“Return to your home and declare how much God has done for you.” Jesus to Legion in today’s Gospel Luke 8:26-39.
“Was that creativity due to bipolar? Was I in manic phase, mania, when I was creating all those dishes? I have no idea, but it would make sense.” Chef Heston Blumenthal, diagnosed with bipolar and known for his unusual dishes and flavour combinations.
Today’s reading is that of a man with mental health issues which, in the time of Jesus, were termed demons. The account in Luke is similar to that in Mark, both happening in the country of the Gerasenes, but in Matthew there are two men and it happens in the country of the Gaderenes. Gerasa and Gadera are places but, as this event occurs near the lake Jesus has just crossed, it takes place in the area between the two places themselves. As Matthew had Jewish readers in mind, he would perhaps have focussed on Gadara as the most important city for Jews whereas Mark and Luke, having wider issues, may have named Gerasa, the Greek and Roman city in the region.
In Luke’s version, the man was naked and also under guard with chains and shackles restraining him although his manic strength meant that he could sometimes break them. Yet, when Jesus arrives, the man meets him, falls down before him and shouts at Jesus as he asks what he wants with him – even though all Jesus has done is step off the boat. He implores Jesus not to torment him and, when Jesus asks his name he replies, “Legion” – many. Luke, a doctor, notes that the man had many demons and when Jesus is begged to let them live, they choose to go into a herd of swine that rush down the hillside and are drowned in the lake. This raises some difficult questions.
The abyss was regarded as a deep place for evil spirits and a chaotic place, the depths of the sea being thought to be part of this. It may have been that the charge of the pigs was a visible sign that his troubles had left Legion and that his demons had gone but why was it necessary for so many animals to die? Later scholars such as Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas took this to mean that the loss of the pigs indicated that Christians had no responsibility for the welfare of animals. That lead to disputes over animal rights but Luke suggests that the demons themselves chose to go into the herd, although he also indicates that Jesus agreed to this. The eating of pork is banned in Judaism but Jesus has now entered Gentile territory and so the death of the pigs causes understandable consternation for the swineherds – their livelihood is now lost.
Was it right to take the swineherds’ work away and could they actually afford it? Is loss and profit more important than innocent creatures? The reaction of the swineherds is to rush off to tell everyone what has happened and then many folk come to see the man, now clothed and rational, sitting with Jesus. Instead of being able to rejoice that so sick a person has been healed, Luke writes that they were afraid and asked Jesus to leave. Did the loss of the pigs matter more than the recovery of the man? Were the owners more concerned about their money rather than the animals? Were they afraid of the power Jesus showed or was it fear of further threats to their businesses?
However, at least one person benefits from this: Legion. As Jesus leaves, Legion asks to go with him, but Jesus tells him to go back home and tell everyone the good news of his healing. The account in Mark suggests that he did go back and amazed all who would listen to him so Legion is known by many today as the first Apostle to the Gentiles – an astonishing feat for one so unwell initially.
It may be that there have been times when we, or perhaps those around us, have endured and learned to manage mental health issues, been released from a burden that affects our wellbeing or had times of prolonged creativity and imagination like Heston Blumenthal. Perhaps, like Legion, we may have also been shunned by others, deprived of our liberty or shackled by what has happened to us or others. Is it possible, with hindsight, to realise that, like them, healing has taken place at some cost? As Jesus suggests to Legion, could we perhaps declare this more than we often do so that others may also hear that healing may be possible?
With my prayers; pob bendith,
Christine, Priest Guardian.