Homilies
Go Home and Tell of What God has Done for You
Holy Spirit take my words and speak to each of us according to our need.
The Gospel reading today takes us to the shores of the Gerasenes, a land outside Jewish territory, where Jesus meets a man in torment and possessed by many demons, who call themselves “Legion.” He is naked. Homeless. Violent. He lives among the tombs, cut off from community and seemingly from hope.
Jesus, with just a word, sets him free. The Legion is cast out. The man is clothed, in his right mind, and sitting at the feet of Jesus. It is one of the most dramatic transformations in all of Scripture. But then comes something just as powerful. Jesus tells him:
“Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.”
And the man obeys. He goes back. He goes back, not to preach a sermon or to write a book but simply to tell his story. And that one sentence from Jesus is what I’d like to focus on today.
Jesus does not ask the man to become a travelling evangelist or a great theologian. He says, 'go home. Go to the ordinary places, to the people who knew you when you were lost; your family, your village, and tell them what God has done for you.'
What a powerful command!
We might think that to speak of God’s greatness, we need the right words, or theological training, or a pulpit. But the Gospel spreads most powerfully through testimony. People who have experienced God’s grace telling others:
“I was in a dark place—but God met me.”
“I was struggling—but Christ brought healing.”
“I was far from peace—but the Spirit comforted me.”
The world may argue with doctrine, but it cannot argue with a changed life. And that’s what Jesus did. His healing was more than a cure. He restored people. He gave them back their identity and allowed them to belong again in their communities.
So why were the people so afraid? A man had just been healed, restored. Shouldn’t they celebrate?
Yet the scriptures tells us: “They were seized with great fear.”
Why?
Because when the power of God shows up, it disrupts the status quo and forces people to acknowledge things they had got used to ignoring. The townspeople had become so used to the man being possessed. His suffering had become familiar. So when Jesus set him free, it not only changed the man but it challenged their worldview.
It revealed a power that they could not control or explain. It changed them too. Their pigs were gone for a start and it made them uncomfortable. They were more at ease with the demoniac in chains than with the Saviour who set him free. The first, they could ignore; write him off, a problem that they didn’t need to deal with. But the second?
It seems that all too often people today are also still afraid when God’s deeds are declared. It makes people feel uncomfortable. It reminds us that we are not in control. That we are not self-sufficient. It reminds us that grace demands a response, that healing will cost us our pride, and that freedom will require change.
Sometimes people are afraid to speak about what God has done for them because it means becoming vulnerable. It means admitting that we were once broken. That we needed saving and in a culture that prizes independence and strength, this can feel risky.
Sometimes, sadly, people are afraid of the response they might receive; being mocked or dismissed. Our secular age often treats faith as private, even irrelevant. To say openly, “God changed my life,” can be seen as strange, challenging or even threatening.
So, how can we respond to Jesus’ command today?
First, take seriously the call to return to your home. Maybe not physically return home but turn to those who are closest to you; family, friends, workplaces, or the community. You don’t need to preach or have great gestures. Sometimes, just starting a conversation can be enough. Perhaps you could say, “Let me tell you about where and I was and how God has helped me.” Share the importance of your faith and how it sustains you both in times of joy and sorrow. Share how you’ve experienced peace or healing.
Second, live a life that reflects your testimony. The man was found “clothed and in his right mind.” His life was visibly changed. Let your life tell the story; through kindness, compassion, humility, and courage. Through action, not just in words.
Third, don’t be afraid of rejection or ridicule. Yes, some people may not understand or be ready to hear. But others are longing for hope. Your story may be the very thing that leads someone else to healing and you may not even realise the seeds you’ve planted.
In our reading the man wanted to stay with Jesus. But Jesus had something else in mind: to make him one of the first missionaries to the Gentiles. And so, he went home, “[he] proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.”
We aren’t even told his name. But his obedience is etched into the Gospel. So may it be with us. May we return to our homes, our lives, our routines and declare not our strength, not our wisdom, but what God has done for and through us. Because our stories matter. Our lives can witness to someone else’s healing.
At this point, I want to offer a simple, yet genuine, and heartfelt invitation. I have been here for a year now and going forward I will be focussed in Blaenavon. I would very much like to get to know you all better. So, if you would like a visit, just to chat, to share a cup of tea, or to tell a bit of your story, then I would be honoured to come and to listen. There’s no agenda, no notes taken, no reports written. Just a genuine desire to get to know each other better. And if there are people out in the community, who are unable to come to church any longer and you think they might like me to visit, please do pass on my details which are on the noticeboard.
So please, let me know after the service, or feel free to ring or email me. I’d be glad to arrange a visit and at a time that suits you. (I might be a little preoccupied until after my ordination now, but July isn’t far away!)
We all carry stories, and sometimes just being heard is one of the most healing gifts we can receive or give.
Let us pray
Loving God, You are the author of every life and the healer of every wound. We thank you for the stories you are writing in each of us, Stories of grace, of struggle, of hope, and of transformation.
Help us, like the man in the Gospel, to be willing to share what You have done for us; not with pride, but with honesty and courage. Teach us also to listen with compassion, to make space for one another’s stories, and to build a community where each person is truly seen and truly known.
May our homes, our church, and our hearts be places where your love is spoken of freely, where no one walks alone, and where the simple gift of presence becomes a blessing.
Amen.