Living in the Spirit

June 18, 2022

Scripture Reading: Luke 8:26-39

Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me’— for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) Jesus then asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He said, ‘Legion’; for many demons had entered him. They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss. –Luke 8:26-31

People for many reasons end up poor living on the street, some suffer from mental illness. Others escaped abusive home lives or suffer from addictions. The demon-possessed man was most likely suffering from some form of mental illness. Some are veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.

We all, to some extent, face challenges when we must change our understanding of the world around us with which we have become comfortable. When I worked with women with children trying to move out of poverty, we offered a workshop where the leader asked the participants the describe their life as it was. For most, it included not having enough money to buy food for a full month. They could not afford clothing for their children They were not able to get a job that paid enough to support their families often because they had dropped out of school because they got pregnant and were deserted by the child’s father. They felt left alone and stuck. The leader of this seminar asked the participants to imagine they were standing on a wall with one side representing the life had just described. The other side was an unknown dark chasm that encompassed their other choices. They were asked to imagine what might fill that void. What did they want to do or be not do or not be? Then they discussed what it would take to make their vision a reality–things like getting their GED or otherwise improving their employability and developing a plan to complete the reorganizing of their lives refocusing on making what they wanted to be a reality. It was a very successful program.  One of the participants wanted to be a hairdresser. I had watched a lot of young women go to beauty school and have it not work out, but I helped her enroll in the school and had her cut my hair after she had graduated and was renting a booth in a shop. Two years later she owned the shop. She enabled many young women to seek and fulfill their visions also.

One of Jesus’s traits was the ability to see the talent in each person he met and when necessary, help them to see and actualize it also. As Jesus’s disciples, we have been given that same challenge.

Prayer: Lord, help us at each stage of our lives fulfill being the person you created us to be and help us help others do the same. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.