They came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes. And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. He lived among the tombs, and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain, for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces, and no one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him, and he shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” For he had said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the region. Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding, and the unclean spirits begged him, “Send us into the swine; let us enter them.” So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine, and the herd, numbering about two thousand, stampeded down the steep bank into the sea and were drowned in the sea.
The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. They came to Jesus and saw the man possessed by demons sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion, and they became frightened. Those who had seen what had happened to the man possessed by demons and to the swine reported it. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. But Jesus refused and said to him, “Go home to your own people, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and what mercy he has shown you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone was amazed.
Mark 5:1-20 NRSVUE
This story of demonic possession in the gospels is a famous one and rightfully so because it is a synoptic story, meaning that it is present in all three synoptic gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke. Which means to say, that it holds great significance to the early Christian communities and the story runs deep in their oral traditions about Jesus.
The gospels are rather silent on why the person became possessed. Both scripture and later theologians tell us about several reasons for demonic possession – one obvious and frequently mentioned reason is delving in occult practices – summoning spirits, divination, spell casting, and etc. Basically, a human person trying to look into, influence, and control supernatural forces, and energies to gain power over nature or over other people. In the apocryphal story of Tobit, a high ranking demon was oppressing – attacking – a young woman because the demon simply enjoyed doing so. Stories of demonic possessions and other diabolical attacks have been recorded across different cultures, religions, and spiritual traditions throughout the ages BECAUSE this is their way to explain unknown neurological and psychological conditions. This is just an intelligent guess, perhaps between 90% to 98% can be explained and treated by modern medical science neurology, psychology, and psychiatry. We have to admit that in many cases what persons who exhibit sudden change of behavior and condition that seems to be weird and demonic is actually caused by many psycho-social factors and experience of trauma. After all we can also interpret the traumatic experiences and social conditions of injustice are demonic in and of themselves. Human cruelty is demonic. Injustice and systemic violence is demonic and causes negative mental health conditions to so many people. In my mother’s side of the family, we have some experience to this.
Yung bunso nilang kapatid na isang taon lang ang tanda sa akin at some point started to exhibit weird behaviors. Yung natutulala na unresponsive. Hinihimatay na lang bigla-bigla and especially scary for them ay pag hinihimatay sya sa daan when she is travelling. By the way her name is Grace. Una siyang dinala sya sa albularyo. Sabi may dwende daw at diwatang and during one of the albularyo sessions, may lakas syang medyo hind tugma sa kanyang pangangatawan, and then she also spoke in a different voice na boses dwende. Several exorcism sessions by the albularyo pero hindi sya gumaling. Dinala naman siya ng Tita kong fundamentalist born again Christian sa kanilang church and subjected her sa deliverance ministry. Hindi rin gumaling. Finally, they decided to bring her to a psychiatrist. MRI and Citi-scan including blood work. Walang makitang problema. But when she was interviewed sabi nung doctor na mukhang depression because of poverty and then some traumatic experiences from her childhood. My mother’s side of the family are poor despite having a Chinese father na hindi pinalad sa buhay na yumaman. I wont go into the details of their family history bastat 11 silang magkakapatid and my mom is 2nd eldest at itong tita kong ito ay yung pang 11. She unfortunately, was not the smartest in the family. Far from it, parang naubusan ata ng talino sa 10 other siblings at walang natira sa kanya and I’m not saying that to insult, disrespect, or look down on her. It is just the way she is. Kasi matatalino yung iba kong mga tito at tita lalo na sa Mathematics kasi yung lola ko was said to be matalino sa mathematics pero sunga sa pag-ibig. Anyway, so itong tita kong ito could not go to college kasi hindi nya kaya and also because economic reasons. She barely finished highschool. And then soon after, she got pregnant and married also to guy from a poor family na unfortunately walang diskarte sa buhay at gusto lang pa-side-line side-line. Nakapagtapos naman ng college at training to be a sea-man. But for some reason, walang confidence to go out of Rizal and work somewhere. Ni hindi na tinuloy yung pag-se-sea man nya kasi gusto nya lang magstay sa Rizal. Eto yung literal na lalakeng maiinis ka kasi tila parang wala talagang pakielam sa situation at condition ng kanyang asawa’t anak.
So there are stories na minsan wala silang makain or yung story na kanin at toyo or kanin at kape lang. So lack of nutrition, living in a housing na walang maayos na CR, and then unprocessed trauma, sinong hindi madedepress duon? The psychiatrist prescribed antidepressant medication, several sessions of counselling, and then advised my mother to help her sister to move to another residence and to help the family get a decent way of earning money. So, some of the siblings worked together and pooled funds para matulungan ang bunso nila. The family moved back sa family house nilang magkakapatid na mas maayos kesa dun sa tinitirhan nung tita ko sa dulong bahagi ng Rizal. It is also within reach other siblings. Binigyan nila sila ng puhunan para magtinda ng sea food sa area. So living in a different and much better place, the home she grew up in, having the means to earn money enough for proper nutrition and other basic needs, plus the medication, plus counseling, plus human interaction with friends and relatives, her previous symptoms that was attributed to some demonic or spiritual possession stopped. And it will re-occur tuwing wala syang pera. Demonic possession pala ay merong socioeconomic triggers noh?
Now, am I saying this to disprove demonic possessions and oppressions and other negative spiritual problems. Both yes and no. Everything that happened to her and the socio-economic situation she is in might not be literally demonic but it is figuratively demonic. As I have said human cruelty, abuse, and many individual as well as systemic issues like poverty are demonic. Even real exorcists would sometimes agree that traumatic experiences and terrible living conditions can indeed be entry points of actual demonic possession or oppression.
In the anime series Demon slayer and also sa longest supernatural series titled, Supernatural – Demons used to be humans. We will stick with Demon Slayer. Spoiler alert. The humans who experienced great cruelties and tragedies became demons. Those who were abused or rejected by parents or those that experienced bullying or violence from society were offered to become demons to have power, strength, and long life basically as an answer to the weakness and frailty of their human body.
The premise is, you were not able to defend yourself from cruel people or you are dying of a terrible sickness or injury because you are human. Overwhelmed with grief, pain, anger, frustration, and hatred, they willingly chose to become demons. Unfortunately, for some demons, life did not get better and rather became worst because may hierarchy ang demons and lower demons had no value or dignity and were dispensable. They lived terrible lives that were easily destroyed by demon-slayers. The high-ranking demons on the other hand went on destroying human life by the hundreds, consuming entire families and towns to satisfy their hunger. By the way, demons become stronger and more powerful the more they consume human flesh and as they become more powerful, there’s a possibility of their rank or status rising.
In the series, the main protagonist, Tanjiro Kamado, and many other demon slayers also experienced similar cruelties and tragedies but by the hands of demons. Tanjiro, the hero of the series, lost his family to the Demon king who slaughtered them except for her sister, Nezuko, who he turned into a demon.
The thing about demon slayers, 3 of the high-ranking slayers called Hashiras were as cruel and cold as demons. Their anger and hatred for what happened to them turned them into cold, heartless, and apathetic humans who despite doing their duty to save humans and fight demonic entities, are themselves cruel with lower ranking slayers and with each other. This is the stark contrast between Tanjiro and the 3 hashiras, and also the contrast between her demon sister Nezuko and the other demons.
Despite unimaginable tragedy and the difficulties of becoming a slayer, Tanjiro remained joyful, hopeful, friendly, and empathetic with everyone INCLUDING being empathetic towards the demons whom he fought and defeated. He has a heightened sense of smell that he can smell not only the distinct bodily scent of people, things, and demons from far away, he can also smell emotions. And those times he defeated demons, he could smell the demon’s sadness, regret, pain, and grief. There was a specially touching moment when he and several others defeated a strong high-ranking demon-siblings.
Despite the tragedy of Tanjiro with all the emotions of anger, grief, and even hatred against demons specially, the demon king for the massacre of his family and turning his sister into a demon, he never lost his connection to the core of his grace – The memory of the love, intimacy, and joy of his family. His anger and even his hatred for demons were always informed, influences, and wrapped by his CORE – the inner grace of the love of his family. This is the same with her sister, despite already a demon – her sister, with the help of Tanjiro, never consumed human flesh. She resisted her hunger and desire for human flesh. Far from it, she also fought against other demons to defend human life. And when she almost gave into her demonic hunger on a couple of instances, Tanjiro had to remind her about their relationship as siblings. Tanjiro had to sing to her their mother’s lullaby to bring her sense of humanity back. Every time she would defend humans, she will remember her mother or other siblings and see them in the faces of those other humans she is defending.
After these 3 long stories about fantastical demonic possessions – first from the synoptic gospels of how Jesus has cast out demons, from my tita’s story, and now from an anime story our gospel lesson for today are these.
We know and acknowledge that life is as difficult and cruel as it is good and beautiful. You may have experienced or up to now continue to experience terrible things. Cruel things maybe even from the people who claim to love you. Your parents and siblings. Even in the series, Demon Slayer, there were those who experienced cruelty from their mother or brother and was the reason that pushed them to become demonic. You might also be experiencing economic hardships with the current situation in our country, and yes we have always said here that many problems we have are socially and politically systemic; You might be experiencing depressive episodes and triggers because of where you are right now in your life and the things happening or not happening to you. All of those are valid and true.
All of the emotions you are experiencing are also valid as much as the emotions of the demons and the demon-slayers in the series – the anger, grief, pain, fear, disappointment, hatred – lahat na ng negative emotions you can name – All of these are true and valid because you have experienced them or are experiencing them even today – While at the same time – NEVER EVER GIVE UP AND SURRENDER TO THE DEMONIC or NEGATIVE VOICES INSIDE YOUR HEAD TRYING TO PULL YOU DEEPER INTO THE ABYSS. Do not be so willing to take the hand of negative thoughts and ideas. While your emotions are experiences and feelings are valid and true, some thoughts and ideas are not. Some of the thoughts and ideas that RISE up from those feelings and experiences may not be valid or true. For example, if in your anger or pain, your thoughts will lead you to hurt someone else and to do violence, then that is not a valid idea to address your terrible experience and the anger that came out of it.
Yes, it is overwhelming to feel negative emotions especially when the ones who have hurt you are the ones you love – In the name of JESUS CHRIST – LOVE made flesh – I ask you not to surrender yourself to the inner saboteurs inside your head. In the name of Jesus Christ, source of our grace – do not buy into offer and the idea that to be strong is to become as cruel, hard, and violent as the monsters who have hurt you in the past.
Do not be swallowed up by the tragedies and cruelties of your life and of the current cruelties of this world. When such things happen and when you feel terrible it is all the more necessary that you exert every effort and strength to choose life and to choose what is good, beautiful, loving, and true within you, around you, and in our world. It is all the more that you cry out to God for help and reach out to others for support and care.
As Christian we cling to the ultimate Good – GOD. We look inward and search for God within ourselves through prayer and medication. Pray to God and if you need, you can direct all your anger and frustration with God. Release all your anger and hatred with or towards God. And I imagine God simply embracing you and saying, “its okay. Let it all out. Give it all to me. I understand my child and I’m sorry.” Can you imagine God saying sorry to you? Can you imagine a loving God who understands you anger against him/her/them? Seek God through collective prayer and ritual– a community that prays and sings together. Seek God also in the friendship and care of others AND by becoming a friend to others and caring for them. Tanjiro in the demon slayer was someone who always made friends or the very least a friendly gesture even to those he did not like. Friendship is a space of God’s grace. And in the demon slayer series, great and powerful demons were only defeated when slayers who cared for each other worked together to defeat the overwhelming demonic force. In all the great fantasy stories and in even in the stories of our Christian faith, we are able to push back the evils of this world when we are together and in our togetherness God’s power of love and grace is revealed. Gandalf in Lord of the rings says, it is the small acts of kindness and love of ordinary PEOPLE that puts the darkness at bay. Even when you think and feel that you are alone and those feelings are valid, you are never alone. God is with you and there are many people around you. Jesus comes to you and meets you even in your darkest of times. He is the ultimate demon slayer and he also sends other demon slayers in the person of friends and communities who can help you fight and defeat the voices in your head. In times of pain, loneliness, and degradation, that is when you seek and reach out to God more, in prayer, in friendship, and in community. Without knowing it, God has always been reaching it out to you.
Do not remedy your pain with pain. Do not remedy your loneliness with isolation. The solution to darkness is not going deeper into the abyss but rather lighting a candle. Go as far away from the darker path into the lighter path. In Lord of the Rings, Gandalf could not decide which of the 3 paths to choose, he contemplated for a while and then chose the path that did not have a foul smell and where there is fresh air blowing from. If you feel depressed, do not go deeper into depression by isolating yourself more. Depression is in itself a signal for you to seek relief. If you are hurting emotionally, the answer is not to hurt yourself physically. If you feel sad and alone, reach out to others and go out. Do not stay in your room and listen to more depressive songs. If you really need to and are able, seek professional help and take medication if you must. If hindi ka naman able, find a support group, talk to supportive friends and family, journal your thoughts and feelings. EAT and TAKE a bath. I’ve also discovered and encountered, that some people who are depressed are simply because of physical exhaustion. Yung pagod sa trabaho, kulang sa tulog, at pagkaen ay may negative effect sa ating mental health. Rest. Eat. Shower and be clean. There is always something we can do as individuals and we can do as group of friends to care for one another. Do not believe the voices in your head that you are weak and cannot do better. Do not believe the voices in your head that you have no value or worth. Do not believe the voices in your head to isolate and separate yourself. Do not believe the voices in your head asking you to harm your body and to harm others. Do not believe the voices in your head that in order to be strong you need to become as cruel and as evil as the ones who have hurt you. Do remedy the evil with evil but rather with what is good, beautiful, and true.
Lastly, stay true to the core of what is GOOD in your life. Like Tanjiro hold firmly to what is Good even in the very moment of tragedy and cruelty. Even in the face of a powerful demon. Even in the face of Death and the possible death of a loved one. HOLD Firmly to what is GOOD. Remember that there is as much good or even more good in your life than there is tragedy. Sam wisely in Lord of the rings says, there is good in this world worth fighting for. Remember those moments or experiences that you were loved, seen, and heard. Remember the people who believed in you, cared for you, and supported you. Hold on to those memories. Hold on to the love that has been passed on to you. In this church, remember the love of Kuya Mike and the service of Choi. Remember the love, dedication, and goodness of Pastor Egay as your reason to continue living, loving, and serving.
Gamitin ang alaala ng ating mga mahal sa buhay hindi para lalong malungkot at malugmok bagkus mabuhay ng masaya at may pag-asa. Let us remember the love and sacrifices of all our Queer ancestors like Father Richard and Allan Tolosa, just to name a few.
Our preaching today is about choosing and rejecting Grace. May we not reject GRACE by giving up on what is good in us and in this world and believing the negative voices in our heads trying to pull us into the abyss and become demons in human form. And even for us, who think of ourselves as demon-slayers, the righteous ones, may we be careful with our own internal issues and wounds and become cold, apathetic, and cynical do-gooders.
The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche warns us – “He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.”
Let us always choose GRACE and hold on to it like our very life depends on it. Let us reach out to God and seek God in all the changing seasons, situations, and conditions of this life.
And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ who cast out demons and the love of God found deep within our humanity, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit reach out to you, hold you, and pull you out of the abyss. May you hold on to the hand of God that reaches out to you ever so tightly. Amen.
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