Giovanni Guaita
YouTube
Hieromonk John (Guaita) on the Gadarene Demoniac: Why the Gadarenes Asked Christ to Leave
14:45
Hieromonk John (Guaita) preaches on the Gospel of Luke 8:26-39, the healing of the Gadarene demoniac. He reads the passage and explains that Gadara was a Greco-Roman city in eastern Palestine where Jews and non-Jews lived together. The non-Jewish inhabitants kept a lucrative pig business, likely selling pork to less observant Jews, a situation the priest compares to Christians producing and selling alcohol in Muslim countries today.
The demon-possessed man, who lived among the tombs and was called Legion, meets Jesus. The demons recognize Him as the Son of the Most High God and beg not to be sent to the Abyss. Jesus permits them to enter a nearby herd of pigs, which then rush down the steep bank into the lake and drown.
The townspeople find the formerly possessed man sitting at Jesus' feet, clothed and in his right mind, yet they ask Jesus to leave their region because they are overcome with fear. The priest says what strikes him most is the Gadarenes' reaction: they witnessed a true miracle of God but paid it no heed because their way of life and economic livelihood were threatened.
He applies this to modern believers: many respect Jesus as a good teacher but reject Him when His word disrupts their comfort or business. Jesus is a hindrance not only to atheists who see Him merely as a positive historical figure but also to churchgoers who want the Word of God to remain inside the church and not confront their everyday lives.
The priest tells of a recent sermon where he spoke about war and death on a feast day, and parishioners complained that he had ruined their joy of Holy Communion by raising uncomfortable questions. The Gadarenes' plea echoes the demon's cry: "Do not torment me."
Key moments
- The priest introduces the Gospel reading from Luke chapter 8 about Jesus arriving in the region of the Gadarenes and meeting a demon-possessed man who lived among the tombs.
- Jesus asks the demon its name and hears "Legion"; the demons beg not to be sent to the Abyss and request to enter a nearby herd of pigs, which then rush down the steep bank into the lake and drown.
- The townspeople find the formerly possessed man sitting at Jesus' feet, clothed and in his right mind, yet they ask Jesus to leave their region because they are overcome with fear.
- The priest notes that Matthew calls the place the country of the Gergesenes but it is the same location: Gadara, a Greco-Roman city in eastern Palestine where Jews and non-Jews lived side by side.
- The non-Jewish Gadarenes kept a lucrative pig business, likely selling pork to less observant Jews, a situation the priest compares to Christians producing and selling alcohol in Muslim countries today.
- The priest says what strikes him most is the Gadarenes' reaction: they witnessed a true miracle of God but paid it no heed because their way of life and economic livelihood were threatened.
- Jesus is a hindrance not only to atheists who see him merely as a positive historical figure but also to churchgoers who want the Word of God to remain inside the church and not confront their everyday lives.
- The priest tells of a recent sermon where he spoke about war and death on a feast day, and parishioners complained that he had ruined their joy of Holy Communion by raising uncomfortable questions.