Glory to Jesus Christ. Glory to God forever.
It occurred to me that this is the first Sunday
since probably January where we're not commemorating
some special occasion. Prodigal son, Republican
and Pharisee, Mary of Egypt, Sundays after Pascha,
Sundays after Pentecost. All saints. We're kind
of just in maybe we could say ordinary time.
And now we can focus just on the resurrection.
The Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior. You heard
the gospel. You're well acquainted with it. I
don't need to review in detail. There's wine.
There's demons. Possessed people. Villagers who
don't want Christ. When someone's been prepared
for baptism by the church, chrismation, and note
that phrase, the church prepares us, gives us
faith. Yes, faith is passed on. We don't generate
it. It's given to us. We're given trust in God.
Because we learn the sacred stories of God's
saving works. We're told what's the best way
to pray. How to live righteously. How to overcome
sin. Not to partake in idolatry and sexual immorality
of the world. But to nurture the paradise of
the kingdom of God in our own heart. And someone's
being prepared for that, for baptism. The church
also gives words of exorcisms. There's four.
And the candidate and the godparents, they face
the West, which is to say they face the demonic
power itself. The sun goes down in the West.
It's the symbol of spiritual darkness. And Satan
is renounced with three questions and three answers.
to renounce Satan and all his angels and all
his service and all his pride. And then the candidate,
the godparents, they spit on the devil. They
spit on those demonic beasts. Should you be afraid
at that point? Well, yes, but also no. One of
the prayers at the baptism says, We have called
upon thy name, O Lord. Which is wonderful and
glorious and terrible to adversaries. Because
we say we unite ourselves to Christ. We have
united ourselves to Christ. I believe in him.
How? I believe in him as king and God. The story
today in Matthew tells us that even the devils
believe in God. Did you notice that? They recognize
the divinity of Jesus. They ask the wrong question.
Why are you here now? Have you come to torment
us before the time? Note, they know the truth.
They're not heretics. They know the truth. They
refuse to be affected by the truth. Have you
come to torment us before the time? And they
also know when the judgment, not when, but that
the judgment is coming. And after these exorcisms
and after the baptism, the believer in Christ
becomes a disciple. This person becomes a small
Christ. A christened one. An anointed one. And
is also fearful and terrible to the demonic adversaries.
Not because of themselves. Not at all. But because
of God's word. His name. The name of Christ.
power in the heart. Because that person then
will have the remembrance of God all the day,
every day, walking with him, struggling to guard
the heart and the mind and the body from sinful
acts. We remember that sin is always crouching
at the door, we read in Genesis, the door of
Cain. So we're careful. I've never seen a possessed
person, two people in this story, described like
that. Yes, perhaps the fentanyl crisis, the drug
crisis, alcoholism, pornography, all that leads
a person down to that path, and you can see such
suffering and demonic influence. But I've never
seen that. Personally, this kind of demonic possession.
I'll tell you what I have seen. I have seen people
say to Christ, go away. That I've seen in abundance.
Even I myself, I've put Jesus in the waiting
room in the morning. I get to the morning prayers,
but then don't. Get to the evening prayers, but
then don't. Jesus is left in my waiting room.
But Jesus doesn't wait in waiting rooms. Jesus
is master and Lord of all of creation. The local
people were awestruck by what happened. The whole
city came out to see Jesus. But they wanted no
more of Jesus Christ. They were unrepentant.
Jesus came not just for those two men to heal
them, to make them human again, but he came for
those other people as well. However, and in our
own case, however much we might be impressed
by the miracles of Jesus, the bottom line is
that his presence is dangerous and disruptive.
We're afraid he's going to change things further
in our life. Not just to upset our morning schedule
with prayer. Our evening schedule with prayer.
Our Sunday morning. To be called to come and
participate in the divine liturgy. To be called
to come and make a confession so your heart is
pure. We all have sins. They build up. To come
and prepare to go to communion. All that can
be extremely inconvenient. But if we love Christ.
then none of this, while it may be a struggle,
none of it is inconvenient. It's a joy. It's
a struggle. But Christ comes to those people,
and the gospel is given to us today to tell us
we can't be afraid that he is going to change
things further and still further, and it's going
to cost us, just as it did the unfortunate owner
of the pigs. On the other hand, St. Paul reminds
us that the word is near you, the word of God,
his holy name, in your mouth, in your heart.
That's the core of your being. St. Paul says
that is the word of faith which we preach, that
if you confess, to confess doesn't mean to just
say a word. Even the demons could say Jesus.
Son of the Most High, why have you come to us?
No, to confess means to stake your life on it
and you have no plan B. It's all Jesus. And if
you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and
believe in your heart, which is to say, to follow
through, to do, that God has raised him from
the dead, you will be saved. So brothers and
sisters, let us commend our life unto Christ
our God. Because it's a life or death decision.
To our Lord be glory now and ever, to ages of
ages. Amen.