Dear brothers and sisters!
The Gospel account of the man possessed by demons, which we heard today during the Divine Liturgy, may seem distant from our everyday lives. But it is no accident that this healing is recounted twice in the annual cycle of Sunday Gospels: to remind us once again of the destructive work of the enemy and of the power of our Lord Jesus Christ to resist the wiles of the evil one. The Apostle Peter also warns us that the enemy of mankind does not sleep: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour (1 Pet. 5:8).
Brothers and sisters! The Church of Christ is like a ship beset by many trials and tempests on the sea of life, both from without and within. In His wisdom and through His providence, Christ sometimes allows us to endure storms in order to strengthen us in faith.
The Gospel we hear today is preceded by the account of a storm. Once, our Lord Jesus Christ set out in a boat with His disciples across the sea to the land of the Gadarenes. During the night a great storm arose, while Christ slept. The disciples, still weak in faith, cried out to the Lord: “Teacher, we are perishing! Save us!” He arose and rebuked the wind and the waves. Then He said to the disciples: “Why are you so fearful? Why do you have no faith?” Afterward, the disciples asked one another in amazement: “Who can this be, that even the wind and sea obey Him?” Only when Christ healed the demoniac in the land of the Gadarenes did they understand that He was the Son of God, as recounted in today’s Gospel according to Luke.
When the Lord, after calming the storm, came ashore with His disciples in the land of the Gadarenes, they were met by a man possessed by demons. Seeing Jesus, the demon cried out in a human voice: “What have You to do with us, Jesus, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” Then the Lord asked him: “What is your name?” He answered, “Legion,” for there were many of them. The demons begged the Lord not to send them into the abyss, but to let them enter a herd of swine, and the Lord allowed them to do so. The whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned. The people of the nearby villages, informed by the herdsmen, came to Christ and asked Him to leave their territory. Jesus Christ granted their request and sailed away from that land. The man who had been healed begged the Lord to take him with Him, but Jesus said: “Return to your home and tell what the Lord has done for you.” He went away and began to preach about Christ.
The man described as possessed was overwhelmed by an evil force that had seized his mind, will, and body. No human effort could subdue him. He tore apart every chain they tried to bind him with and fled into the wilderness, where he lived among the tombs—that is, in a place where nothing human remained.
At times, brothers and sisters, we too are possessed by dark forces when anger overwhelms us. Though those close to us try to bring us to our senses and put an end to our hostility and malice, we often resist them, break every bond of friendship, and turn away even from those closest to us. In today’s Gospel we see Christ come to the unfortunate man possessed by a demon and hear him ask: “Why have You come to me? What have You and I in common? Why do You want to torment me?” Jesus Christ commanded that this evil, destructive force depart from the man.
Sometimes, when we do not live in repentance and our sins rise above our heads, unclean spirits take hold of us by God’s allowance and strip us of the bright garment of baptism, in which we renounced the shameful works of Satan. At times we resemble the demoniac who did not live in a house: through our laziness and negligence, we fail to attend the holy church of God and instead dwell among tombs—that is, in our passions and lusts, through which demons take hold of our will and compel us to commit lawless deeds. The Apostle John the Theologian teaches: He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning (1 John 3:8). But we can be freed from evil forces. Let us look within ourselves: what is there in us that darkens our hearts, clouds our minds, directs our will toward evil, and makes our words and actions destructive and lifeless? Let us approach Christ humbly in confession, prayer, and Holy Communion, hoping for God’s help.
The Fathers and teachers of the Church testify that there is a kingdom of Satan and the fallen angels, filled with hatred not only for God but also for all people, and especially for Christians, whom they strive to harm in every way. Yet a true Christian must resist them. The devil always tailors his temptations to the disposition of a person’s soul, to whom freedom has been given to choose between good and evil, between light and darkness, between God and Belial. Despite the enemy’s many schemes, Christian ascetics knew when and with what weapons to shield themselves from the devil’s arrows. The Savior Himself says: This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting (Matt. 17:21). Bodily labors, silence and patience, humility, and trust in God’s help and mercy were also weapons against the devil’s wiles. Here are examples showing the weapons with which the ascetics fought the evil spirits. Venerable Daniel recounted that a hermit was asked to cast a demon out of a possessed woman. As soon as he entered her house, the woman struck him on the cheek. In obedience to the Lord’s command, the hermit turned the other cheek to her. Tormented by the saint’s deed, the demon cried out, “What power! The commandment of Jesus Christ drives me out!” and the woman was immediately healed.
The devil confessed to Venerable Macarius of Egypt that nothing defeats him as much as humility. There is no stronger shield or more powerful weapon against demons in spiritual warfare than the name of Jesus, teaches Venerable John Climacus. And Saint Symeon the New Theologian writes: “Just as no one dares to approach someone speaking with an earthly king and interrupt their conversation, so demons dare not approach someone speaking with God.” As long as a person remains in prayer and spiritual contemplation, the enemy cannot overcome him. Therefore, brothers, let us too take up the weapons with which the saints fought the evil spirits. Following their example, we too can emerge victorious from the struggle against the enemies of our salvation—the legions of wicked spirits in the heavenly places.
Let us look at our modern life and observe its events attentively, and we will see that the dreadful image of the Gadarene demoniac is repeated in it in a thousand forms. The evil and cunning enemy of mankind has achieved much in destroying the image of God in man, the crown of earthly creation, who in perfection is a little lower than the angels (Psalm 8:5). What has become of the Godlike soul of man, created for eternal blessedness? Today man is possessed by many demons and brought to the lowest degree of degradation. Like the demoniac, who “wore no clothes,” today’s Sodomites are not ashamed to parade about half-naked. The Lord speaks of the demoniac as “living not in a house, but in tombs.” Are not the apartments and houses in which demonic images from television and computers take up residence in place of contemplation of God and prayer such tombs?
It might seem that modern people, corrupted in body and spirit, should immediately fall at the feet of Jesus Christ and beg to be healed of demonic possession. For one word from the Savior is enough, and the spirit of evil will leave them forever. But what we hear is: “Go away from us! What have You to do with me? I beg You, do not torment me!” In other words, like the demoniac from Gadara, people do not recognize their perilous condition and do not wish to be freed from demonic bondage.
Today the devil does not act against us by brute force; instead, gradually, step by step, he poisons our souls with the venom of sinful passions, thereby undermining and weakening our will. Consider, for example, the unfortunate person possessed by the demonic affliction of drunkenness. A drunkard looks like a demoniac, since he is not in control of his actions. He too needs to be restrained with chains, for when drunk he may commit any terrible crime. The drunkard loses all semblance of humanity, does not recognize his wretched condition, and does not wish to struggle against a passion that destroys the soul, for it is written: Drunkards shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. Yet the drinking continues.
Let us take a closer look at the life around us. Do we not hear today the plea to Christ from the people of Gadara, who lost their herd of swine: “Go away from us—with Your law, Your teaching, Your reminders of sin and hell. Leave our familiar, sinful way of life.” Discussions of modernity and freedom often echo the voice of a corrupted, impure heart, unable to bear the sight of divine purity and truth.
Sin always wages war against holiness; the flesh seeks to enslave the soul. In other words, sin and the flesh seek to drive Christ from their midst. When the Apostle Peter said in a prayer of repentance, Depart from me, O Lord, for I am a sinful man (Luke 5:8), he did so in recognition of his unworthiness, not daring to draw near to the holiness of Jesus Christ, but wishing only to gaze upon Him reverently from afar, striking his breast like the publican, standing at a distance and repenting of his sins with trembling and tears. The people of Gadara did not wish to change their sinful lives, in which flagrant lawlessness had become commonplace—the raising of swine in defiance of the Law of Moses. They wanted instead to drive Christ away, to forget Him forever, so that they could serve earthly passions and sinful attachments—those Gadara swine. They did not want Christ’s holiness to remain near them; it disturbed their spiritual slumber. They had no need of the Word of God, reminding them of conscience and punishment for sin, of the Law of God and spiritual purity. No, they would rather live with swine than with Christ. Hence the Gadarenes’ insulting request to the Lord: “Go away from us!” In essence, this same request is evident in the attitudes and actions of many people today.
Our haven of salvation is plain for all to see: it is the Church of God, where all who desire may receive healing of soul, peace, and salvation. The Book of Proverbs says: Wisdom built herself a house and cries aloud: “Whoever is not foolish, let him come to me” (Prov. 9:1).
Faith is an expression of the soul’s sound condition. A fervent and steadfast faith in God is the natural, saving state of our soul. Yes, it is not easy: it is both a gift of God (Gal. 5:22) and a human struggle. Unbelief or little faith, on the other hand, is unnatural; it is an affliction of the soul, a moral sickness, and an offense against the will of God. Unbelief is deadly to the soul.
Today we see that, after the age of disbelief and atheism in the twentieth century, after spiritual wanderings, brazen defiance of God, and self-confident declarations of faith in humanity and its reason, many modern Gadarenes who once rejected God are returning to Him in sorrow and despair, spiritually thirsty. Like the prodigal son in the Gospel, modern people, after suffering spiritual famine in an atheist land far away, where they tended swine and ate from the same trough, and after enduring anguish, emptiness, and longing for the Father, wish to return to their father’s house so that, like the healed demoniac, they may sit at Christ’s feet. And to those who have been healed of the demonic affliction of unbelief, our High Priest Jesus Christ commands that they remain among the modern Gadarenes who have not yet been healed, and proclaim to them by word and deed the power and glory of the Savior.
May God help us to be healed of sin and to abide in eternal communion with Christ, glorifying and thanking Him for His boundless mercy toward us.
Translated from the original article in Russian.
