Community Makes Us Better
In today’s gospel, Jesus heals the Gerasene demoniac.
It’s a miracle.
He wields his divine power to defeat evil.
Now, there are a lot of subtexts here.
We could talk about why the demoniac sought out Jesus when he hid from the townspeople.
We could talk about Luke’s choice in naming the demons Legion.
We could talk about why the townspeople were afraid.
Or why the demons asked to enter the pigs and then killed themselves.
But what I would like to talk about is how, in healing the demoniac, Jesus not only ended his torment but also restored him to community.
I think I talk a lot about community.
About how important community is.
About how God intended us to be in community.
About how this church family is a community.
And about how our worship, the various ways we learn and growth in faith together, and the way we share Holy Communion forms us as community.
About how our breaking bread together—whether it is at a coffee hour, a potluck meal, or a Lenten soup supper—binds us as a community.
In Matthew 18:20, we read, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in their midst.”
What that means is that the bond we share in community is not only with each other, but also with Jesus.
So, when we talk about community, I hope that you keep that in mind.
Maybe you’re asking yourself why all this focus on community?
The simple answer is that we were created for community.
Community makes us stronger.
Community makes us better.
It is God’s intent for us.
But our political discourse—if you can even call it discourse—has become so inflammatory, it is dividing communities.
And people whose views differ from the majority of their community are feeling isolated and alone—not unlike the possessed man living amongst the tombs in today’s gospel.
And if we accept that community is God’s intent for us, well then, isolation cannot be.
Division is not what God intends for us.
Nadia Bolz Weber, author and Lutheran pastor, says, “Every time we draw a line between us and others, Jesus is always on the other side of it.”
And that’s where it gets confusing, doesn’t it?
Because we want to set ourselves apart as the righteous.
We want to declare ourselves as sheep and those with whom we disagree as goats.
But demonizing our human siblings is not what God intends for us.
By healing the possessed man, Jesus has freed him from the label of “demoniac”.
He is no longer set apart from the community.
How many labels do we have for ourselves?
Trumper.
Woke.
MAGAts.
Liberal.
Fascist.
Snowflake.
Name-calling divides communities.
It prevents us from having honest conversation.
It stops us from ever finding common ground.
And we already have common ground—our faith.
We believe in the gospel of Jesus.
We believe that Jesus came to “bring Good News to those who are poor, to proclaim liberty to those held captive, recovery of sight to those who are blind, and release to those in prison. To proclaim the year of our God’s favor.”
The rub is in how we interpret those words.
There will be differing opinions—because we are each a unique creation—a unique expression of God’s image.
Our uniqueness, coupled with the differences in our life experiences, makes us hear those words differently.
And we need to make allowances for differences in opinion.
Because we revel in the diversity of God’s creation.
And we are called to love not only our human siblings, but also that which makes each of them exceptional.
To be clear, that does not mean we have to be morally ambivalent to get along.
If an opinion causes harm—like one rooted in racism—then we need to call it out.
Not disrespectfully.
Not hurtfully.
But calmly—and with moral clarity.
There are some moral imperatives that will always be clear.
Bombing innocent people will always be wrong.
Allowing people to starve will always be wrong.
Separating children from their loving, caring parents will always be wrong.
But, when the issue is not so cut-and-dried, we allow for difference of opinion.
Jesus’ miracles of healing—which always includes a restoration to community—are a call to us.
A call to heal divisions.
A call to step outside our comfort zones and have tough conversations.
And, when we disagree, we seek to find common ground where we can agree.
The common ground starts with Jesus’ commandments to love God and love our neighbor.
That’s the foundation.
And then we build on it through conversation.
Honest conversation with an open heart and mind.
And when we say or do things that are hurtful to another—whether we mean to or not, we ask for forgiveness.
And when we are hurt or angry, we forgive.
And, as Jesus told us, “not seven times, but seventy times seven.”
We forgive—not because we’re weak or we’re pushovers.
We forgive because we follow the Way of Jesus.
We forgive because we are forgiven—every day—through the abundant grace of God.
This congregation proclaims to the world that we are a welcoming community.
That welcome can’t only be for people of different races, different sexuality, and different genders.
Jesus’ example calls us to invite people who are at different places in their faith journey—whether they are lifelong believers, agnostics, atheists, or someone from another faith tradition.
It calls us to invite people of differing political views.
Our welcome is guided by the example of Jesus—who welcomed all.
Even those who were marginalized.
Even those who were outcast by society.
Even those who were isolated, alone, and living amongst tombs.
In closing, let us remember that Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; but the kind of peace I give you is not like the world’s peace.”
Let us live into Jesus’ peace.
Let us always seek unity over division.
Conversation over name-calling.
Forgiveness over condemnation.
Because we are all children of God.
The divisions we have established, the boxes we have put ourselves into—they are creations of our own sinfulness.
Our own egos.
We are all one in Christ Jesus, who loves us all.
May this meditation on God’s word keep our hearts and minds on Christ Jesus. Amen.