Was in the country of the Gadarenes and the people not directly touched by the incident with the demoniac. They — the witnesses did not wish to be touched Christ. They do not need a Living God, so unpredictable, so genuine, so real. They want “God in a box”, not demanding, confirming the correctness of what they do. Every gospel passage is very important right now for each of us. And you always have to think about why this gospel text today I stepped in for a service or read at home. Sermon of Archpriest Alexander Abramov of the week the 24th after Pentecost.
- The exorcism
- Their name is Legion
- About dobroplodni fathers and the gerasene demoniac
- The healing of the demoniac: what road will you choose?
- God Came In. Freed the man. And then what?
And they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. When He went ashore, met Him, one man from the city, possessed by demons since old time, and in clothes not getting dressed, and lived not in the house, and in coffins. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and a loud voice said, what have You to do with me, Jesus, Son of God most high? I beg You not to torture me. For Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to leave from this person because it long time tormented it so it connected circuits and bonds, saving him; but he burst the bonds and was driven by the demon into the deserts. Jesus asked him, what is thy name? He said: Legion, because many devils were entered into him. And they begged Jesus not to command them to depart into the abyss. Here on the mountain grazing great herd of swine; and they besought Him that he would suffer them to enter into them. He allowed them. The devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd rushed down the steep Bank into the lake and drowned. The shepherds, seeing event, have run and have told in city and in the villages. And went to see what happened; and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they were affrighted. Those who saw it told them how the demoniac was cured. And asked Him all the people of the Gadarenes neighborhood away from them because they were seized with great fear. He got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone out begged Him to be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, return to your house and tell what God has done for you. He went and preached throughout the city what Jesus had done for him.
LK. 8: 26-39
Christ comes in the country of the Gadarenes and finds demon-possessed, who for many years was possessed by demons, to such an extent that we little known. He was chained, he broke off and ran away. He wasn’t dressed up in clothes and he lived not in a house but in the tombs. The tomb is a cave, which is very hard to get her fill of large stones. Here in this coffin lived gerasene demoniac.
The Savior, seeing his suffering, heals the demoniac. At first sight, against his wishes. He did not say “Heal” or “Help”. He can’t say: “Help,” because this “help” is not from the throat, which paw satanic captured and retained. But this is an internal “help” the Savior felt without words, because the human reaction is not to be in the power of demons, and to be in the power of God, which does not have the power in our human value commands and orders, but the imperious desire, and the joy of being with loved ones.
Christ casts out devils. And “feeble audacity” of demons: the demons are trying to deceive Christ. There, they found the opportunity to play with Christ. Not wanting to send them into the abyss, they are asked to put themselves in the pig herd — as if being in this swine herd, they have failed innocent beast to death.
The devils can’t change. The devil, even assuming that he do otherwise, always committed to the abyss, to oblivion. The Holy fathers say about lonelinessi evil, on nbytestowrite evil: it does not exist, evil is the vacuum of good. And demons thrown into the abyss and buried along with the herd of pigs, and how they were designed. Demons imagined that Christ does not know what will happen to them. Ridiculous, absolutely demonic attempt to put the Lord in an awkward position.
Christ has no agreement with Satan. The Apostle rhetorically asks: What fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? (2 Cor. 6: 14-15). So when we hear gross or subtle, direct or indirect allusions to moral compromise, we must always know that it is about to throw us into the abyss. Whatever we may say, no matter how we persuaded, whatever songs we sung, when the offer or otherwise to recede from Christ, we are to the abyss.
Was in the country of the Gadarenes and other people not directly touched by the incident with the demoniac. They — the witnesses, but witnesses of evil, does not wish to be touched Christ, because if He touches, what will happen with all the other swine herds? Seeing what had happened, they asked that He left. They — and all of these people of faith, because there were unbelievers — do not need a Living God, so unpredictable, so genuine, so real. They want “God in a box”, not demanding, confirming the correctness of what they do. But such a God does not exist. Are false gods, which the gathering of the Savior.
Every gospel passage that we read or hear for the service will somehow — it always does — refers to the time in which we live, it is very important now for each of us. And you always have to think about why this gospel text today I stepped in for a service or read at home. Today we said that we were not indifferent. Not to ask Christ to leave, that was not the evil witnessed, and stood guard over their souls, not letting go in the demons. Because we intake and expel have Christ at the cost of His precious Blood.
When the possessed sees Christ, he is, of course, he did not, and that Legion of devils which he possessed, — asked Him: what do You want with me, Jesus, Son of God most high? I beg You not to torture me. Because the appearance of the light and truth purifies the soul of the person who touches the truth, and destructive to Satan. Note that the demons called Jesus Christ, the Son of the most high God. But for them it is naming, this recognition is painful: they drop to the ground person, the mouth of which recognize Jesus as the Son of God.
And so Christ casts out a Legion of demons. The man from whom the demons had gone out begged Him to be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, return to your house and tell what God has done for you. He went and preached throughout the city what Jesus had done for him. Preaching, he thus calls Him God. He wanted to stay with Him, Who healed him. But the One Who healed him told him to go and tell that made him a God. And the man goes and with joyful zeal, not only in his house, as it was told to him, but across the city speaks of the grace of God and about Jesus as about God. But Jesus said to him: “I am God”. He didn’t even say, “Yes, I Jesus was the son of the most high God”. He just did what could only have been God. And people, freed Them from demons, joyfully, and not with the flour as before when it was owned by the devils, God knows It.
From the book “whosoever will may come. Conversations on Sundays and feast the gospel reading,” published in the publishing house “Nikea”