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THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST June 21, 2025 Pastor Tom Steers Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto Our Opening Hymn is: ““O Christ, Our True and Only Light” Lutheran Service Book 839 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITcK0kBrrHg Confession and Absolution Page 184-185 The Introit – (Psalm 71:20-24; Ps. 71:3) Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come; you have given the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again. You will increase my greatness and comfort me again. I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel. My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have redeemed. And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long, for they have been put to shame and disappointed who sought to do me hurt. Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen, Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come; you have given the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. The Kyrie (Lord Have Mercy) Lord have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us. Gloria in Excelsis (Glory to God in the Highest) Page 187 Our Collect Prayer: O God, You have prepared for those who love You such good things as surpass our understanding. Cast out all sins and evil desires from us, and pour into our hearts Your Holy Spirit to guide us into all blessedness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Our Bible Readings – Old Testament: Isaiah 65:1-9 Psalm 3 (antiphon: 8) Epistle Reading: Galatians 3:23 – 4:7 The Verse: Alleluia. Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you. Alleluia. Our Gospel Reading: Luke 8:26-39 The Apostles’ Creed – I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. Our Hymn of the Day: “Praise the One Who Breaks the Darkness” Lutheran Service Book 849 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLr4vqxWtJQ The Sermon, ‘Freed From the Power of Evil’ Brothers and sisters, peace, grace, and mercy be to you through God our Father, and our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen. In today’s world, it’s not difficult to find people who believe in angels. Especially among Christians. That’s because the Bible, the Book we accept and confess is the true, inerrant Word of God, and it tells us about them. The Book of Genesis records their creation. God uses angels to announce the coming of Christ and to praise His birth in Bethlehem. God even uses an angel to comfort Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane before His crucifixion. But if we believe the Bible, we must also believe God’s Word that some angels, one in particular, rebelled against Him. These angels are called fallen, or unclean spirits – demons. They’re the same. God created a special place for these rebels called Hell. It’s the same destination for those who rebel against God’s Word and refuse to accept Jesus as their Lord & Saviour. Today’s Gospel reading from Luke forces us to confront unpleasant realities. But beyond those dark realities, and far more powerful than them, is the one who in the words of the hymn, ‘breaks the darkness.’ (Lutheran Service Book – 849) The One who conquers evil in the world, and ultimately saves us from it. That is Christ, our Lord. First, let’s set the context of what Jesus is doing prior to the exorcism seen in today’s Gospel verses. In Luke we see Jesus conquering death by raising the widow’s son in the town of Nain. The Apostle also explained that Christ is the victor over another foe, our sinful self. Jesus forgave the woman of sins who wept at His feet. Martin Luther wrote that Christ saves us from sin, death, and the devil. And it is this third adversary, along with his compatriots, that we see in today’s reading. C.S. Lewis, the famous Christian author of the Narnia Chronicles, wrote that the modern’s world’s dismissal of demons and evil was simply a tactic on satan’s part. Lewis thought satan found it easier to lull the so-called enlightened mind into believing demons weren’t there at all, so it would be easier for them to deceive people. When we consider the events of the modern world, it’s not difficult to see the effects of true evil – the concentration camps of Nazi Germany, the former Soviet Union, conditions today in North Korea and China. When we look at September the 11th, the persecution of Christians around the world, it’s not difficult to recognize satan’s handiwork. Nor is it difficult to see the influence of evil when we look at how many parents fail to bring their children to Church and yet tolerate, at times even encourage, a fascination with the occult. When our society accepts, is even ‘proud’ of sexual immorality, and the murder of unborn children. Today there are three times as many Lutherans in Ethiopia as there are in Canada. I had the privilege to work alongside an Ethiopian Pastor who was an evangelist there. He told me that almost all the Christian Lutherans in Ethiopia believed in demons because they believed the Bible was the Word of God. Demon possession and exorcism is recorded and referred to eight times in the Book of Acts, and these were incidents that took place after the ascension of Christ. This Ethiopian Pastor didn’t say it, because he’s a polite man, but Christianity in Ethiopia and many other parts of the world is growing, while in the so-called sophisticated West, agnosticism and atheism are trending. Another friend from South Asia remarked that when he sits in many North American church services, and hears people rightfully call Christ their Saviour, he wonders what they think the Lord is saving them from. That’s because people he speaks with in those churches often don’t believe in the devil. If people asked us who Jesus saves us from, what would our answer be? My friend’s reply is that having seen Christian persecution and famine, he’s quite familiar with the devil’s activities. We are as well. When we see a lack of love for God and His Word, when we see people abandon the Christian Church and denigrate it, when we see the celebration of sin, we see the terrible fallout of evil. We can give evil’s influence all sorts of clinical scientific names and psychological theories, but the source is the same. So is the solution. This morning in our Gospel account, Jesus is on an evangelistic journey to the gentiles. The towns and cities of the Decapolis on the east side of Lake Galilee were pagan areas with a Greek cultural history. When Jesus arrives on a boat with the disciples, the first thing they encounter is someone who’s possessed. He’s naked, something the Bible teaches us reflects shame in our fallen world. He lives like an animal among tombs. He has an obsession, not with life, but with death and decay. He has supernatural strength, not human power, but power from the dark forces that inhabit him. This is instructive for modern generations who would simply turn this man’s problem into a mental health issue. The demons have ruined his life. Yet the demons possessing him know who they’re now before. Demonic spirits, despite their fallen nature, recognize who Christ is, and they cry out, “Jesus, son of the most high.” They want to know what He’s going to do to them. Lack of knowledge is not the evil spirits’ problem. Rebellion and separation from God are. Jesus asks the demon what his name is, and the reply is, “legion.” A Roman legion at full strength was about 6,000 men, something to be feared. But Jesus isn’t afraid of the demons at all, they’re afraid of Him. For Christ it wouldn’t have mattered if the man had a million demons in Him. Because even demonic spirits know Christ is God in human flesh. They know the one who stands before them once threw them out of Heaven. What they’re asking Jesus is: will He now consign them to the abyss, to Hell, their final destiny? Jesus has the power of God. Yet Christ also has the compassion and love of God, even for this poor possessed gentile man. Do we have the same compassion, understanding and patience for those we see in the grips of evil? For those who suffer from addictions or afflictions of mind or spirit in today’s world? Do we bring the love of God to those broken by evil, or do we bring only judgment? Do we simply criticize, or share God’s Word and power? The demons, not wishing to be consigned to Hell any earlier than they’re scheduled for, ask Jesus to be given permission to possess a herd of pigs. Christ gives them permission. But the demon’s pig idea doesn’t work out. The irony, and perhaps it would have given the original readers of Luke a chuckle as well as a shudder, is that the pigs choose to commit suicide rather than be possessed by unclean spirits. What’s the human reaction to all this? It’s of two kinds. Just as the reaction to the power of Christ is basically of two kinds today. The swine herdsmen can only see that Jesus has been bad for business. They see the worldly, economic ramifications. And they tell others in the surrounding towns about it. The reaction to this miracle, just as the reaction of people today who only see life in worldly terms, is to ask Jesus to leave. But there’s another response found in Luke’s account. That’s from the man who’s been possessed, but is now free of the affliction of evil. He’s sitting at the feet of Jesus, like a disciple. And that is just what he now wants to be. His reaction is worship, gratitude. He wants to follow Christ. But Jesus has another plan for him, and calls him instead to be an evangelist, perhaps the first to a gentile people. By the way, one of the reasons we know the people in the area were gentiles aside from history, is from Luke’s detailed reporting. Jewish people didn’t raise pigs. The people of the area may have rejected Jesus. He did not reject them. He sought them out, and created a disciple to spread the Good News of salvation, of freedom from the power of evil and death. That source of Good News is Christ, this freed man’s Saviour, and ours. Jesus is our Redeemer because we, as human beings have been in a state of rebellion against God since our first parents in the Garden of Eden. We have, by our sinful nature, taken sides with the enemies of God. Even after God calls us by the power of his Word, and the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, we’re still as Martin Luther wrote, saints for the sake of Christ, while at the same time sinners in this life. Like the children of Israel in the days of the prophet Isaiah, we feel the pain of sin and evil’s consequences in our lives, and in the lives of those we love. Like the possessed man we see ourselves dwelling in a land surrounded by death and brokenness. But God comes to us as He did to the people on the east side of Lake Galilee. Christ doesn’t abandon us in our bondage to sin. He comes into the world to die for us on a cross, so we’ll be freed of the chains that would have consigned us to eternal separation from God. Jesus doesn’t berate us, but loves and sacrifices Himself for us. Christ isn’t a proud bully, but a humble servant who at the same time is all-powerful. He doesn’t wait for us to ascend to Him, but comes to us, even today in His sacred Word. He offers us His body and blood in the bread and wine of Communion. Jesus encounters us at our demonic worst and frees us, saves us from evil. He calls on us, with whatever gifts He may have given, to tell others about Him. What He’s done, what He continues to do. As a Father who loves His children, Christ patiently and lovingly works in our lives. David, whose sins were forgiven by God, wrote, “yea I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for thy rod and thy staff comfort me.” Our Good Shepherd watches over and protects us today. Through the cross of Calvary, He has defeated our ancient enemy, once and for all. Trust in Christ your Saviour, and pray that the Holy Spirit will work that saving faith in others. Pray that through the power of the Spirit, we will be faithful witnesses to the Redeemer of the world. Amen. SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) Page 195 The Lord’s Prayer – Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. The Words of Institution Page 197 The Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) – Page 198 The Distribution – Page 199 The Nunc Dimittis (Song of Simeon) Page 199 The Post Communion Collect (Right-hand column) Page 201 The Benediction – The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen. Our Closing Hymn: “Spread the Reign of God the Lord” Lutheran Service Book 830 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nteQ5PBlbCw