Sermon Preached by (soon-to-be) Pastor Eric Hullstrom

Salem Lutheran Church – Sunday, June 20, 2004

Third Sunday after Pentecost

Text:  Luke 8: 26 - 39

Grace and peace to you this Father’s Day, from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen!

Happy Father’s Day to all you fathers out there and to any one who acts in a fatherly role.  Your role and importance in our lives goes beyond words, so thank you.

I could stand up here and tell you many stories about my father.  Growing up one of the activities we did as a family was to go camping.  At first we would use a tent, but eventually we moved up to a pop-up camper.  The frustrating thing about these camping trips was that many times dad would say that we would leave in 15 minutes only to be on the road 2 hours later.  When I was in 5th grade he bought the Chrysler dealership he now owns and was working hard to establish himself for the family.  But we did get to the campground and we had a great time.  But my favorite thing to do with my dad is golf.  Whenever I go home, my dad always finds time to go golfing with me.  He usually beats me, but I am just glad to be out there.

But the thing I am most grateful for is the lessons my dad taught me and things he has done for me.  My dad has always been there to support me and to give me advice.  I remember when I moved back to Dawson in 1997 to work for my dad at the dealership he said something that I will never forget.  He said, “I want you to treat every person, who walks through that door, as if they were Jesus”.  I was taken back at first, but that phrase become something I lived by and still do.  My dad was and is still filled with wisdom and I will always be grateful for what is has taught me and will teach me in the future.

But my earthly father is not the only one to do some amazing things for me.  Our heavenly Father far surpasses anything we can receive here on earth.  Our heavenly Father has done something for us that we can never repay, something we can never thank Him enough for and something that will last for ever.  Our heavenly Father gave us life.

<Group participation part:  “Our heavenly Father gave us life”  respond with: “In the midst of the congregation, I will praise you”>

Our Gospel text for today tells the story of what our heavenly Father has done for us.  It displays that awesome power of God through Jesus Christ.  But in doing so, it starts out by painting us a very disturbing picturing that I hope grabs your attention. Allow me to re-read a portion of this text starting with verse 27; “For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs” So ends the reading.  Now that is a disturbing picture.  It is almost something out of a Stephen King novel, the quiet village in the valley and the crazy, demon-possessed, naked man running around, wailing and screaming in the tombs up in the hills.  Grandparents telling stories to their grandchildren about this monster and parents warning kids to stay away from the tombs.  It is disturbing and yet it is in scripture right before our eyes.  It is also disturbing because it talks about the condition we used to be in before OUR HEAVENLY FATHER GAVE US LIFE <pause>.  We were naked, without a home living amongst death.  That was our condition.  We were bound to the law without hope and without peace.  We were running around without direction, outcasts from the family of God.  But God changed all that because OUR HEAVENLY FATHER GAVE US LIFE <pause>.

This demon-possessed man was an outcast in society, without any rights, but that did not deter Jesus.  Jesus spoke with the man, cast his demons in the herd of pigs and the pigs ran off to their death.  The man now is no longer possessed by demons.  Now he is clothed, in his right mind and sitting at the feet of Jesus because, OUR HEAVENLY FATHER GAVE US LIFE <pause>. 

What made a difference in the life of this man was naming the demon.  When the demon’s name is known, the demon loses power and thus is destroyed.  When we name our demons in confession, Jesus is able to cast those demons away and make us whole again.  But when those demons are allowed to remain.  They grow and grow.  When we try to shackle and chain these demons with our own power, without Christ, we only cause problems and frustrations.  Rumors spread and relationships are torn apart.  When demons are not named, communities do not move forward but rather walk around in dark tombs going no where.

Demons must be named.  They must be brought out into the open.  They must be rendered powerless otherwise they will consume us.

When an alcoholic finally admits they have a problem, when they name the demon controlling them, then and only then can they move forward.  Without the naming, the alcoholic will never accept help no matter how many chains are thrown around them.  The chains will always be broken and hope will be shattered again.

When differences and hurt feeling arise between two people, only naming the demon can lead to reconciliation.  Without naming, the demon only gains more and more power through double talk and gossip.  The demon gains strength by drawing more and more people into the fray.  Then before you know it, the demon has succeeded in destroying relationships and communities and churches fall apart.

I hate standing up here talking about demons as if I were speaking at a Stephen King convention, but the reality of the situation is that demons are alive and well in our world today.

But the hope we have is through Jesus Christ.  At the beginning of our service today I asked you to confess your sins and name your demons.  This very kind of naming and confessing is what leads to healing.  This naming and confessing leads to healing and reconciliation with God, but this naming and confessing can also lead to healing and reconciliation with other people.

Through Jesus Christ, OUR HEAVENLY FATHER GAVE US LIFE <pause>.  This is the greatest gift we could ever receive.  Nothing in this world take that away and nothing in this world can overpower it.  When we confess our sins we are saying to Satan that you do not rule me, but Jesus Christ rules the day.  Through naming our sinfulness, we are placed at the foot of the cross, in the shadow of the Almighty, wrapped in his loving arms as a new proud father holds his first newborn child.  Through naming our sinfulness, we acknowledge the power that Christ has over death and we gaze upon his mercy.  Through naming our sinful we are blown away by his mighty power to break through and over power any demon that may consume our lives. 

OUR HEAVENLY FATHER GAVE US LIFE <pause>.

OUR HEAVENLY FATHER GAVE US LIFE!!! <pause>.

Father’s are indeed special people.  I don’t know what I would do without my father.  Without his love, his support, his compassion, I would be lost.  This day and every day, let’s remember the love of all fathers, but especially, let’s never forget the love our heavenly Father.  Let’s never forget what He did for us.  Let’s never take for granted the fact OUR HEAVENLY FATHER GAVE US LIFE <pause>.

Amen!!!