God Holds a High Bar: Claiming Jesus' Power for Our Communities

 Have you heard of the North American Grip Sport Championships?  Men (and one woman) with freakishly strong hands gather to squeeze, lift and bend various contraptions as they compete to become grip champion of the continent. (WSJ, 6/19/13)  The Gerasene Demoniac as he’s called in Luke 8: 26-39 could become a fierce competitor in such a contest.  Possessed by demons according to the story, this man was bound and shackled by townsfolk who feared for their lives.  This man could break the chains with beyond-this-world strength.

But when Jesus frees this man of his bonds, liberating him back into his community, the folk move from fearing the man to fearing Jesus.  They respond to their fears by running Jesus out of town.  Why would Jesus’ healing power terrorize the community?  In this tragi-comedy story, Jesus as “Demon-Buster” represents the fear of change – the fear of upheaval – the fear of what we do not understand – the fear of the unknown versus the ways we adapt to dysfunction and learn to live with it.   

Moving beyond literal questions about demon possession and beyond Jesus’ power to heal, a primary challenge of this story is how we can move from working hard to maintain stability even in the face of injustice to the challenge of seeing evil and oppression and working as a community to dismantle systems and change institutions  that oppress and chain people.  It is overwhelming and often scary to consider the changes needed in an unjust criminal justice system or inequality in education or the extent of homelessness and poverty and mental health challenges.  We’re squarely in the middle of a time of huge distrust in our institutions (including the church) as exemplified in the current furor over NSA issues of privacy versus security.

How do we respond?  How do we gather together as a community to claim Jesus’ power to confront and liberate people from the chains of injustice and oppression?  I have some ideas which I’ll offer this Sunday in my sermon at Trinity Presbyterian Church (trinitypresbyterian.net).

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Shelley