Message 10-21-07

Series:            What I’ve Always Wondered

Scripture:            Mark 5:1-20

Title:                                        God’s Question of Us

For the past few weeks we’ve been looking at our questions of God or the Bible. We’re not done yet, but we are going to take a break for a couple of weeks. Today we’re going to look into God’s questions of us and one question in particular.

If you read through the Bible there are number of moments where God has conversations with human beings. They are significant moments, obviously, and many of them include questions. If you ever want to try an interesting, Spiritual growth exercise – look through the famous stories of the Bible and consider the questions God asks there as if he was asking them of you. During the year a copy of the book “What God Wants to Know” caught my eye. I flipped open to the table of contents and discovered this list of questions that God asks people in the Bible.

Let me give you some examples:

            In the story of Adam and Eve, God asks – “Where are you?”

            In the story of Cain and Abel, God asks – “Where is your brother?”

            In the story of Moses, God asks – “What is that in your hand?”

In the story of James and John, Jesus asks – “What do you want me to do for you?”

So I want to encourage you to read through the stories of God’s interactions with people and consider one after another – what would God be asking me if this was his question to me?

From the Scripture reading you may have figured out what question we’re focused on today. Jesus asks the man who was filled with demons – “What is your name?”

Teenagers – do you ever feel like you are different people in different classes? I remember in high school how I began to feel like I was sort like a chameleon – I just changed my colors in every class and I was never really myself. I didn’t even know if there was a “myself” to be some days – I was just a different person in every class.

Adults – do you find that you’re still changing in different situations? I can’t share with you the lyrics, but if you ever want to hear an interesting song – listen to the band Bowling for Soup and their song “High School Never Ends”. It’s actually a fine song with an excellent lyric that captures the idea that you end up in the same place you were in during high school. That people are still caught up in the same petty competitions and comparisons even as adults. Do you find that when you’re at work you’re one way, while you’re different when you are at home, and still someone else when you’re at a party? Are you living for the weekend – and that means is “just can’t wait for church”, right? And do you become a different person when it finally gets here?

I dropped by the office of one of the women in our congregation here a short time ago. I just showed up unannounced because I suddenly realized I was passing her office. She was gracious enough to give me a little tour and introduced me to a bunch of her coworkers. She kept saying, “This is my pastor.” As we were walking out I told her that she was doing well because in some offices when I visit people at work, and I’m introduced as the person’s pastor, the coworkers say, “Oh, I didn’t know you went to church.” No one was doing that with this woman.

So who are you? I want you thinking about the person you are inside as we look at this question from God – “What is your name?” This is that fundamental question that can keep us up at night as we think through what it means and how deeply do we answer this? How deeply do we actually know the answer?

In our story, Jesus comes to this man who is filled with demons. We can stop and consider demons and the demonic spiritual realm, but we’ve done that in the past and there are people here who can feel like they are filled with demons some days. They can feel, as they consider the question of “what is your name,” that they are a convoluted mess. They were told what they could or could not be as kids. They were threatened in school. They were measured by every eye that society puts on them. And they ended up thinking my name is “too tall”, “too short”, “gorgeous”, “too fat”, “strong”, “achiever”, “just like your father – mother-uncle-friend.” We can feel like we were used and abused by so many people or circumstances that who we are is somewhere in the pile of the ways people treated us or spoke to us throughout our lives. The man in our Scripture was filled with so many demons that he couldn’t remember who he was. He was just a number. The number was large, but it was just a number. He was nobody. His community had decided he was whacked and they weren’t paying attention to him anymore – just keeping away from him and keeping him away from the kids.

Jesus enters his life and asks the most fundamental of questions – what is your name? Who are you? You see Jesus knows all about the other voices. Jesus walks in and says “Get out.” And that’s because Jesus knows who we are. Jesus created us, he knows us, and he doesn’t want us to be anything except the person we were created to be.

And all those other voices, all those other personas, when they face Jesus, they know they don’t belong any more. And they scream out because they’re afraid. They’re afraid he is going to send them out into nothingness. They are most afraid of being nothing.  All the voices that aren’t who God created us to be really want to be first. They want control. And they are going to scream in a fit when they’re told to leave. Because what Jesus wants is for you to be who God created you to be. That just chews those other voices up.

And when they are cast out of your life by the voice of Jesus, you get to be who God created you to be.

This can be one of the most difficult or easy things we face. It can be difficult or easy because the way into it is relaxing. Relax. Relax and know that I am God. Relax… not like “be still”, like sit still! But be still, relax, and know that I am God. It can be very, very difficult to relax.

Can you turn off your phone, email, blackberry for a whole day – for one whole day, can you turn them completely off? Can you turn it all off, go through the whole day, come to the end and say – “I did nothing this whole day” and not feel guilty.

The man, whom Jesus healed, was found by his friends and family, relaxed, dressed, sitting with Jesus and in his right mind. And how did they react – they were afraid. And that’s how people will react. When all the other voices, demands and personas are cast out of your life, other people will be afraid. You won’t be responding to them or their voices. You won’t be fitting into their decision of who you have to be.

You know what, you’re very smart people. I know you. I know you’re smart. You are smart enough to live in this area and to get your job done and to make friends. You’re smart enough to get the education you’ve gotten and to get into life. You are smart enough to figure out how to take a day off. You can do it. I know you can.

Have you done it? Maybe you have. Maybe you are now in a position where you can tell people around you to do it with you. I had to be pretty beaten up before I was able to do it. I hope you’re not getting beaten into giving up listening to all the voices and instead listening to the one voice of the one who made you. God gave you rest as a gift.

In confirmation class I ask the students where they’ve seen God this week. A couple of weeks ago one girl said, “Ever since school started it’s been so busy. I feel like I have so much to do. Even on the weekends, there’s just so much to get done. This past weekend, I sat out in the sunshine and I just sat there for like the whole afternoon and I think I saw God there.” I do too.

So here’s my question are you letting the people here do that? Are you giving permission to your children to be themselves? Are you speaking honestly about yourself to your friends and family and letting them in on who you are?

In knowing who we are we can get caught up in finding ourselves – but Christ doesn’t start there. Christ starts by saying I love you – just you, and just because you exist – I love you. And when the man offered to come with Jesus, begged to come with Jesus – ready to achieve for Jesus, Jesus didn’t let him. Jesus said, “Go back to your family, to your people, and tell them how much God has done for you and the mercy you received.”

Do you know what God created you to be? He created you to be a compelling force for good.

How do you do that when you’ve already done so much to yourself? Do you remember this man whom Jesus healed, what he was like when he was filled with all the voices, all the personas? He ripped apart the ties that would hold him, he fought against the people around him, and he beat himself and cut himself with stones. When you’ve already messed up your life, how do become a compelling force for good?

Follow the example of Jesus. We’re told that after Jesus rose from the dead he came to his friends and greeted them with his scars. Do you remember that story? Jesus entered the locked room where his friends were and said, “Look see, it’s really me. Look at the scars.” And he showed them the scars in his hands and in his feet.

We follow the example of Jesus. We greet people with our scars.