I was 4 years old when I realized evil was real.

I was spending the night at my Uncle Lee’s house. I don’t remember why—I’m guessing my parents just needed a break from me—but whatever the reason, we decided to go to the video rental store and pick up a couple of movies on VHS. You see, in the ’80s, we had these things called VCRs and they played movies on something called a VHS tape. You would go to these VHS rental stores to pick out a movie, and then you would bring it home and physically put it in the VCR to watch the movie. When you were done, you had to rewind it to the beginning of the movie, return it to the store, and pay whatever late fees were due because you definitely forgot to return it on time.

That wasn’t the evil part.

The evil part came when my Uncle Lee, who had no kids of his own, decided to rent the very R-rated “A Nightmare on Elm Street” to watch with his 4-year-old nephew. For some reason, this movie about a monster with knives for fingers that attacked kids in their dreams didn’t sit well with 4-year-old me. I was terrified by Freddy Krueger. It obviously gave me nightmares for years.

That night at my Uncle Lee’s house, I was introduced to evil. To get through it, I told myself monsters weren’t real. But then I got older and realized monsters were real and that pretty terrible things happen in this world every day. Evil was real.

In the Gospel of Mark, right after Jesus shows his power and authority over nature by calming the storm and the sea, he comes face to face with evil on the shores of the region of the Gerasenes. As soon as Jesus gets out of the boat, a man possessed by a legion of evil spirits runs over and bows at Jesus’ feet. Again, with a word, Jesus commands that the evil spirits leave the man and be sent to a herd of 2,000 pigs nearby. Immediately, the pigs are sent into a frenzy, run off a cliff into the lake, and drown in the water below. Mark does a great job of helping the reader experience the chaos of what happened.

The people of the town didn’t know what to do with this scene. They chose fear and asked Jesus to leave. Jesus’ exorcism provoked fear in some, but it also provoked faith. The man who had been abandoned by his community, written off as insane, left chained up in a cemetery, now transformed by the power of Jesus, fully restored, fully healed, chose to follow Jesus. Jesus sent him to tell of what the Lord had done for him. This story ends with this man traveling from town to town telling of the one who has authority and power over the forces of evil.

Sometimes Jesus calms the storm. Sometimes he lets the storm rage and he calms us. When it feels like there are forces in this world beyond our control that seem to be binding us in fear and tormenting us, remember that God is mighty to save. As Romans 8:38-39 says, “Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Prayer:

Lord, I thank you that even though there is darkness in this world, it will never separate me from your love. You have power over the darkness. Even though I will face trouble in this world, I can take heart because you have overcome the world. Amen.

Reflection:

  • What does this story tell us about the nature of evil and its impact on a person’s life?
  • Where have you felt chained up amongst the dead and in need of deliverance in your life?
  • What is one thing that the Lord has done for you that you can share with someone else?