Memorial of Saint Blaise, bishop and martyr

Lectionary: 323

Jesus and his disciples came to the other side of the sea, to the territory of the Gerasenes.

When he got out of the boat, at once a man from the tombs who had an unclean spirit met him. The man had been dwelling among the tombs, and no one could restrain him any longer, even with a chain. In fact, he had frequently been bound with shackles and chains,

but the chains had been pulled apart by him and the shackles smashed, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the hillsides he was always crying out and bruising himself with stones.

Both readings today describe unhinged men shrieking at either King David or, a thousand years later, the Son of David. Both men are living on the edges of society; they are dangerous, belligerent, and uncontrollable. We might say, in the parlance of today's paternalism, they have unresolved issues.

"Shimei, the son of Gera, of the same clan as Saul’s family," blames David with some justification for the murder of his kin. Saul died in battle and David had nothing to do with that; but some of David's party took it upon themselves to dispatch potential heirs to Saul's throne. David apparently made no effort to bring the killers to justice.

But Saul was never actually a king; he was the chief of one of several guerrilla armies trying to drive the Philistines out of the hill country and secure a measure of independence for the impoverished Hebrews. David succeeded where Saul failed, and some of Saul's kin never forgave him for that.

So when David was run out of Jerusalem by the advancing army of his renegade son, Absolom, Shimei took advantage of the king's humiliation and made his protest. At the time, David had bigger fish to fry and couldn't be bothered with Shimei. 

Jesus was confronted by a similar situation. Saint Mark describes the Gerasene demoniac in great detail. He is one of those unfortunates who confront every society; try as we will to help them, there is nothing we can do. We put them in jails or insane asylums; we hide them in our homes or let them wander homeless in the streets. They are tormented by forces beyond our control. 

Given our predicament in 2020, in Europe and the United States, and around the world, today's readings remind us of certain unresolved issues which many thought had been laid to rest. The ugliest names for these issues might be racism and nationalism. The Second World War ended when the United States invited all nations to initiate a new world order, with international bodies like the United Nations, the Hague, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. Horrified by the senseless slaughter of minorities during the war, and the pseudo-science of eugenics with its barbaric treatment of living human beings; they recognized "empire" as the problem and began to deconstruct the European empires that had dominated and exploited developing nations. These empires had believed their racial superiority gave them license to rule the world even as they fought savagely with one another. Eugenics promised to justify their authority and to purify the "caucasian" race. 

Until 2016, Brexit and the election of Donald Trump, we thought those demons had been laid to rest. As noisy and troublesome as Islamic terrorism was, it seemed manageable; their insurrection would be settled by the advance of democracy. The NRA and white nationalism didn't seem to threaten the foundations of the postwar order. With benevolent rehabilitation we could manage drug abuse, alcoholism and the rising tide of suicide. Even yet, I meet engineers who think we can ease the environmental crisis with better technology. 

I read today's readings as reminders of our present predicament, and that we cannot save ourselves. I find myself struggling to say it clearly, and to offer hope. I understand many people despise religion. They will not hear of Jesus Christ the Savior, nor of the Holy Spirit. But they have abandoned all hope when they renounce the Truth. 

We must worship the Truth, not the "facts," which are only facsimiles of the truth. Facts are discovered by human endeavor, Truth is revealed. 

Truth is known only by those who are willing to know, love, and serve the Truth with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. It cannot be controlled or managed. No one owns the Truth, but those who serve the Truth are owned by it. 

Those who say there is no truth are liars; they are found in every party and every religion. The better sort will try to control the madness with shackles and chains, with technology and STEM, but their effort comes to nothing. 

In today's gospel, Jesus' command is very quiet. Mark describes it like a whispered prayer, something said under his breath: "He had been saying, 'Unclean spirit, come out of the man." The man's deliverance finally comes when Jesus permitted the demons to enter the swine. 

Many would like to see more drama in our salvation; perhaps an apocalyptic End of the World. 

Deliverance will come, in any case. 

We must pray for it. Our role is to pray for it.