“80% of Life”

June 22,2025

Luke 8:26–39

Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me” — for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion;” for many demons had entered him. They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.

Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So, he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country.

Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So, he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So, he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.***

I recall encountering this odd biblical story in Sunday School. It likely involved a flannel board with some interesting cutouts of pigs. I recall Mrs. Johnson telling us the story’s name, which to my young ears was really weird. I learned the official name much later: the “Gerasene demoniac.” Today, the title sounds to me like the name of a heavy metal band.

It is quite a story. A demon possessed man relegated to the cemetery outside of town, occasionally shackled so he could not get into town and scare children. When he meets Jesus, everything changes as Jesus casts the demons out and they move into a herd of pigs that immediately hurl themselves off a cliff.

It is a horrible story for children. But there is a lesson for us later on in life. Luke clearly intended a takeaway.

Coinciding with the Sunday School years, my parents taught me to be careful how you treat people because you never know the things that they are going through. Their wisdom never left me.

All people, regardless of race, class, creed, or situation, deserve to be treated as children of God and nothing less. This lesson should be taught more intently today.

More than any time I can recall in my life, it is critically important to listen to a person’s story without categorizing, criticizing, ostracizing or dismissing.

That being said, I believe very strongly that, at the core, maybe covered up by all sorts of sins and shortcomings, human beings are good. Somewhere along the line, however, we are conditioned to act otherwise. At some point we learn to take care of ourselves instead of community, we learn to ignore the needs of others, and we learn to separate ourselves from what God expects of us.

In this story of Jesus and the troubled man, we get a refresher course on our responsibilities towards people that are in need.

Right away we learn Jesus has barely set foot on shore and a man possessed with demons greets him. This man “For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs.”

How often is this the story of many of our poor and homeless brothers and sisters throughout our world? Invisible, mentally ill and left to fend for themselves.

However, there is evidence of life in this man in that he mustered the energy to “show up” and meet Jesus. The guy decided that it was important enough to show up, no matter what the obstacles.

If you are ever asked, “How do you overcome obstacles or survive in this world?” begin your answer with showing up! You may recall Woody Allen’s quote that 80 percent of life is showing up.

Fortitude cannot be tested if you are not there; victory does not come to those who are absent; trials cannot be overcome if you run from them. At the least you must find the strength and courage to show up! There is promise and power in being present.

In the same way, the man that has been possessed by demons does not wait until he gets better. He does not wait until he is in a better state of mind. He does not try to clean himself up to increase his presentation. He shows up as he is. Do not miss that! There is a tendency that we have to put our best foot forward, to present ourselves to the world and to others as if everything is okay. Using this approach, we fool ourselves and, ultimately, block our ability for God to do a mighty work in us.

In his lowly state this possessed man gives us a jewel. There is an important truth to be learned from a person that is down and out and has nowhere to turn but toward God. They have nothing to hold on to, no reputation to protect, no constituencies to please, only the desire to be in relationship with God.

My guess is that at this point in his life he does not have the energy nor the time to be anything but genuine and true, and probably he gave up a long time ago trying to be anything else.

Notice, the man does not present himself as one who is asking for assistance. He bluntly says to Jesus, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High? I beg you, do not torment me.” Jesus, unbothered by his tone, brushes it off. He know this is not a plea for help.

“What is your name?” Jesus asks. “Legion,” the man responds, a name which publicly acknowledges his battle with demons. In order to be healed he had to name it, and in naming it he freed himself from the shackles of stigma and in that moment gave himself completely and totally to the one that heals.

In today’s society we cringe at the mention of demons. We immediately think about the make-believe depictions that make it hard for people to relate.

Is it helpful to think of demons as evil spirits? Could we relate then? The demons that we deal with in our everyday lives, are those destructive spirits that move us away from our heart’s desires; they interfere with what God wants and what we want for our lives. They try to steer us in a different direction.

So, what are your demons, what are the evil spirits that take you further away from your heart’s desire? Is it fear? Is it arrogance? Stubbornness? Addiction? What interferes with your relationship with God and living it out for the benefit of others?

Put another way, what causes you so much angst, pain, torment, even anger that you yell out of desperation like the possessed man along the lake shore that day:

“What have you to do with me Jesus, Son of the most High? I beg you not to torment me.” Put a name on your demons and then lay that burden down.

Prayer

Jesus, just as you encountered the man tormented by demons, you encounter us in our own struggles. You know we, too, can be held captive by inner voices, by past hurts, by fears, and by destructive patterns that leave us feeling lost, isolated, and fragmented.

In your mercy, deliver us, just as you delivered the man in Gerasene. Break the chains that bind us, cast out the negativity and despair that plague our minds. Fill us with your peace, hope, joy. Then lift us up to see ourselves as you see us: loved, worthy, and capable of wholeness. Amen.