June 23, 2019
Luke 8:26-39
The morning burned so August-hot, the marsh’s moist breath hung the oaks and pines with fog. The palmetto patches stood unusually quiet except for the low, slow flap of the heron’s wings lifting from the lagoon. And then, Kya, only six at the time, heard the screen door slap. Standing on the stool, she stopped scrubbing grits from the pot and lowered it into the basin of worn-out suds. No sounds now but her own breathing. Who had left the shack? Not Ma. She never let the door slam.
But when Kya ran to the porch, she saw her mother in a long brown skirt, kick pleats nipping at her ankles, as she walked down the sandy lane in high heels. The stubby-nosed shoes were fake alligator skin. Her only going-out pair. Kya wanted to holler out but knew not to rouse Pa, so opened the door and stood on the brick-‘n’-board steps. From there she saw the blue train case Ma carried. Usually, with the confidence of a pup, Kya knew her mother would return with meat wrapped in greasy brown paper or with a chicken, head dangling down. But she never wore the gator heels, never took a case.
Ma always looked back where the foot lane met the road, one arm held high, white palm waving, as she turned onto the track, which wove through bog forests, cattail lagoons, and maybe-if the tide obliged-eventually into town. But today she walked on, unsteady in the ruts. Her tall figure emerged now and then through the holes of the forest until only swatches of white scarf flashed between the leaves. Kya sprinted to the spot she knew would bare the road; surely Ma would wave from there, but she arrived only in time to glimpse the blue case-the color so wrong for the woods-as it disappeared. A heaviness, thick as black-cotton mud, pushed her chest as she returned to the steps to wait.[1]
Thus, opens the novel, Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. It is a journey through the lifetime of Kya, who has been abandoned, ridiculed, shunned, and bullied because she is deemed different and does not fit the mold of those living near her and is feared as the “swamp girl.” The novel spans over the course of a lifetime that sees many things within Kya’s life occur to bring her from ridicule to being recognized for her gifts.
While most of us may not be able to relate to the extremes of her story, we could probably point to times in our lives where we did not feel like we fit in and to times that we were welcomed and a place at the table was set for us. Jesus invites us to open ourselves to his presence and be freed and healed so that we may go out to proclaim his wonderous deeds and good news!
In our gospel lesson this week, Jesus steps out of the boat and is immediately confronted by a man that has been battling demons for years. The people in the country had no idea how to keep the man under control. He had been stripped of his clothes and appears to Jesus in all his nakedness, revealing the barrenness of love that he failed to receive from those that were close to him. To control him they would place him in the tombs and chain him down with shackles. Not only this, they would guard him so that he could not escape. The people were fearful of him and kept him at an arms distance. He was not welcome into their presence because of the fear he invoked, and he did not meet their standards of how one should act. He was abandoned, ridiculed, shunned, and bullied.
Have you ever found yourself to be naked and alone? Anxious of what will happen in the future and not knowing what to do or where to turn to next? Have you ever felt chained up and guarded by those that have greater authority than you? There are many times that we can point towards society in general where this has happened in the past and continues to happen.
As a society we were fearful of those that were different and had different mental capabilities than the societal norm. We would lock up our family members with little support and they were abused at the hands of institutions. Then the pendulum swung to the other side and any support has been stripped away and we regard mental illness as taboo. This is just one instance that we need to address as society as we learn to care for our sisters and brothers.
The man battling the demons knew that Jesus was someone he could turn to. He knew that there could be healing, and peace found in the Lord. You can sense the inner struggle that is occurring in our gospel lesson as the man wants to turn to Jesus, yet his demons are fearful and holding him back. Jesus’ presence is enough to bring the man to his knees and Jesus heals him. The man is brought to fullness and is clothed, both literally, and with the love of God that has brought him to his true self. Jesus welcomed the man into his presence and freed him from being bound and healed him from his desolation.
In this newfound freedom, he is sent out by Jesus to proclaim what has been done for him and the good news of Jesus.
The healing that Jesus brought to this man that had been tortured by the demons and the community is also available to us. Is it going to be a healing that brings complete health and restoration? Maybe not completely in our body, but Jesus will always come to us and bring us peace in our heart, mind, and soul to confront anything that may be in our way. Jesus went to the cross for us to share the love of God and reveal the restoration found in the cross and broken for us at the table.
Jesus may even come to us in a family member or friend that shares a caring word, smile, or simply their presence to walk with us in our darkest hours. Kya, in Where the Crawdads Sing, had that in a young man that she met when she was young and would encounter a relational roller coaster. As you enter her story, we realize that Kya is not all that innocent, much like us. She has her own faults, much like us, yet she finds peace and hope in the young man, Tate. Tate brings to Kya a hope and healing that she had not been able to fix on her own and provides a freedom into who she is as a child of God. Are you open to let Jesus work through others to embrace you in God’s tender loving care?
Let us pray. Healing Lord, you come to us in our desolation,
when we are broken and in need of healing; when we are bullied and hiding in
the corner; when we are fearful and seeking consolation. Grant us the peace to
come to you and rest at your feet. Amen.
[1] Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens.
a mysterious way 