Sermon for Sunday June 19, 2022 - Love Has Room

READING: Galatians 3:23-29

A reading from Galatians.

23Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. 24Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. 25But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, 26for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. 27As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 29And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.

Word of God, word of life.

Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL: Luke 8:26-39

The holy gospel according to Luke.

Glory to you, O Lord.

26Then [Jesus and his disciples] arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27As 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. 28When 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”—29for 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.) 30Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. 31They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.
 32Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
 34When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. 35Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 36Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. 37Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39“Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.

The gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

Jill didn’t recognize anyone,

but why would she?

She had been friends with the bride,

for some time,

but they didn’t have any mutual friends.

Jill, although often anxious in larger groups,

was excited to be invited to the wedding,

and came early to the church

and sat on the “bride’s” side.

The church pews quickly filled

with people eager for the wedding.

The preacher shared the familiar

1 Corinthians 13 passage:

Love is patient, Love is kind…

and the preacher’s tagline stuck with Jill:

Love always has room for one more person.

An odd line for a

monogamous wedding ceremony,

she thought,

but it stuck with her.

Love always has room for one more person.

As the cocktail hour approached,

Jill would occasionally pass other wedding guests

and exchange a smile

or kind yet awkward “Hello” with them.

Jill knew there was no assigned seating at this reception,

so she made sure to get to into the hall early

to find a seat with a good sightline

of the head table and podium.

Jill purchased a glass of wine

and took her seat at an empty table,

passing the time with her social media feeds

and a quick visit from the DJ

who asked if she had any requests.

“Yeah, I’d like to request another drink!”

she thought to herself,

but instead asked for the ABBA song;

“Take A Chance On Me”.

More and more people gradually filled the hall.

One couple walked close to Jill,

and exchanged that kind yet awkward “Hello”

as they chose to sit at the next table.

Another couple avoided eye contact

as they walked past Jill

and took a spot at the back of the hall.

The Master of Ceremonies came to the microphone

and asked everyone to take their seats.

Only one couple with a young baby

took a seat at Jill’s table,

making sure to leave a seat or two in-between

Jill and their young family,

and then sharing that kind yet awkward “Hello”

Jill was all alone in that wedding banquet hall.

It seems love did not have room

for one more person that evening.

It might not be loneliness for you:

perhaps it is anxiety or grief,

perhaps some kind of physical pain

that won’t go away.

In our own way, we are all Jill:

trying to find our place

in hopes that something or someone

might come along and make room for us.

Sure, when we feel like Jill,

we can go looking for someone or something

to fill us,

but you know it isn’t so easy to go find love,

especially when we are lonely,

or anxious,

or grieving,

in pain,

or looked down upon.

I believe Jill’s experience isn’t just our experience,

but is all too often the human experience.

All too often,

when someone is different than we are used to,

they sit alone,

be it because of personality

or social awkwardness,

or sometimes it is as plain as skin colour

or gender,

politics or profession.

I see Jill all the time -

I’ve seen Jill at Shrove Tuesday pancake suppers,

I’ve seen Jill in a pew on Sunday mornings,

at community events,

family functions,

and yes, at weddings.

I’ve seen Jill after elections

and other votes,

I’ve seen Jill after legislation passed

and legislation questioned.

Sometimes Jill wears a cultural headdress,

sometimes Jill wears a style of clothing that surprises.

Sometimes everyone in the room knows Jill,

and yet Jill sits alone.

I see Jill all the time.

Perhaps you’ve seen Jill too.

My friends:

God’s Love always has room for one more person.

This is what happens in and with Jesus.

This is how we are set apart from the world.

“for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.

As many of you as were baptized into Christ

have clothed yourselves with Christ.

There is no longer Jew or Greek,

there is no longer slave or free,

there is no longer male and female;

for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”

This is radical,

this is transformative,

this is grace!

and this is our call:

baptized in Christ to be one in Christ,

to make room for one more, together.

Yet Jill still often sits alone.

For Jill to be truly one with that wedding celebration,

all she needed was someone to celebrate with;

someone to listen to the ABBA song,

and “take a chance on her”

and sit beside her

and get to know her.

All too often it is expected that

people like Jill need to change,

to fit in with the crowd.

But the wedding guests

aren’t expected to stop being themselves:

Cousin Harry is kind of weird

and Aunt Edith always shares too deeply

about her medical conditions -

but they’re still part of the family;

one with the family,

just as they are - no changes necessary.

Unity in Christ is not about assimilation

but about unity amidst diversity.

Your uniqueness matters.

Unity happens when we celebrate difference.

Healing happens when we celebrate difference.

Healing happens in faithful community

with our God and with one another.

Healing happens with generosity.

The opposite of generosity is entitlement.

Entitlement says I get a spot over another.

Jill felt entitled at that wedding banquet.

She found the best spot,

and boy was she humbled,

when she sat alone.

At the same time,

the rest of the guests felt just as entitled,

to not make room for one more person.

The Christian is not called to entitlement

but to generosity.

Entitlement says I’m in

and someone else is out.

Generosity says we are all one in Christ,

whether slave or free,

Jew or Greek,

male or female or trans

young or old,

lesbian, gay, straight,

bi or queer,

two-spirit

or intersex,

or asexual,

or any other expression in the plus,

conservative or liberal

Indigenous or settler

refugee or immigrant,

Cousin Harry, Aunt Edith

Legion or … Jill.

Generosity says we are one in Christ.

Healing comes with God’s generosity

poured out in community.

Healing - for others and for ourselves -

comes when we are generous with ourselves

for the good of all people like Jill.

(Pause)

There’s so much I could get into about

today’s Gospel,

about Jesus’ exorcism

of the unnamed man in Gerasa.

I mean,

what’s up with the demons entering the pigs,

and the pigs drowning in the lake?

How do you make sense of that?

I do have a couple ideas

that we can talk about later.

For today -

God’s Love always has room for one more person.

Jesus travelled all the way across the sea,

from his preaching tour around Capernaum

to a mainly Greek settlement at Gerasa,

and met this naked, unnamed man,

The unnamed man lived in the tombs:

an unclean place where no Jew would visit,

but that didn’t stop Jesus;

the kind of place in which

criminals might make their home,

but Jesus still went there

to be with him

whether criminal or not.

The townspeople, in their entitlement,

were happy with him being called “Legion”

being outcast,

living on the margin;

but Jesus wasn’t.

The man isn’t asked to change,

rather Jesus listens to him,

gets to know him,

and then sends the demons packing.

Demons gone,

healed, clothed,

and in his right mind,

the man begged Jesus that he might be with him.

Jesus sent him away, saying;

“Return to your home,

and declare how much God has done for you.”

After Jesus sent the demons into the swine,

word got around to the locals,

they saw the man healed

and the people asked Jesus to leave,

for they were seized with great fear.

Jesus will not stay where he is unwanted.

So Jesus returned to the other side of the sea.

Jesus travelled out of his way,

across the sea,

just for one person.

That is the power of Jesus’ generosity,

but it doesn’t end there…

We learn in Mark’s Gospel,

that Jesus later returned to the same area,

to Gennesaret in particular.

The crowds that were formerly seized with fear,

recognized Jesus at once,

and rushed through the whole region

bringing their sick to Jesus.

They begged Jesus to let them touch

even the fringe of his cloak,

and all who touched it were healed.

(Mark 6:53-56)

These people went from being seized in fear

to being seized by faith in Jesus,

all because this one, unnamed man

did what Jesus asked him:

“Return to your home;

and declare how much God has done for you!”

With Jesus’ generous healing,

and in listening to Jesus,

the man found his place

reconciled with the community.

They made a place for him in the crowd,

and the crowd was healed too.

Indeed, God’s love always has room for one more person,

and it is because of Jesus’s love for the crowd.

Our God is not interested in homogeneity,

in sameness,

nor self-sufficiency,

nor cultural assimilation,

nor religious assimilation.

Our God, author of a diverse creation,

loves diversity.

Jesus’ ministry is geared toward the crowd

that is seeking intimacy with God.

The crowd isn’t Christian

or Jewish

or Gentile;

The crowd is diverse,

and there’s always room for one more.

The crowd is a group of people

who might never want to be together,

but are together,

listening to Jesus.

The crowd is full of people like the unnamed man,

and people like Jill.

Too often people of faith expect people like Jill,

people like the unnamed man,

to change, to assimilate

instead of making space for them in our crowd

and we do this

even when we ourselves,

in one way or another,

have been Jill or the unnamed man,

on the outside looking in,

lonely,

possessed,

broken,

longing for spaces around and within us

to be filled.

Like Jill,

like the man formerly named “Legion”

we want to matter,

we want to be made whole,

we want to be forgiven.

we want to be loved.

God’s love always has room for one more person,

and sharing that kind of generosity in love

brings healing in immediate relationships,

and brings about cultural change

and cultural healing

that is so needed right now.

Healing happens in reconciled relationships.

Healing comes when

God’s love at work in and through you -

makes room for just one more person.

When tempted by entitlement,

May you take on generosity

for the good of the crowd.

When you find yourself alone in the crowd,

May you trust in Jesus to make you whole,

and do what Jesus asks you to do.

And May God’s love in you

make room for one more person.

Thanks be to God. Amen.