Pentecost 4 2007
Isaiah 65:1-9
Psalm 22:19-28
Galatians 3:23-29
Luke 8:26-39
Who was it that said, “Clothes make the man.” Any guesses?
I googled it and found out that it is a line from Mark
Twain. The complete quote is: “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on
society.”
Mark Twain.
Today in our Gospel lesson we have a
naked guy: The man from Gerasenes. A
man possessed by demons who lives among the tombs.
The townspeople would, on occasion, have
him chained and shackled but the demons were so strong he would break free and
go into the wild.
Jesus came upon this man, the demons
recognized the power in the Son of the Most High God. And Jesus sent the demons out and into the
swine…and the herd of swine rushed down into the lake and drowned.
Now, you would think that the
townspeople would be relieved. The
dangerous crazy naked man is not san, clothed, and sitting at the feet of
Jesus.
What a relief.
But what is this? The people asked Jesus to leave them, “for
they were seized with great fear.”
Who is this Jesus, who comes waltzing
into town, and upsets the order of things.
Because when we had the crazy naked guy among us we could all feel sane. Compared to him, we are downright healthy “at least I’m not like him.”. We can frighten our children into obedience with “the naked guy will come get you.” We can blame all our problems on him: “Must have been the naked guys fault.”
He could be the town scapegoat. Someone to blame when things went wrong. Someone to make us all feel better about ourselves. Someone to compare ourselves to and we come out on top every time.
So, contrary to Mark Twain, this naked guy had a pretty big influence on society.
But now what will happen? Jesus has sent the demons off into a herd of pigs and then they run into the lake. The herd of townspeople is afraid because they might now have to
You would think Jesus would leave well enough alone. But he doesn’t. He brings healing and peace into the life of this one man. Leaves him clothed and in his right mind.
And upsets the whole system. Now the townspeople have to find a new way of living.
What are you wearing today? Are you clothed in your own demons? Your own struggles and stressed? Are you up nights filled with worries? Are you feeling broken and vulnerable?
Do you still hold onto some demons from your past? Afraid to let them go? Do you struggle with your role in the systems around you, afraid to change because it might upset the whole family or community?
It is to you, to me, that Jesus comes. Jesus comes and brings healing, new life, a new identity as children of God.
Jesus comes and sees the demons we carry about, and Jesus doesn’t back down. But holds his ground and holding onto our hearts, sends the demons away.
And then, and then, Jesus clothes us with Christ. And we sit at his feet, in our right minds.
Does that make you nervous? A God that sees right through you? A God that knows where our demons dwell? A God that wants to strip us bare before clothing us anew?
Being naked before God is a big baptismal image for us. Used to be, people were baptized naked. And then, rising from the baptismal waters were dressed in the white of new life.
We’ll let baby Mylze keep his clothes on. But he will still come out dripping and dressed in the life of Christ.
And even Mylze, by his baptism has upset the system. Little Mylze has caused a ripple of hope in the midst of a world of despair. For each time we baptize a baby, or a child, or an adult, we are admitting that God is still with us. Christ is still alive and well among us. The Holy Spirit is still breathing new life in our midst.
We forget that, when our own demons have a hold of us. We forget that, when the world around is fighting. We forget that when we stress out about church finances or church survival.
We forget that God is already in our midst, and we have already been clothed in Christ. We can’t peel off those clothes and toss them away or bring them to Goodwill. They are ours for life. They are ours for death.
We can cover them up, try to ignore them, feign indifference. But we are still clothed with Christ.
And being clothed with Christ keeps us from being part of the herd. It keeps us from completely loosing ourselves among the tombs. It keeps us from utter despair.
For God is here. Bringing new life from the ashes of our past. Reminding us that, like Mylze we have been or will soon be washed in the water of life.
That might make us uncomfortable, the counter-cultural institution of the church makes a lot of folks uncomfortable. The speaking out in the name of Jesus on behalf of those still held captive by demons makes even our closest friends uncomfortable.
So be it.
We are called and clothed and in our right minds, sitting at Jesus feet. Washed in the water, healed by the word, strengthened by the bread and wine of this table, we get our courage back.
We are reminded that we have been clothed, not by Younkers or K-mart. But by Christ. And that gives us the courage to live fully in this world.
Notice the man wanted to go with Jesus, stay close. But Jesus had other plans, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.”
Uncomfortable? Sometimes. But our declaring, more often than not gives courage to others, builds others up, helps in sharing our stresses and fears.
As Mylze grows we will declare our stories of faith to him, so he will always be reminded that he is never naked, but always dressed in the clothes of Christ. So that he may face even the hardest times knowing that God is with him, holding him close.
And that this whole community of faith is also with him. Holding him close as you are holding me and I am holding you.
So be of good courage. God has already seen the worst your life has to offer. And replaced it with the best God has to give. And God will do that as often as God needs to.
If clothes make the man, or the woman…we are in luck. For we have all been clothed with Christ. May we continue to sit at his feet for refreshment, and then go to our homes, declaring how much God has already done.
Amen.