Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" "My name is Legion," he replied, "for we are many." – Mark 5:9

Today's Scripture Reading (November 13, 2020): Mark 5

I am not an exorcist. I don't often come face to face with demons, or at least, not knowingly. And while I recognize that Satan is active in our world, I don't necessarily see him lying under every rock. There is only one instance when I know that I came face to face with a demon. It happened on my birthday some years ago. It was a Sunday night, and I remember it well because my family had evening plans to celebrate my advancing age when I received the emergency call. Something was wrong, and very quickly getting out of control. And it seemed that I was the logical one to call.

So, I made the trip to find out what was happening, trying to figure out what I was being asked to do. And when I arrived, the scene was unimaginable. Those present were convinced that a demon had possessed the woman who was currently terrorizing the family room. The children had been safely hidden away, and the room was cleared so that the pastor could go to work.

I began by trying to start a conversation with her. It seemed like a good place to start was by asking the woman her name. It is always easier to say, "Hey Cindy, what's going on?" rather than using a generic, "Hey you."

But I didn't get the answer I was expecting. Instead of telling me her name, the response I received was a snarl with the words, "Why do you want to know?" And then she added, "But I know who you are." At that moment, I felt a chill going through my being.

I feel in good company with this demon's reaction. There is a superstition that argues that you can control the demon if you know a demon's name. But that is just a superstition. God is always in control, whether or not we know the name of the demons in our midst. I know that because of this story of Jesus and the Demon-Possessed Man of the region of the Gerasenes.

Jesus meets the man and asks what is maybe the most basic of questions; "What is your name?" And the man refuses to tell him. His reply is not a name; it is a show of power. "We are called Legion because we are many." The response is meant to enforce the idea that any one of the demons' names is unimportant because it was collective of demons in charge of this man. "My name is Legion" was an attempt to intimidate Jesus. After all, he was one, and they were many.

But, in the end, it didn't matter if Jesus knew the names of the demons. Jesus was more powerful than one, or two, or three, or even six-thousand (a legion) of demons. And even more importantly, as the demons tried to intimidate Jesus, even they knew that they didn't measure up to the power of God that was present in this rabbi called Jesus.    

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Matthew 9