A HOMILY FOR THE TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
About the Healing of the Gadarene Demoniac and Its Meaning for Us
Brothers and sisters!
Today we heard a story from the Gospel of Saint Luke, which is also found in the Gospels According to Saints Matthew and Mark. It tells about the expulsion of a legion of devils from their victim. The evening before the healing, Jesus was teaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Lake of Genneseret. Afterwards, He decided to cross the lake with His disciples. The Lord fell asleep in the boat, and while He was sleeping, a storm arose. Waves were swamping the vessel and the disciples woke Him in desperation. Jesus rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith, then rebuked the storm. A great calm followed, so that the disciples wondered, What manner of man is this! for He commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey Him![1]
Landing on the east side of the lake, Christ and His disciples found themselves in the general region known as Decapolis, or “The Ten Cities.” The particular area where they landed is called by Luke and Mark the country of the Gadarenes, after the city of Gadara, and by Matthew the country of the Gergesenes, after the village of Gergesa. Gergesa was a small, little-known place; therefore, even though the actual spot where Jesus landed was closer to it than to Gadara, only Saint Matthew mentions it. Gadara was the largest city in the area, and at that time was as famous as any locale in the Holy Land. Since Saint Matthew wrote his Gospel for the Palestinian Jews, many of his intended readers might have heard of Gergesa. Mark and Luke, however, wrote for Gentiles living throughout the vast Roman Empire, so naturally they chose to locate the narrative by reference to the famous city.
Christ was met on the beach by a possessed man, according to Saints Luke and Mark, while Saint Matthew speaks of two demoniacs. This is because one of the possessed was in a particularly sorrowful condition and was well known locally, while the other, in comparison with the first, was hardly worthy of notice. The demoniacs, and certainly the one Saints Mark and Luke describe, displayed full symptoms of their affliction: overwhelming strength; loss of reason and self-awareness; wild, self-injurious behavior; and so forth. They had no control over themselves and were suffering terribly.
Although Christ’s omnipotence usually remained hidden to human eyes, it was apparent to those of unclean spirits. Being fallen angels, the demons by nature possess keener spiritual vision than we do, although their reaction to what they perceive is grossly perverted by their wretched, fallen state. Proximity to Christ, the very source of divine power, reduced them to fear and trembling. The devils were forced to acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God, and they begged Him not to torment them before the time, that is, before Judgment Day, when they shall be cast into the lake of fire and burned forever. The demons in the wilder of the two men answered to the name Legion, because of their enormous number, and they pleaded with the Lord not to expel them from the country or send them back to hell, whence they came, but to let them enter a large herd of swine feeding on a nearby hillside. By keeping pigs, the Jews of the area were breaking the Law of Moses, and so Christ took advantage of the opportunity to teach them to respect divine ordinances. The Lord allowed the demons to enter the swine and drive the herd down the steep bank into the lake, in which the animals drowned. Saint Mark tells us that there were 2,000 pigs; therefore, the owners’ transgression was no small one.
The herdsmen rushed to tell everyone what had happened, and the people found the demoniac clothed and in his right mind. The astonishing change in the man and the destruction of the pigs filled the people with fear, but did not bring them to repentance and self-amendment. Instead, they became worried that Jesus’ presence would result in some new loss to them. Regret over the valuable hogs prevailed over natural feelings of gratitude for the good deed done to their neighbor. They wanted Christ gone as soon as possible.
Usually our Lord forbade those whom He healed to proclaim His miracles, but this time He commanded the former demoniac: Return to thine own house, and show how great things God hath done unto thee. The reason for this is to be found in the fact that in Judea and in Galilee proper a large proportion of the population wanted to make Jesus a king and utilize Him to overthrow Roman authority, contrary to the will of God. In Decapolis, however, the Gentile population was so substantial that no such result was possible. Furthermore, it is clear from the Gospel narrative that the Gadarenes were a particularly coarse and indifferent people, from a religious point of view. Thus, the Lord permitted the man to proclaim the miracle so that the hearts of the hearers would be more readily inclined to accept the preaching of the apostles, which was soon to follow in that region.
And now, brothers and sisters, let us consider a few of the lessons today’s Gospel reading teaches us…
First, it reminds us that the whole human race, while not possessed, is mightily oppressed by countless legions of demons, acting through the passions. In the third volume of the Philokalia, Saint Peter of Damascus provides a grand list of the passions, enumerating 298 in all. In conclusion, he adds: “I have not tried, nor would I have been able, to arrange all the passions in order; this would have been beyond my powers, for the reason given by Saint John Klimakos: ‘If you seek understanding in wicked men, you will not find it.’ For all that the demons produce is disorderly. In common with the godless and the unjust, the demons have but one purpose: to destroy the souls of those who accept their evil counsel. Yet sometimes they actually help men to attain holiness. In such instances they are conquered by the patience and faith of those who put their trust in the Lord, and who through their good actions and resistance to evil thoughts counteract the demons and bring down curses upon them.”
Dear Christians, let us also put our trust in the Lord, bring down curses on the demons by our steadfast resistance to them, and with our whole heart beg Christ to deliver us from our passions and every form of demonic oppression, as He once delivered the Gadarene demoniac from possession by the legion of wicked spirits.
Second, considering the reaction of the people of Gadara to the deeds of the divine Wonderworker, we should beware of the consequences of leading a worldly life; that is, of seeking only pleasure and secular advantage. Like the Gadarenes, we may become so accustomed to such a life, that we end by being totally hardened, totally indifferent to God and the spiritual realm.
The worldly person seeks a false sort of repose of soul, which is in fact the spirit’s death. He does not wish to transcend the ordinary round of daily life, but almost or completely immerses himself in it, silencing his conscience and feelings of contrition whenever these stir in him. He may not be an enemy of faith, but neither is he a zealot of it: he is not antagonistic toward it, but does not truly and deeply love it. Jesus Christ rebukes such a man, saying, I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would that thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and rainment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.[2]
Christ the Lord chastened the Gadarenes by destroying their swine, and this ought to have stirred them out of their spiritual stupor. To the same end, He sometimes afflicts us with sorrows, illnesses, or other misfortunes. At other times He smites us in the depths of our being with the word of God, which is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart,[3] as Saint Paul says; that is, He pierces us with the grace of contrition by the words of the Scriptures or other soul-saving books. So doing, He compels us to serious introspection and self-correction, again rousing us from spiritual slumber.
Third and finally, we should meditate on the conduct of the Gadarene demoniac after his healing. He yearned to remain always with Christ and eagerly obeyed the Lord’s command to proclaim the miracle. His example should remind us not to be forgetful of our divine Benefactor, but to nurture in ourselves gratitude for all the benefits God showers upon us. In Holy Baptism we were cleansed from ancestral sin and delivered from its consequences; by repentance we are constantly washed anew. God’s providence daily preserves us from harm and provides our physical needs; His grace renews a right spirit within us and nourishes our souls. Everything we possess, every blessing we enjoy, is a gift from God. Therefore, let us cleave to the gracious Lord wholeheartedly, striving to do His will in all things. Ever glorifying His holy name with heart and mind, may we prove worthy of Him in thought, word, and deed. Amen.
[1] Luke 8:25
[2] Rev. 3:15-19
[3] Heb. 4:12
