Freeing the Demoniac from Within

 

Sermon preached by Dn. James Wilcox on Sunday, July 5, 2026

Epistle and Gospel Readings from: Gal. 5:22-26; 6:1-2, Matt. 8:28-34; 9:1;

There are 3 verses in the New Testament I wish I could stamp on the hearts of every person who professes faith in Christ. The first comes from the book of James and reads “…let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.” [1] The second is from St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians which says “…in humility regard others as better than yourselves.” [2] And lastly. a verse that comes from today’s Epistle reading: “… the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control,” which is translated in some editions as “self-mastery.” St Paul concludes, “Against such there is no law.” [3]

And the reason I wish these verses could be ingrained on our hearts is because it seems that some members of the Orthodox Church, particularly in online spaces need to be reminded what it means to lead lives transformed by the Holy Spirit. Facebook, YouTube, Substack, Instagram, and TikTok are just basic realities of our existence in 21st century America. We don’t have to be on them. But if we are we need to remember that how we treat one another in those online spaces — even if we are not physically standing face to face with that person — is a reflection of one’s own heart. Christ teaches us after all that “… it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” For this reason alone it is enough to say that if you are in the habit of denigrating your fellow humans in an online forum, or social media outlet, you need to delete your account, repent, and go to confession. No Orthodox Christian should ever be demeaning to another human being in these spaces no matter how much they disagree with you.

The ancient Greek philosopher Plotinus once said that to

"Look to God" is not helpful without some instruction as to what this looking imports: it might very well be said that one can "look" and still sacrifice no pleasure, still be the slave of impulse, repeating the word God but held in the grip of every passion and making no effort to master any… God on the lips, without a good conduct of life, is [just] a word. [4]

When the Apostle Paul speaks of the Fruits of the Spirit, he is not referring to moral platitudes one attains through the sheer force of their will. The Fruits of the Spirit, rather, are a natural outpouring of a heart transformed and sanctified by the grace of the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ. If your heart has been truly made new, it means your heart has found repentance. It is from the repentant heart that love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and self-mastery will naturally flow.

By contrast an unchanged, hardened, and self-seeking heart is prone to the behaviors St Paul describes in the same Epistle passage, which he refers to as works of the flesh: “adultery, impurity, idolatry, hatred, quarreling, fanaticism, jealousy, [and] anger…” These are the attributes of a person who is still a slave to impulse, unable to control their urges, and bound up by the self-seeking nature of the ego.

These are also the very depiction of the two demoniacs who encountered Jesus in today’s Gospel reading. As we heard just a bit ago, these two men were not in their right minds. They were caustic in their rhetoric, dangerous to be around, and entirely off-putting to anyone within earshot. For this reason, no one wanted to be near them! (this is also a perfect description of the comments section on any of our social media platforms).

I’m convinced the Church has paired today’s Gospel reading with Paul's Epistle to the Galatians to juxtapose what a life of inner transformation in Christ looks like when compared to a life of uncontrolled inner torment, impulse, negativity, and enslavement. And worse yet is the person who is bound up in these passions, who does not realize his enslavement. He is completely asleep to himself and unaware of what has overtaken him. Like the two demoniacs, they bristle at the recognition of the Truth that can transform them and restore them to their right minds, because inner transformation always requires the painful work of learning to let go. And it’s always easier to remain in the state we are in, than it is to undergo the painful work of deep inner change.

St Marcarius of the Desert once said: “If you rebuke someone and do it with anger, you have allowed a passion to control you. You have not saved anyone, and have destroyed yourself.” [5]

Friends, Christ has freed us from our enslavement to the passions of the flesh, but we must also choose to BE free from them. Just because you are IN Christ, does not mean you are always correct and everyone else is always wrong. If you believe this you have, as St Marcarius states, “allowed a passion to control you.” Do not be uncontrolled in your demeanor like the demoniac, but be free! And be Christlike and generous to all, whether in person or online. Christ has not given us a spirit of domination, but a spirit of peace. And above all carry with you the instruction from St Paul in today’s Epistle reading, “those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit… Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

 

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1.  James 1:19b, Nicholas King Translation of the NT.

2.  Philippians 2:3b. NRSVue.

3.  Galatians 5:22-23, NRSVue.

4.  “Catechesis Against the Gnostics,” cited by Alex Fogelman April 15, 2019 accessed July 4, 2026, https://www.catechesisrenewal.com/blog/2019/4/15/nki7atrbl3b6jehhssomlt5fk8a29p

5.  Tim Vivian, trans., St Marcarius the Spiritbearer: Coptic Texts Relating to Saint Marcarius the Great. (Crestwood, New York: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2004), 64