Will Rice - Sermon #42 "Unleashing the Unnerving Power of God"

Rev. Will Rice
Grace United Methodist Church
Corpus Christi, TX
pastorwillrice@gmail.com

Luke 8:26-39

Unleashing the Unnerving Power of God

So you believe in God right? Most of us do. And many of us pray to God, occasionally asking God to do stuff for us or others. But most of us would also prefer that God keep things neat. As good mainline protestant Christians, we like God to work within the bounds of good taste and the laws of physics. But what are we to do with this story?

This is a great story. We have a graveyard, a possessed guy, talking demons, a herd of pigs. This is a story that you wouldn’t want to take place in your neighborhood. This is a great story when it happens to someone else, somewhere else. It is a great story to keep safely tucked away in the Bible.

26Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.

Ok, there is a little confusion about where they were. The Gospel of Luke along with the Gospel of Mark say “the country of the Gerasenes.” Matthew’s gospel says the country of the Gadarenes and both are footnoted with the possibility that it was actually the land of the Gergasenes. Exactly where they stopped off is a little muddy, but we can assume that it was east of Galilee across the Sea of Galilee putting Jesus and the disciples somewhere in what we now know as the disputed area of the Golan Heights. The point is that the land they step off into isn’t the kind of place the disciples would have chosen to spend an evening. That phrase “which is opposite Galilee” may be kind of telling. It is not just geographically opposite, but spiritually opposite. Galilee is the land of the Jews, this place is the land of the outsiders.

We also need to put this passage in context. The disciples are getting off a boat that nearly just sank. In the passage right before this, Jesus asked the disciples to take a little boat ride. During the trip, he fell asleep and a big storm came up threatening the sink the boat. They woke Jesus up and he stilled the storm. Now let’s consider that having a guy in your boat who can control the weather is nearly as frightening as being in a sinking boat.

27As 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.

Now that’s the kind of greeting you are looking for. So the man is naked, he has demons and he lives in the tombs. That reference to tombs is worth noting. Tombs were the place of the dead and Jewish Law frowned on being around anything associated with the dead. There is a whole unclean thing going on here. They are in the land of the outsiders, and now a man who lives in the tombs is involved. And it is only going to get worse.

28When 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”— 29for 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.)

Just put yourself in the place of the disciples for a moment. You are tired, probably hungry after following Jesus around all day fighting off crowds and trying like heck to understand the meaning of all these parables. At the end of the day, Jesus makes you get on a boat. A storm comes up that nearly swamps the boat. You wake Jesus up and he stills the storm, which is cool because you didn’t die, but it is a little freaky that your new friend Jesus can tell the weather what to do. Now he has taken you to a place where good Jewish fishermen shouldn’t go and now you are in this place and this guy comes toward you. Forget the possession issue for a moment, here is a guy who has been chained up in a graveyard under guard but kept breaking free. I would be a little shaken up.

28When 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”—

One thing the gospels are consistent about is that the only ones who ever seem to really understand who Jesus is are the evil spirits. The disciples are surprised every time Jesus does something that reflects his nature as the son of God. Everyone around constantly seems to be oblivious to his identity, except these unclean spirits.

They can see him coming from a mile away. They can see him coming and they know what he is going to do. Let’s go back to the fourth chapter of Luke:

31He went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and was teaching them on the sabbath. 32They were astounded at his teaching, because he spoke with authority. 33In the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34“Let us alone! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”

The unclean or evil spirits are quite content with the status quo and don’t want Jesus to come along and cast them out.

30Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him.

“My name is Legion; for we are many.” Legion is a technical term for a military unit of about 6000 soldiers. So when he says, we are many, he doesn’t mean many like 10. This is a pretty serious demon issue.

31They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.

This is a perplexing line. Did the demons really like it there, or were they afraid they would end up somewhere like New Jersey. I had to read up on some Jewish thinking regarding demons. There seems to be some suggestion that spirits were assigned to certain geographical territories.[1] And so if they were made to leave their place, they wouldn’t really get to do their thing anymore.

32Now 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.

Obviously the unclean spirits really didn’t want to leave the country because they chose another option, entering into some pigs. Just think of the context here for a moment. These nice Jewish fishermen who are having a really bad day to start with, now suddenly there are pigs. Pigs for these Jews are just the picture of unclean.

Leviticus 11:7:

7The pig, for even though it has divided hoofs and is cleft-footed, it does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you.

Remember where they are:

26Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.

Back in Galilee, there would not have even been any pigs.

Demons, graveyards, now pigs, this is just going from bad to worse.

And into these pigs, this is where the demons want to go. I didn’t even know that animal possession was a possibility though it does explain some cats I have known.

32Now 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. 33Then 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.

I just love that this is in the Bible. Now such a bazaar series of events would certainly make the evening news if it happened today and there would be a number of questions. The EPA would want to know who was going to clean up the pollution the rotting pigs have caused that is wrecking the water quality in the Sea of Galilee. The SPCA would be quite interested in how
these animals could be treated so poorly. There would be lawsuits raising questions over who was going to pay for the pigs and if they should have been running loose in the first place. Not to mention problems in the market where those who invested in pork futures are making a killing due to the rising cost pork products.[2]

Anyway, I digress.

34When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. 35Then 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. 36Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. 37Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear.

As one should expect. We might want to stand up and applaud Jesus for this miraculous act of healing this man from what ailed him, but this is some spooky stuff. The guys herding the pigs are freaked out enough that all their pigs are gone. Now they bring back some witnesses and they see all the dead pigs and this guy, the one that had been chained up in the graveyard all these years, sitting calmly. And now it’s decision time. This Jesus fellow, the one who just showed up in the boat with his friends is obviously quite powerful in one way or another. And now it’s decision time. Do you really want someone like this hanging around?

Do we really want someone with this kind of power hanging around? I mean in theory, of course, but really? What kind of orderly, uplifting church services could we have with a character like this around? The gospels show us that every person with an unclean spirit is going to run up to him and say they know him. Our neighbors would hate us if large herds of animals got involved. A guy like this could really mess with the peaceful thing we have going on here. And a guy with this sort of power would constantly make us rethink what we are doing. We would have to constantly look at our priorities we would be challenged in our every attempt to be
comfortable and forced to consider possibilities that aren’t very pretty.

“Jesus, would you mind terribly just getting back in the boat and going home?”

37Then 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.

And Jesus agrees. I sure the disciples helped. “Yeah, Jesus could we please go home?”

38The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him;

Once again, the only one in the story with a clear picture of what is going on, the once possessed man wants to go with Jesus. Which kind of makes sense. We know how people are right. This is the naked guy who was living in the tombs and had to be chained up. “I am much better now.” Of course he wants to go to Jesus. Who do you want to hang out with, the people who think you are a nut or the guy who just saved your life?

38The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39“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.

Jesus has a bigger challenge for the man. No one wants Jesus to stay in this area. They want nothing to do with this guy who casts out demons and allows them to enter into pigs that go running into the water. And this guy gets to stay and witness to them. I mean think about it, if you were the one guy there in this strange land that did believe, wouldn’t you have wanted to get into the boat. Isn’t it more fun to hang out with people who already believe?

Really, isn’t it more fun to hang out with people who already believe?

So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.

Alright to sum up: Jesus and the disciples go to this creepy place and are approached by this creepy guy, the guy knows who Jesus is and Jesus wants to help out by casting out his demons, the demons don’t want to leave the country so they go into some pigs instead, the pigs run into the water and die, everyone gets freaked out and asks Jesus to leave, except the guy he healed who wants to go with him, but Jesus makes him stay and preach at home.

So, who are you in the story? Are you one of the faithful disciples, who probably were kind of wishing they had never gotten on the boat and come to this weird place in the first place? Are you Legion? Maybe its not demons, maybe its something else in your life that is quite content with the status quo Do you need to believe in who Jesus is in order to start believing Jesus can help you? Are you one of the people who really wished Jesus would just go home and stop creating havoc and causing them to reconsider everything they know and believe? Are you the healed one, wishing you could just stay with your master, but instead are being called to a much more difficult task, sharing what you have learned with everyone you can? Are you ready to unleash the unnerving power of God? Is there something in your life that you need God to help you with but you are too afraid to let go. Are you unwilling to accept the possibility that God can truly help you because you are afraid of what that might look like or you are afraid it might be kind of messy or force you to face the limitations that you have places on the power of God? What might you ask God to do if you were really ready to unleash the unnerving power of God?

Should we ask Jesus to get back in the boat? Or do you want to stick around and see what might happen?

[1] R. C. Trench, Notes on the Miracles of Our Lord (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1949), p. 101
[2] Bob Deffinbaugh, “The Gerasene Demoniac” in Highlights in the Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ, on Bible.org,

Will Rice - Sermon #41 "Empty Jars"

Rev. Will Rice
Grace United Methodist Church
Corpus Christi, TX
pastorwillrice@gmail.com

1 Kings 17:8-16


I must have been about twelve years old. It was the dead of winter in Eden, New York. I was with my good friend Dan. Dan was a Jehovah’s Witness and he lived in a cabin way out in the country at the end of a dirt road. We went sledding. That’s what kids do in the winter in Eden, New York. We went to this great hill in the woods about a miles walk from his home. It was a great, long, steep hill that ended in a low gully that, even in the dead of winter had standing water. I had on my pair of boots for that winter, a pair of water resistant leather insulated boots with thick soles. Dan had on the ugliest pair of rubber snowmobile boots I had ever seen. After a whole day of sledding and walking through the water in that gully, my feet were soaked and cold. We started back to his house but my feet were so wet and cold and I was so uncomfortable, I actually had trouble walking. Dan saw my distress so he sat down in the snow, told me to do the same. He took of his ugly rubber snowmobile boots, then he reached over and pulled off my boots. He put his boots on my feet, picked up my boots and walked the rest of the way home in his socks, while my feet were as warm as toast. I didn’t realize it until this morning that his action was one of the most powerful Christian witnesses I ever experienced.

I want you to think for a moment of one of your most prized possessions: something you just love, something you just can’t live without. Now I want you to picture giving it away.

The scripture today is picking up in the middle of the account of the life and ministry of Elijah the Tishbite. He told Ahab the king of Israel at the time that there would be a severe drought and famine in the land. Then, it tells us in the beginning of the chapter, that he goes to the Wadi Cherith, east of the Jordan river, where he drinks from the wadi and is fed by ravens. He stays there until the drought and famine are in full force and then…

8Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 9“Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.”

Alright this is another one of those things where you miss a lot if you don’t read between the lines. Elijah leaves Gilead and goes all the way up to Zarapheth. Zarapheth is not a place where nice Jewish prophets are supposed to hang out. This is a place where people worshiped other Gods. This was the land of the Phoenicians who worshipped the god Ba’al. So, we can assume that the people there, in this land of other Gods, will do bad stuff, right?

10So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.”

I like to take whatever chances I can to help you read the Bible better so listen to this. Whenver you are reading and hear mentioned: a poor person, a barren woman, a leper, or a widow, something is likely to happen. Consider it a flag. The authors of scripture do not throw widows around will-nilly.

So Elijah the Tishbite asks her for some water. Keep in mind there is a drought in all the land, and what does this Ba’al worshipping widow do? She turns around to go get him some water. But Elijah the Tishbite is obviously delirious from the journey because he asks for something else.

11As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”

O.K. Now he is pushing it. Perhaps he doesn’t remember that there is a drought and a famine going on. And add to that, she is a widow and in the time of Elijah a widow would have had trouble getting by even without a drought and famine.

12But she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”

Notice that. “As the Lord your God lives.”

She had just enough for one little meal before they both die from starvation. But, Elijah is persistent, as prophets must be, and he keeps trying.

13Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son.

Bold move. “I heard what you said, but do what I say anyway” And here is why:

14For thus says the LORD the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth.”

Remember what she just said to him, “As the Lord your God lives.” Elijah is telling her to do this on the promise of a God that she doesn’t even believe in.

14For thus says the LORD the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth.”

So what does this woman do, this widow of Zarapheth, this woman from the land of the Phoenicians, this woman who is on her way to make one last simple meal for her and her son before they both perish?

15She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. 16The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.

This widow has made a choice, go and make a last meal for her and her child, from her nearly empty jar, or trust this man and give to him from her nearly empty jar. Think about how severe a decision that is. I know people say, “the church is always asking for money.” But has the church ever asked you to make a choice between feeding your children and giving to the church? This is what Elijah the Tishbite has asked.

I was reading this passage from one of my study Bibles and it had this footnote:

The widow had faith in Elijah’s words, did as he requested, and she and her son were blessed with abundance as long as the drought lasted.

Not to disagree with the biblical scholars but they weren’t necessarily blessed with abundance.

16The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.

They had a little oil and a little meal for bread, they had enough to survive on, not abundance. The reason I point this out is that there is a subtle difference between good and bad theology. Christianity has been severely damaged by preachers who say, “give your money to God and you will get more back!” “Send as much as you can and you will find a new Cadillac in your driveway.” That is not how it works and that is not the point.

The widow gave, not out of expectation of a blessing, but out of trust. She, for one reason or another, trusted that if she listened to this representative of God, that God would take care of her and son.

Now many of us are there. We give of our time and talents and treasure, not expecting that God will return our gifts with abundant blessing, but out of simply trust and obedience. But most of us, me included, give out of our abundance, not out of our scarcity.

Think about it. Popular culture tells me that I don’t have nearly enough. I need a bigger TV, a bigger truck, a faster computer, better tasting deserts, higher-speed internet access, a much cooler cell phone, better shoes, a more relaxing vacation, new furniture, a larger home etc., etc., etc. But really, in the grand scheme of things, I have more than I need materially. I have plenty to eat and drink, I have a comfortable place to live and transportation. I give back to God out of my abundance not out of my scarcity. I give out of my extra.

And it is not just about money and possessions. We very often talk about our time being a much more precious commodity than even our money. But we are not actually as busy as we like to think we are. The average American watches television over four hours a day , many spend more than that just surfing the internet. The forty hour work week which many enjoy wasn’t really implemented until the 1940s . Before that, many people worked 50, 60 and 70 hour weeks. As busy as we feel, we still give out of the abundance of our time.

But what might happen if we gave out of, not just our abundance, but out of our scarcity? Not just out of our full jars but out of our empty jars. What might happen in the world?

I spent a lot of time thinking and praying about this week. This is hard stuff. But when we actually engage in giving from our scarcity, we really get to see how all this stuff has a hold over us. It is pretty easy to give from our abundance. It is just about choices. If I have four coats and I decide to give one away, I just choose which one I like the least or use the least. But, if I have one coat, and I give it away, I have to think about what life will be like without a coat.

Think about the woman in today’s passage:

12But she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”

This wasn’t, “If I give you a cake, I won’t be able to make a pie for after supper that we would eat even though we were full.” This is, “If I feed you, we don’t eat.”

Things change when I move from giving from my abundance to giving from my scarcity. When I give from my scarcity, or at least from my perceived scarcity, when I give away something I need, or even something that I really want, I really have to come face to face with the fact that no thing I have, no possession, is of any actual value. My value, my happiness doesn’t come from any thing, it comes from God. Now this is hard stuff. My value, my happiness doesn’t come from any thing, it comes from God. And this doesn’t even pertain just to material things. My happiness, my value does not come from anything I profess to possess. MY time, MY talents, MY accomplishments are not the sources of MY value or MY happiness. All that stuff comes from God.

And now I am in trouble because in this particular area, the gospel comes directly into conflict with the world.

I want to look real quick at another piece of scripture, Mark 10:17-22:

17As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 18Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.'" 20He said to him, "Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth." 21Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." 22When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

People hate this passage, because it raises the question, “So I am supposed to give away all my stuff?” No it doesn’t say that. The man asks Jesus what he has to do to fully inherit the promise of God and Jesus says, “Let go.”

Let go and instead of only giving from your abundance, trying giving from your scarcity. Not just the extra from the top of your full jars, but give from the depths of your empty jars.

Trust in not your own abundance, but God’s abundance.

A few weeks ago I preached sermon called “One” and in it, I challenged you all to take a week off from judging others. I have to tell you, I have never gotten so much response from a sermon. A number of you told me, in person, via email, or on the phone, how hard it was or how rewarding it was or both. So, I thought I would try again. Here is your assignment this week. Give something away. Anybody can do that. I have a pair of shoes I never wear. I am not going to let you off the hook that easy. Give something away that you actually need. That may be too easy for some of you because then you will just go replace it. Give away something that you love. Give away something that matters to you. Give something not from you abundance, but from your scarcity. Give something from what you would consider your empty jar. It can be anything and it doesn’t need to be material. Maybe for you it means giving away your day off. Maybe it is some money you set aside to spend on yourself. Maybe it is letting down a boundary and giving away a part of yourself that you protect.

Now let me lay down a couple of guidelines. Number one: Think this through. I am not responsible for your actions. Don’t give away your rent money. That is not going to help anyone. Don’t give away a family heirloom that you will forever regret. Unless, maybe you have another family member you could give it to, a family member who may be forever changed by your generosity.

Guideline number two: Be prepared to be freed by giving it away. Be prepared to accept the freedom that comes from knowing that nothing you possess can bring you closer to God, only letting go can.

I don’t ask this lightly. I have been thinking and praying about this all week and I say again, this is hard. When I think about my prized possessions and letting go of them, I get very uncomfortable. But, that in itself tells me something.

Give away something, not from your abundance, but from somewhere else, from your scarcity, from your empty jars, from a place that makes you nervous. Let go. Trust that God’s abundance is enough for you. Amen.