Suffering of Those Who Surround Us; Sermon on Mark 5:1-20

Rev. George Miller
Jan 26, 2020
Mark 5:1-20

Last week we began our sermon by discussing Dr. Martin Luther King and his pilgrimage to non-violence.

This week we begin with another kind of pilgrimage, this one a perilous journey from death into life.

1st-let us set the stage.

Jesus gets into a boat and travels to an unfamiliar part of the world, in which he has a terrifying encounter in a place of the dead.

To fully grasp the mood, think of the movies, more particular, those RKO creature-features shot in black n white

Think of KING KONG, with Faye Wray on the boat traveling to Skull Island where she will soon encounter prehistoric monsters of all kinds.

Today’s reading is meant to evoke that sense of foreboding, but just underneath that sense of danger, there are other emotions-

Isolation. Loneliness. Abandonment.

For just as Faye Wray is about to meet the mighty Kong, the last of his kind, Jesus is about to meet a man, a person who is unlike all the others.

Someone who is so feared, so terrifying, he is made to live by himself, surrounded by death and shackled in chains.

In this place of gloom and doom, demons and death, there is also sadness and solitude.

The man is utterly alone.

Jesus offers him healing, and as a result he can leave behind the skulls and bones of the cemetery.

He is able to re-enter civilization; he is able to re-enter life.

Now, there are so many ways in which we can read scripture.

We can count the number of times certain words are used. We can look for parallels to other ancient tales. We can bring in modern day psychology.

There’s another way to study scripture that often unlocks its many mysteries-

To ask ourselves- who else is in this story? Who else lives in this narrative?

Jesus heals the man and says “Go home…and tell them how much the Lord has done for you.”

Which means the man had a family. He had neighbors. He had friends.

In the beginning of this movie we think we are meeting a monster, but after Jesus steps in, we discover that who we are actually meeting is a man.

A son.
A brother.
A nephew.
A neighbor.
A friend.
An uncle.
A husband.
A dad.

The man is somebody’s somebody.

This man has an encounter with Jesus and is he is restored back into society and back into life.

That’s profound.

If you recall, last week we discussed how Americans tend to view things from the lens of manufacturing and how we “make” things.

There’s also another very American thing we tend to do- we tend to view things from the lens of individualism.

We tend to see ourselves as isolated islands, but that’s not how the world was when Jesus lived.

Back in Jesus’ day, it was all about relationships and society, being part of the community and belonging to something greater than yourselves.

So, today’s story is not just about a man who is possessed by demons; it is about a man who is excluded from being part of the whole.

Because he is deemed unclean, he is not welcome in worship, he is not welcome at work, he is not welcome at the Monday Night Bowling League.

Because of his condition, he is not welcome at his kid’s softball game, he is not welcome in his marriage bed, he is not welcome in his own home.

Therefor, this story is not just about the suffering of one man, but about the systematic suffering of everyone who surrounds him.

So this healing that Jesus offers becomes the very thing that begins the process of restoring the man’s relationships, and healing the others who surround him.

Restoring his family circle. Restoring his community. Restoring his friendships.

Think of the ways in which we are connected to one another.

Think of how when those we care about are tormented, we are tormented too.

That when someone we care about suffers, we suffer as well.

Spouses who see their beloved in the hospital.

Those of us who see our parents struggling in skilled nursing.

Parents who watch their children dealing with addiction.

Siblings who experience how mental illness can ravage a family.

A circle of friends who watch as another self-destructs.

A community heartbroken by a senseless act of violence…

…The man in today’s story suffered greatly.

So did his parents. So did his siblings. So did his spouse. His kids. His neighbors, his co-workers, and his friends.

So when we witness Jesus healing this one man, we realize that Jesus is actually healing many.

This isn’t a movie about one man stuck on Skull Island, who comes before Christ and is healed.

It’s also about the people he told…and the people they told who went on to tell the author of Mark.

This story isn’t just about one solitary man, it’s also about the people who read Mark, and who shared Mark.

It’s about those who hear the Gospel of Mark preached; those who are reading the sermons and watching the videos.

This story is about every one of us here today and everyone across the social media stratosphere who now become recipients of this testimony,

of this one man, who at one time, was left so utterly, completely alone and feared and despised…

Until he has an encounter with the Living Lord.

That’s what can happen when we let Christ into our lives, when we are willing to submit and bow before him.

We can co-create ripples that grow and expand beyond ourselves, that connects, giving hope and inspiring.

This lone man, a discarded thread of a human, has an encounter with Christ, and he is not only brought back from death and into life,

he now becomes a part of the tapestry of our faith.

And for that, we can all give thanks.

Amen.