From Zero to One

1 Kings 19:1-15a

Luke 8:26-39

My kids continually tell me that things are not the same as they used to be.  The world I grew up in no longer exists.  It a lot of respects, that is a good thing.  We communicate more efficiently, we treat diseases more effectively and we information is shared more broadly. But human nature remains the same.  In junior high school it is still the tendency to point to others quirks, oddities, and missteps so that yours might go unnoticed.  I say, “In Junior High School” because that is where we seem to hone and perfect this skill that we take with us for the rest of our lives. 

We find clever ways of hiding the parts of us that don’t quite fit with the rest of the world.  This is not true universally of course. There are those courageous souls who live authentic lives; that take the gifts that God has given them and they put them out there, risking everything, but usually reaping the benefits of a well-lived life.  These are the artists, the poets, the revolutionaries, those that are not afraid to speak their mind.  These are the people who love without fear; who wake every morning knowing that they are living in God’s will and go to sleep every night knowing that they have done all they could. 

Then there are the rest of us.  We hit the mark most of the time, or maybe some of the time.  We fail once and a while, we struggle once and a while.  We feel guilty for the things we have done or said, so we start to hide.  We hide our true selves from the world and from God.  But then along comes someone who has really messed up.  Someone that had really made poor decisions in life and we talk about them.  We talk about how they got off track.  We talk about how they should be living.  And we comfort each other with these kinds of conversations because we mutually agree that if we are talking about “them” we don’t have to talk about me.

In the Gospel lesson we got a snapshot of a very exciting day. Can you imagine life in that small town? People just like you and me.  Human nature doesn’t change. Culture and traditions differ but people are people.  They had that that guy in town who was OUT OF HIS MIND.  He was violent and strong.  He would hurt himself.  They tried to chain him up but he would just break free.  He was dangerous and a problem for the town.  He was obviously the worst person in the town.  But then one day some pig farmers were working outside and noticed some boats coming across the lake.  The people in the boats got out and went to the tombs where the dangerous man was.  I imagine they were watching pretty intently because this could be good entertainment.  These people didn’t know how dangerous this guy was.  AS they were watching the man who the town feared changed his stance and his demeanor.  Instead of agitated and hostile he looked calm and serene.  Then suddenly the heard of pigs left the farmers, ran down the hill and drowned in the lake.  That’s a big deal.  That’s news.  So the pig farmers went and told people what they had seen.

It makes sense that when Jesus approached the man possessed with a legion of demons that the man would react in fear.  Jesus is the Son of God.   Jesus is Holiness in bodily form.  Jesus very existence threatens their existence.  The demons know that the place for them was the abyss.  They had set their spirit in opposition to God’s will and so separation from God is like a wide bottomless pit.  This was a fearful idea and a most undesirable way to spend eternity so they begged Jesus not to be sent to the abyss so Jesus sent them into the filthiest animal imaginable to the Jewish mind, the pig.

It makes sense and it is understandable why the man with the legion of demons was fearful but when word spread about what had happened, the towns people came out they were filled with fear when they saw the man who was possessed in his right mind and at peace. They were afraid and asked Jesus to leave.  On first reading this didn’t make sense to me. But then I remembered my lesson from Junior high school.  They were afraid in the same way that the man possessed with demons was afraid.  Up until that moment he had been the worst one in town.  Now, perhaps their demons are at risk of being exposed.  The places they have made agreements with evil will be revealed.  The strongholds that the evil one has in their hearts may become known. 

We don’t like to have light shown in our dark places.  We don’t like anyone to even know that we even have dark places. They were afraid. They were convicted.  They knew they could not measure up to the holiness of God and they begged Jesus to leave. And so Jesus left.

Jesus left but he did not abandon them.  The man that was healed was so thankful to Jesus. He love for Jesus spilled out of his spirit and he wanted nothing more than to follow Jesus all the days of his life but Jesus said, “no.” He commanded the man to go home and tell people about what God had done for him. This was a town that had no one speaking the truth of God. They were in their own self- sustaining delusion that, “as long as I am not as bad as that guy, I’m okay.” They had zero, now they have one.

They were happy with “good enough.” Now they will see what more they could be.  When things seem good enough, it’s surprising how much of the bad stuff we will put up with.  Jesus left this man behind to be a shock to the system.  He was so bad before and now he is so joyful for the blessings of God.  He has been freed from his chains, he has been set free and he won’t have enough good to say to express his love for Jesus.  Do you think his presence will make a difference in that town, even though he is only one man?

But we like to be like Elijah though don’t we?  Remember when he found out that the odds were against him?  His life was being threatened by the government. All the prophets of God were gone but him.  He was all alone.  He lay down under that broom tree and just wanted to die?

Is that what you would do?  What if you were the last Christian on the face of the planet?  Everybody, I mean everybody is saying they just don’t believe that any more.  Its old fashioned.  It can’t be true.  And on top of that if you continue to preach it you’re gonna get killed.  What would you do?

I had a drill Sargent in basic training at Ft. Sill Oklahoma; Drill Sargent Booth was his name.  He gave us a scenario. He said “you are surrounded by the enemy in a foreign land. You are all alone your whole platoon has been wiped out. You are wounded. If captured you will likely be heavenly interrogated. You have one bullet left. What do you do? 

There was some murmuring from my fellow soldiers about possible actions to take.

Then the Drill Sargent screams “YOU USE THAT BULLET TO TAKE OUT THE ENEMY!” We are behind enemy lines.  We are indeed surrounded. Fortunately we have the blessing of a Christian community to love and support us.  But there are times when we may want to lay down and give up like Elijah.  There are times when it would be easier to be just good enough to not be as bad as that guy. But then god sends an angel to bless us; to give us encouragement.  It may not be an angel with wings but it may be a friend or a family member with and encouraging word.  You might hear from God in a Bible study, church group or even, perhaps, from a sermon. Hear this:  God doesn’t want you to hide behind the appearance of Good enough; God wants to perfect you in Jesus Christ.

The thing is you may be the only one!  You may look around and see no one standing up for God. You may see no one working to grow the ministries of the church.  You may see no one starting a ministry that you know would be a blessing to the community. If that is what you see then perhaps God is calling you to take that zero and become the one.

The healed man wanted to go with Jesus.  He left him behind as the only one.

Elijah tried to find the lord in all the calamities that were around him but found him in the stillness and the quit.  He was the only one. 

Good times.

You may be the only one.

If you don’t want to be the only one then go and make one.  If you and another agree on what God is calling the church to be then there is nothing that will defeat you. But need to be willing to have those spiritual conversations with people to be able to discern God’s will.

We have these phrases that the world has heard us say, “You’ve got to have a personal relationship with Jesus.” And those of us who have that understand what that means but when you say that to someone who doesn’t they may just answer with “No I don’t!” and the conversation is over.  They’ve quit listening.  If you want others to know Christ you have to show them Christ.  Show them Christ living inside you.  Tell people about what Jesus has done for you.

Love and accept people for who they are and what they could be in Christ Jesus.

Jesus didn’t tell the man that he healed to go and tell people to have a personal relationship with him he said go home and tell people what God has done for you. He did that.  He did that!

So how is it with you today?  What is God calling you to be?  What is God calling you to do?