Out Our Way: The Gospel according to Goliath: Mark 5:1-13

Out our way, there used to be real hostility between those who raised sheep and those who raised cattle.   

In the days of the open range, there was competition between flocks and herds for the grazing. Today many folks raise both - but there was a time when folks actually shot at each other over the sheep and the cows.

But if the animosity of ranchers for sheep in cattle country and vice versa was intense - it was nothing compared to the outright disgust and hatred the Jews had for pigs. The pig was an abomination to the Jews and pork was absolutely forbidden as not kosher, so were those who raised the pigs or had anything to do with them. Hence the ultimate shame and disgrace of the prodigal son who became so poor in a pagan land that he ended up living with the swine. That was as low as you could go, and yet the father welcomed him back with open arms. It was a reminder that no pit is so low that God cannot reach down to pull us out.

In the incident with "Legion" the demon possessed pagan, pigs again come into play. As you may recall, in crossing the sea of Galilee with the disciples, a great storm had come upon them threatening to sink their boat. Jesus commanded the wind to stop blowing and the sea to be calm, and his disciples were filled with awe that Jesus had power over the natural world. Now he demonstrated His power over the supernatural as well.

Most of the pagan gods were actually demons or spirits that demanded sacrifice and obedience. Men were helpless against them for they were powerful. At times they would possess someone and then that person demonstrated powers as well. In this case, the man was filled with so many demons that he was called "Legion." As you probably know, the Roman Legion was a large unit of men - something like a battalion.  So when Jesus demanded the demon's name the answer was " Legion, for we are many!"

People had tried to restrain the demon possessed man with ropes and chains over the years, but they could not control him. The madness was so overwhelming that even a group pf men could not subdue him. Everyone was terrified of the power of the demons. But notice who is terrified in this encounter with Christ.   It is the demons who cry out and shriek in fear, for they know who Jesus is.  Like the wind and waves, they are greater than we are - but are no match for God.

And so frightened are they that they beg Jesus to not banish them to Hell, but to allow them to go into the herd of pigs that is near by. They are allowed to do so and the pigs go mad and race off the cliff into the sea and are drowned. Again the power of Christ proved supreme and his disciples were in awe.

In time, they also would discover the power of God at work in them as the Holy Spirit is given to believers. They, too, would cast out the powers of darkness and work signs and wonders as God used them as His instruments. But, of course, not everyone was pleased with the idea that God could become so intimately involved in the affairs of humanity. The pig herders were not at all pleased at the loss of their herd in the sea but, even more, were frightened by the healing of the demon-possessed man. They asked Jesus to leave them, for they feared the power of Heaven even more than the powers of Hell.  

Some things never change, for we see various groups these days wanting Christ to depart as well. We hear of these folks who are upset that there is a statue of Jesus on the ski slopes near Whitefish. The same group is wildly indignant that a cross is displayed in a city's insignia in Texas. They are also demanding the removal of the Ten Commandments from courthouses - the Supreme Court - and  community parks because it offends them. That the motto "In God We Trust" is not only in the National Anthem but on our coins infuriates them to no end. Like the pig herders, they are more upset by the powers of Heaven than the powers of Hell. The decline in morals, ethics, and humanity in our culture is not nearly so terrible as the presence of Christ, and they demand He leave because His presence disturbs the pigs and them.

"Remove God" they demand. Well, various powerful political leaders and movements have actually attempted to do so. Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot all sought to cast out God from their lands. "Remove God from the culture and replace Him with ourselves," they declared. And they found they were not alone in this way of thinking, for the so-called "progressives" of the day had helped prepare the way. Rejecting God in favor of human wisdom - as Neitsche and Marx taught - opened the way for the new religion of the party and the worship of the "master race." Hitler, Stalin, Mao and other tyrants of recent history did not invent these things, but found them well established in the "cultural elite" who had first demanded Christ be banished. Nature abhors a vacuum, and when God is removed someone else fills His place in the culture. George Orwell saw the danger of  the "Big Brother" form of government back in the '40's when he published his, 1984. Now, nearly 70 years later,  his terrifying tale is no longer a futuristic fantasy, but is starting to become a reality in our modern culture.  

But wait. Big Brother - like the wind and the wave and the power of Darkness - may be vastly more powerful than we are, but he is not invincible. Again, look not only to the scripture but to history.

The church and believers survived the Nazis in Germany, the Communists in Russia, the cultural Revolution in China and the massacres in Cambodia. The powers of the world know the power of Christ - but they hope you and I don't. That is why they demand Him to go away. For they know who He is ... and they shudder.

(John Bruington is pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Havre. Copies of this article, sermons and Bruin Town Tales are available at http://www.havrepres.org.)