Don’t you wish sometimes that
you could just gather up all the evil in the world and just dump it into a
rocket-ship and fire it into the sun or something? A few weeks ago, I asked
this very question in the e--newsletter column right after another public mass-shooting…
the one at the Tops Supermarket in Buffalo in May. Today, we are still processing
the shock of a public shooting Thursday evening at a pot-luck supper at St.
Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Vestavia Hills, Alabama.
I don’t know about you, but I am
tired of having to speak to this violence over and over again. I hate having to repeat myself. But the persistence of evil and the recurrence of
gun violence seems to find its way into every corner of our society, even an
Episcopal parish, not so different that our own, having a pot-luck supper.
Back in May, as it happens, I
talked about how Jesus confronted evil in the Gospel appointed for today.
Whether that is a “God-incidence” or not, I don’t know. But I am going with it.
The gospel today we just heard
is all about what Jesus did for a man who was possessed by demons and it sure
seems like Jesus bundled up all that evil and sent it away! Right into a herd
of swine who then ran headlong into the water to drown. After yet another mass
shootings, and news everyday of some kind of violence, hateful language and
controversy, I sure would like to do as Jesus did and send all this evil far,
far away!
We Episcopalian Christians take
evil seriously. Every time we baptize someone, the candidates, or their parents
and sponsors, have to answer two questions: “Do you renounce Satan and all the
spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God?” And: “Do you renounce
the evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God?”
Yes. We Episcopalians really and
truly believe that these evil powers, these demons, are real and wreak havoc in
our world. Most people scoff at such an idea…or at least whistle as they pass
the graveyard… which is fine until a guy who dresses up his anger in political
non-sense takes a semi-automatic firearm into a nightclub and shoots over a
hundred people, killing forty-nine. Or until a guy who decides to call himself
“death to traitors” kills a member of parliament in the UK. Or until a guy
stalks and murders a young singer before a concert. Then evil becomes very
real, doesn’t it?
The spiritual powers that rebel
against God and corrupt and destroy the creatures of God show themselves mainly
through fear and hatred. These are not just emotions, but a spiritual
state.
And it is very easy to be
tempted to confront evil with more evil…to pile on fear in response to fear, to
dish out prejudice in response to prejudice, to meet violence with violence.
But Jesus shows us time and again in the Gospels that if you want to fight evil
and win, we must do the things that evil hates.
Jesus does that in today’s
Gospel. When confronted with a madman who screams at and threatens people, who
throws himself to the ground and roams among the dead in a cemetery. Instead of
doing some sort of violence against the man, Jesus confronts the evil…through
dialogue!
Jesus says, “What is your name?”
And the man can’t even answer. The demon within him responds, “Legion.” A
legion was a Roman military unit, terrifying in its power and the number of
heavily armed soldiers who could overrun another army or a country. What
possessed this man was not a simple fear, or a hatred of a single thing—the
demon that ripped this man’s life apart and separated him from all society was
a whole constellation of fears, they manifested in hatred of life itself, and
even when the Life of the World invited him to life, he cried out, “DO NOT
TORMENT ME!”
People rightly respond in horror
and revulsion to the awful events like last week’s and people typically use many
names for the evil that we witnessed: “terrorist,” “foreigner,” “self-hater.”
But this time, not so much. When
a 70+ year old guy who comes to pot-luck suppers and the occasional church
service shows up with violent intent, we are speechless. It defies the neat categories.
Jesus sees this in the man in
today’s gospel. He says his name is Legion, because the things that drove him
to tombs in Gerasa, two thousand years ago were beyond counting, let alone
understanding. At least until he confronted Jesus, the incarnate love of God, who
stood calmly before the face of evil.
Jesus was not distracted by the
evil but sees it for what it is…He even dialogues with it. Notice how Jesus stays
laser-focused on healing the man possessed instead of playing evil’s deadly
game. The demons can’t take it. They flee from the man and away from Jesus into
that herd of swine.
What drove these demons out of
the man…what made life unbearable for the evil Jesus faced…was the power of
Jesus’ love that made these demons want to take up residence somewhere else.
Jesus was doing the things that evil hates!
So, what I said before in May I
say again today. Jesus is teaching us that if you want to cast out demons, do
the things that evil hates.
Evil hates justice and thrives
on division. Seek reconciliation.
Evil loves it when we are silent
about injustice and marginalize the poor. Speak up and work on behalf of the
oppressed and outcast.
Evil drives us to be selfish and
care only for ourselves. Cast out evil with compassion.
Evil wants us to be alone and
cut off. Drive evil crazy with your prayer, your trust in God, and your life in
Christian community.
Evil flourishes when we hate in
God’s name. If you really want to cast out demons, love.
Evil feeds on our resentment and
our list of wrongs. Cast out evil. Forgive.
Evil wants us to focus on
scarcity. Fight evil. Be generous.
Evil grows when we get caught up
in anxiety. Cast out a demon. Let go of needing to control every outcome.
Evil needs violence—in every
form, physical and emotional—so fight evil and live peaceably.
Evil says we need to arm
ourselves to the teeth in the face of fear— so let’s fight evil and look it in
the eye.
More than one person has called
me naïve and silly for saying this. But time and again, I have seen evil head for
the hills every time we dare to do the things that evil hates, just as Jesus
shows us, in his unflinching encounter with a legion of demons and on his
journey to the cross. Jesus had God’s power and God’s authority which allowed
him to confront evil on God’s terms. By simply living and doing what he was
called to do; by teaching, healing, and being a companion to the outcast he did
all the things that evil hates…he drove evil crazy! They wanted to run away! When
Jesus was crucified, it looked as if evil won. But in fact evil was defeated.
Forever.
We saw it in every candle lit,
every rainbow flag flown, every act of love, every grieving person hugged and
cared for, ever frightened person embraced. Once again, one man chose to do
unspeakable evil. And once again, when the chips were down, thousands upon
thousands chose to do the good.
I hate to keep repeating myself.
But sin and evil has this way of replaying their greatest hits over and over
again. I want to take the arm off the record, to hit the pause and reset
buttons. To send all the evil in all the world off in a rocket-ship, far, far
away.
The Good News is that God has
already beaten us to it! Jesus has already defeated evil and put death to
flight on the cross and in his resurrection. And when we do as Jesus told the
man he healed to return to where we live and “declare how much God is doing for
us,” we are demonstrating that no matter how much hate, how much violence, how
much cynicism and fear is out there, we have, through our baptisms, the
Eucharist. and the power of the Holy Spirit in this community, the power cast
out evil in wonderful, surprisingly practical ways of compassion, holiness and
calm.
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Here is a link to the bulletin for the Second Sunday after Pentecost at St. John's Episcopal Church, Clearwater
Here is a link to the Scripture readings for Trinity Sunday
Here is a link to a video of the sermon.
Here is a link to a video of the liturgy.
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