

And so can you.

He lives in you/

He lives in me/

He watches over/

Everything we see/

Jesus came to seek and to save those who are lost. No one gets left behind. Not the beggar, not the prostitute, not the tax collector or the demoniac. No one. No matter how crafty the serpent thinks he his…

The people who murdered Jesus thought they had put a stop to him. They pushed him from the cliff and watched him as he fell into dust and darkness. The enemy sneered and shook his fist. But guess what? That was not the end.

He is not dead.

He is alive.

Beloved, this is who you belong to.

The one who overcame death by dying. Who descended into hell to set the captive free. And who rose again on the third day.

He loves you. He is proud of you. He is with you. You are not too far gone. You haven’t messed up too much or fallen too far. You were fearfully and wonderfully made, exactly for a time like this. You have a job to do now. Go and be free, and let the world know.

It’s time for you to take your rightful place in this world. It’s time to take it back.

I’m rooting for you.