For the last couple of weeks there’s been a homeless man panhandling on the corner of Concord Road and Nolensville Pike. Sadly, homelessness is not uncommon in a city the size of Nashville, but rarely do the homeless make their way out to suburban neighborhoods. This man wears tie-dyed clothing from head to toe and dreadlocks dangle to his waist. He’s easy to spot on the street, but seems oblivious to the stares of the neatly pressed and khaki clad suburbanites making their commute. Even at a glance, it’s obvious he’s suffering from poor mental health. A few days ago I saw him in the grocery store buying lunch with the loose change he’d gathered and I was struck by the horde of curious onlookers he’d attracted as he stood in line.
The Bible has a lot to say about how Christians are called to respond to the outcasts, oppressed, marginalized, and poor in our communities. Notably, it never mentions pointing or staring.
Jesus was confronted with a social outcast the minute he and his disciples stepped off the boat in Gerasenes (Matt 11:26). The text says the man had been tormented by demons for a long time, and as a result, he’d been living nude among the tombs in a cemetery. At the first sight of Jesus the man fell down before him and cried out, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.”
Two notable things stand out in the man’s statement. First, he readily acknowledged Jesus as the Son of God. That’s notable but not surprising, since the Scriptures clearly teach that all of Satan’s agents recognize the existence of God (James 2:19). Secondly, the man begged Jesus not to torment him.
Afflictions come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, but they have one thing in common. All afflictions bring their own special brand of torment to their victim. There’s a good chance you’ve never been homeless, publicly naked, or demon possessed but I’d be willing to bet you’ve been afflicted. Depression, anxiety, chronic health problems, worry, addiction, poverty, loneliness, habitual sin, and idolatry are common offenders. And they all bring torment. The demoniac was well acquainted with suffering and he begged Jesus not to torment him.
So, how did Jesus respond?
First, Jesus asked the man his name. Don’t breeze past this. Keep in mind the man had been living naked among the tombs for a long time and everyone else had written him off. His affliction had isolated him from everyone and everything he loved. His family was probably embarrassed by him. He’d lost his dignity and in a very real sense was living among the dead. But Jesus saw past the man’s demons. He saw past his nakedness, and low societal standing. Jesus saw a man created in the image of God and he asked him, “What is your name?”
There’s a good chance this man hadn’t heard his name spoken in years. He’d likely been called a “lunatic, demoniac, and a homeless man” but it’s unlikely he was called by his name. So when Jesus asked, he answered, “Legion, for the demons were many.”
At times, afflictions can be so intense it feels as if they threaten our identity, but that is not God’s will for our lives. In fact, Jesus responded by sending the demons into a herd of pigs. Obviously, the commotion caused a crowd to gather. There was probably a lot of staring and finger pointing. My favorite verse in this passage says the curious onlookers found the man “sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.” (Luke 8:35).
Jesus healed the man and restored his dignity. Naturally, the man was so grateful he asked Jesus if he could travel with him. But Jesus had something else in mind. He said, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you” (Luke 8:39). In other words, Jesus told the man to go home and tell his story.
I am not unlike the demoniac in Luke 8, nor am I unlike the homeless man on the corner of Concord Road and Nolensville Pike. In fact, I share more commonalities with them than differences.
So do you.
Apart from Christ, we are all lost, naked, unsound, afflicted, and without hope in a world that deals in torment. But Jesus heals our affliction and restores our dignity. And so, we tell our story. And when we come face to face with a fellow outcast, we don’t point and stare.
We ask his name.
