Christian Pathway

When I was a kid my mum was the head of the dinner ladies at 2-3 schools, Forest gate,  secondary and then some primary schools.  At forest gate there were 800 pupils and she also helped at playtimes, and after school clubs, and all sorts of school related stuff.

So she got to know a few of the kids. one that my mum truly admired was a lad called , and I don’t remember his actual name – I shall call him david. 

David, was a top student, a top scholar, always well-presented and polite
 I was a naughty child, and my mischief was dependent on two things whether it teased anyone who decided to create a boundary, as boundaries had to be tested and even more important than that. Whether I thought it was funny.  

However  this situation of David being very  good , and me being forest gates version of just William went on for a long time, until David started to go off the rails, first off his appearance , then his demeanour and language went to pot. My mum and dad never ever swore, not even a bloody or a blimey unless I managed to drive my dad to distraction, the worse thing he could say to me was he was disappointed in me,

I was naughty with a sense of fun, David , David became bad very very very bad

But David, David didn’t fall in with the wrong crowd, he became the wrong crowd

He ended up getting into petty crime, having brushes with the law,fights, etc etc.  It was such a change in character my mum and his parents were worried sick about him.

They took him to see various child behaviour people and nothing was diagnosed,  until and in desperation they took him to the local priest.  

He immediately asked for help and then the story started to come out.

  The story is David had been playing with an Ouija board and the start of this matched the beginning of David’s decline.

The catholic church took him to see someone, as they thought he was in trouble from whatever he encountered on that board

He ended up going to live for a few weeks in a remote  monastery in Devon.   The explanation I had heard was that whatever was in him had been driven out, and the monastery was to make sure it didn’t come back,

I am told he made a full recovery, but his name was never mentioned again,

In today’s Reading  which is also in Mark Jesus drives many demons out of the man called legion and then into the pigs. We think this man was possible a gentile Jesus was in gentile territory here as proven by the ownership of Pigs. So he is off his usual path here. 

I pondered long and hard what tack to take with this story, because I don’t preach here so often, so I would really have liked a nice lovely one. But the lectionary is what it is.

in other times,  I have heard sermons that alluded to this man being no more than mentally ill. 
I don’t think that, I don’t think that. 

If that was the case – what went into the pigs.
Something left the man and went into the pigs

My uncle was a pig farmer and 300 pigs takes many years ri make or buy, and a lot of tending so you can also file this under  another one of those things jesus did that goes under the heading of things jesus did to really really really annoy people

Its very easy post the event to minimise a miracle when you see it or experience it.

Also in the bible Jesus removed idemons  12 times, including the synagogue in Capernaum, a mute man and many others. 

I don’t know about you but I have met people who have just come across as really bad people, like a dark aura about them.  In my early life in east London, and a couple of times online, 

I have seen them try very hard to derail peoples faith with distortions of the bible

My mum trusted me a lot when it came to my instincts about people, and they are never wrong.

I think it’s a symptom of being abroad in a broken world, also wanting to talk about Jesus, attracts people who consider jesus the enemy

In simple terms, these stories let us know there are more forces other than Gods love that can affect us in the world, which is why we need church, and Jesus and the full armour of God.  When you do evangelism as I sometimes do, or when you properly believe, these things come to derail you, 

sometimes directly, sometimes in some of the more subtle ways people try to  discredit our bible, our faith.

I once was at a teaching session by Bishop Tomlin and he was talking about why bad things happen, and he said, that god is love and order,  but there is also anger and disorder in the world.

I think that is self evident,  and these things and our story today proves to me at least there are things in this world we shouldn’t dabble with, and things that at the very least do not love our lord

what can we do with all this, why this story?
Why have the writers of the bible put It in two of the gospels.

It shows us one of the whys of being christian AND WHY WE MATTER.

we are the light on the darkness the love and order among anger and disorder

This is why we as Christians need to be an active force for love and goodness.

If you encounter these things, ask for prayer, and pray, and put on the full armour of God,

You are as our new testament reading 

Also remember, as it says in galatians 

o in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, ²⁷ for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ

Being Children of Christ means he loves us and protects us, but we still need to be careful out there, not dabble with things from chaos and hate,  and if you ever get worried speak up. 

Prayer helps  as when we pray we ask for help from the most powerful thing ever, and remember the last page of the bible lets us know that evil is on borrowed time and that it all ends up being alright

I wanted to do such a lovely sermon today, as I rarely get to preach at st marys and I am so pleased to be here today, but the lectionary threw me this and this is what we have to speak about today.
also I try not to speak about these things, but there you go.

  Lets hope I get Jesus healing someone next time

I don’t like speaking about these things,  but the bible does, and it was our reading today.
Having done so
I wanted to finish on a very old prayer of protection , called the christaraksha

May the Cross of the Son of God,

which is mightier than all the hosts of satan

and more glorious than all the hosts of heaven,

abide with you in your going out and your coming in.

By day and night, at morning and at evening,

at all times and in all places may it protect and defend you.

From the wrath of evildoers,

from the assaults of evil spirits

from foes visible and invisible

from the snares of the devil,

from all passions that beguile the soul and body:

May the Cross of Christ guard, protect and deliver you. 

Amen.