This past weekend, we heard a story of a man who was plagued by many demons. In our culture, hearing about being possessed by unclean spirits may sound quite foreign. But think of it this way: A sponge, when submerged in liquid, will absorb that liquid. If the water is clean, the sponge will be filled with clean water. But, if the water is dirty, the sponge will be filled with dirty water.
During Jesus’ time, people believed that humans were porous creatures. As such, humans were open to various spiritual influences. Through those pores, humans could be filled with something good or something bad. Throughout the Gospel of Luke, the gospel writer tells us that Jesus was “filled” with the Holy Spirit. But, then we also get readings like what we heard on Sunday of a man who was filled with something that was not of God.
At first glance, this way of understanding the world may seem archaic. But even today, any number of death-dealing forces are often experienced as “possession” or being “caught up” in dynamics that exceed our intentions or control. Think of how addiction overwhelms individuals and families; how racism shape-shifts over time; how anger consumes us; how envy devours us; or how sexism creates pervasive cultures of degradation. We may not call addiction or racism “demons,” but they are certainly “demonic.”
So this week, take stock of what you’re filling yourself up with. Sometimes, it may be out of our control what sort of water we find ourselves in. But other times, we do have the choice to intentionally take ourselves out of what “things” might be seeping into us and plunge ourselves into the power of God’s Spirit.