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Luke 8:26-39

The Gerasene Man Uses His Words

June 19, 2022

Second Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Year C

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ASK (a.k.a The On-Ramp)

Good morning!
Have you ever been so sad or so angry that you sort of lost control of yourself? Maybe screamed or yelled or cried so hard and for so long that you were a little bit afraid that you'd never stop?
Yeah? … Me too.
We sometimes call those moments "tantrums"
And sometimes during a tantrum, an adult or a friend might tell you to stop crying and screaming and that you should instead “use your words.”
If you do this, then the other person can know what the problem is for you and will then know how to best help you.

This is just one of the many ways using words help us.

TELL (a.k.a. The Freeway)

In today's scripture story, we learn about a man who often had tantrums.
And those tantrums were so scary that the townspeople wouldn’t let him live near them anymore.
Did you hear what the man did when Jesus arrived? That’s right – the man ran towards Jesus. That must’ve been a scary moment for Jesus.
But it turns out that the man just wanted help.
For a moment, though, it sure seemed like the man was going to have a tantrum.
We hear that he DID yell at Jesus. He yelled, "What have you to do with me?" And, "Do not torment me!"
But then Jesus did something very interesting: He asks the man his name.
Instead of telling Jesus his real name, though, the man “uses his words” to tell Jesus the name of his problem.
And once the man is able to say what his problem is, then Jesus is able to help him.
They even make a little plan together, they carry it out, and then the man experiences healing.

SHARE the Good News (a.k.a. The Destination)

Jesus was able to help the man in today’s story because the man was able to say what his problem was to Jesus.
This is true for all of us.
When we “use our words” to tell someone (who we trust) what our problem is, then they are better able to help us.
This is also true for us with God.
When we tell God what our problems are, then we can listen to how God wants to help us with our problem.

And that is the good new for today. Let’s pray.

CLOSING Prayer

This is a repeat-after-me prayer.

Dear God,

Thank you for words ...

…that we can use to speak to you…

…about all things – including our joys and concerns.

Help us to then hear your words…

…that will help us know what to do next.

Thank you and Amen

Originally posted May 30, 2013
Updated on May 23, 2022
Written and edited by Nathanael Vissia

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