The Real Higher Power
(Luke 8: 26-39)
When I got to the Olympic Peninsula in June of 2008 to begin work as Jefferson County’s newest deputy prosecuting attorney, I was excited to learn that we had a Drug Court. Previously as a district attorney in East Texas I had researched the feasibility of starting a Drug Court in my county but was sadly shown the door by the voters before I could get it up and running. Nevertheless, in my experience as a police officer, defense attorney, and prosecutor I had seen up close and personal how devastating an addiction to alcohol or drugs could be and the toll it took on not only the addicted one, but their family, friends, and society in general. In many instances they were fighting their inner demons, and their substance abuse made their struggle all the more devastating.
Jefferson County’s Drug Court was what is commonly known as a 12 Step Program that is essentially faith-based. Now you would think that a “faith-based” program in today’s times would be problematic with so many claiming not to believe in God, but it wasn’t. First, I was surprised how many of our drug court defendants had grown up in a Christian household and could even quote scripture. And second, for those who didn’t believe in God they had to admit that there was “greater power” out there, that they were powerless over alcohol or drugs, and that their lives had become unmanageable. They had to come to believe that a Power greater than themselves could restore them to sanity. They had to make a decision to turn their will and lives over to the care of God as they understood Him, and that they were entirely ready to have God remove all of their defects of character. And third, the Spirit believed I was ready, that I was in the right place at the right time, to be the prosecuting attorney on a drug court team in hopes that once freed from their demons our drug court children would realize the strength and power of the real Higher Power.
And that’s the underlying message of our scripture reading for this morning, that there is a “power” greater than ourselves who can restore us to sanity if we only turn to him and ask. We begin with a reading from the Gospel of Luke who tells us that Jesus, and his disciples had just sailed across the Sea of Galilee to the land of the Gerasene’s and as soon as Jesus got out of the boat he was met by a man possessed by demons. We’re told that this man was so possessed he lived among the tombs, naked and homeless. When the man saw Jesus, he shrieked and fell down before him shouting: What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Host High God? I beg you, don’t torture me. Luke tells us that Jesus had already commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Many times the man had been free of his demons but the unclean spirits would always come back and retake possession of him to the point he would have to be bound with leg irons and chains and placed under guard. He would, nonetheless, break his restraints and the demon would force him into the wilderness. Jesus asked the man what his name was, and he responded: Legion, because of the many demons that had entered him. Luke’s audience would have understood the meaning of the name Legion, as a legion was the largest unit in the Roman Army, having between three to six thousand soldiers. This guy was possessed by a lot of demons. The demons pleaded not to be cast back into the abyss and begged to be put into a large herd of pigs grazing nearby. Jesus gave them permission, and they left the man entering the pigs. Unfortunately for the demons the pigs rushed over a cliff plunging into the lake and drowned. Those who were tending to the pigs ran into town and reported what they had witnessed. The townspeople came out to the lake shore to see for themselves and observed that the man they knew to be demon possessed was sitting at Jesus’ feet, fully dressed and completely sane. We’re told that they were filled with awe. The man who had gotten his life back begged to join Jesus as one of his disciples, but Jesus turned him away saying: Return home and tell the story of what God has done for you. Luke tells us that the man did just that, going throughout the city proclaiming what Jesus, the one associated with the real Higher Power, had done for him.
What an amazing story! The description of the man’s condition emphasizes that he was homeless and ends with Jesus’ command to return home. Jesus not only frees the man from his demons, but he returns him to his home, to his estranged family and friends. This so much describes the Drug Court experience that I firmly believe Jesus was with us at the table every Thursday morning as we worked through the demons that possessed so many of our participants. Many of our participants, through their drug-seeking behavior, had alienated themselves from their families finding themselves couch-surfing in the homes of other drug users. We had one young woman who, before entering Drug Court, was living in a large cardboard box. You don’t get much more homeless than that. Many parents of the addicted participants would tell me that I was wasting my time and taxpayer dollars on their child, and to just lock them up. It was the best place for them they would sadly lament. I remember one such parent who came to his son’s Drug Court graduation and thanked me for giving his son back to him. It wasn’t me. It was the work and grace of the real higher power.
Jesus demonstrated his power by casting out not one, but a legion of demons too powerful to control with ordinary restraints. This should speak volumes to those of us struggling with our own demons that there is no single demon or great number of demons that Jesus can’t handle. With Jesus, you are not beyond overcoming your demons with his help. The demons in Luke’s Gospel recognized Jesus and his authority immediately. They knew who Jesus was and what his great power could do to them which is why they tried to negotiate with him. Yeah, that’s what our demons do. They cause us to rationalize our behavior, to minimize it. We saw a lot of that in Drug Court with our participants who were still under the grip of their demons. They would make excuses, try to minimize their situation, and attempt to negotiate their treatment regimen. Even if we don’t have an addiction to alcohol, drugs, pornography, gambling, or anything else subject to abuse, we are no different in the demons we are possessed with who work to destroy not only our relationship with our friends and families, but more importantly, our relationship with God. But the demons that possess us are ultimately powerless against those who put their trust in Jesus.
Our Drug Court graduates were just like born again Christians. They were so excited to be free from their demons, to have a new clean and sober life that they couldn’t wait to share their good news with their friends, many of whom were fighting their own demons, and hurting their families. One of my graduates was so grateful that she went on to get her chemical dependency counselor’s license and is now helping others come back from that dark place she inhabited with her demons. She is like the demon possessed man in our scripture reading. She’s an effective witness to those who knew her previous conditions and could personally attest to this miraculous healing. Jesus put this man to work expanding his ministry and introducing his message to people who could identify with the struggles of life. If he could do it, anybody could with the help of the real higher power.
And life can be a struggle, it can be difficult even under the best of circumstances, but when you introduce demons into your life, life as you knew it is unrecognizable and seemingly impossible to get back. So, if you are wrestling with your own demon or demons, take your cue from the man who had more demons than you could count. Let Jesus into your life, let him take control, let him cast out the demons, let him send you back home to be with friends and family. Or maybe you’re like the man who had been freed from his demons, excited to have your life back. You’ve been given a gift, a gift that needs to be shared with others. God has touched your life, don’t be afraid to share this wonderful event with family and friends. Share with the world what you have learned about the real higher power and the amazing things that can be done by and through him.
Let us pray.
When the storms of life are raging, stand by us, when the world is tossing us like a ship upon the sea, thou who rulest wind and water, stand by us. Yes, gracious and loving God, stand by us during those times of trouble and turmoil, during our tribulations, especially during those times when we’ve made bad decisions and are now paying the price. We pray for your mercy and your grace. We pray for your higher power to rid our lives of our faults and failures, and all that keeps us from having a healthy relationship with not only our loved ones, but with you. This we pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.