Today we celebrate the memory of St. Demetrios, the Great Martyr. St. Demetrios was appointed as the military commander in Thessaloniki, by Emperor Maximian. However, he was also a Christian. When the Emperor told him to exterminate the Christians in Thessaloniki, he refused, and instead he strengthened the Christians and himself preached the Gospel. Of course, this landed him in prison and ultimately led to his martyrdom. St. Demetrios is considered the patron Saint of Thessaloniki, of course, and also of Siberia. Yet, like all the Saints, he is universal.

St. Demetrios had the makings of a very powerful military and political leader. If he had obeyed the emperor, he could have enjoyed this world’s riches and had tremendous earthly power. However, it was more important to him to obey the Word of God, and so he opposed the emperor’s ungodly command. In doing so, he gave us an example of courageous discipleship.

The Lord calls all of us to follow him, and doing so takes courage. If we are to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Christ, then we’ll have to oppose evil in our lives, in ourselves. Even if we don’t have to stand up to the Roman Emperor, we do have to stand up to the prince of darkness, who wants us to obey him, and promises us all kinds of benefits if we do. But we know that his promises are lies.

We’re reminded once again by the Apostle Paul that like good soldiers, we must be focused on our leader. By keeping Christ always in front of us, always in our mind and in our heart, we can remain strong in the grace that is in Him. His grace is what makes it possible for us to endure hardship “as good solders.” So that we keep that grace and don’t squander it, we have to be careful about getting entangled in “the affairs of this life” and keep our focus on pleasing the one who enlisted us, the Lord Jesus.

In today’s Gospel selection we see what we’re up against. Not just one or two demons, not just one or two passions oppose us as we seek to follow Christ and enter into the Kingdom. There’s a whole legion opposing us! The demon-possessed man demonstrates this. Instead of using a proper name, he refers to himself as “legion,” because of the multitude of demons possessing him.

The legion we face includes all the passions: anger, lust, sloth, gluttony, judgment of others, envy, boastfulness, pride, impatience, greed, and so on. Our legion also includes all the distractions and anxiety-making things in our lives. Some of these things might not be bad in themselves, but if we let them distract us from focusing on Christ, they become part of the legion. These distractions and anxieties and threats that become temptations for us could include politics, sports, the latest gossip, the internet, TV shows, sicknesses or injuries we have, potential illnesses like Ebola, problems our kids are having, financial worries, and the general instability and chaos in the world.

How do we deal with this legion of passions, distractions, threats and worries? First, and most importantly, we cry out to God for help. We pray. We ask to be delivered. We ask Christ, who is able to cast out the legion and send the demons into the pigs to do the same thing for us. “Lord, save me from this legion of passions and temptations! Save me from this stormy sea of life! Make me calm inside! Set me free!”

What happens after the demoniac is set free from the legion? The people from his city come and they find him “sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind.” So you see here both what it takes to be set free, and what freedom looks like. We, too, need to “sit at the feet of Jesus” in prayer, until He sets us free. And then once we are delivered, we keep sitting at Jesus’ feet, remaining under His protection. And He clothes us with Himself; He puts a baptismal garment on us. He clothes us with His glory. And he puts us back in our right mind. He restores us to sanity.

That’s the potential, but we have to want it. And we have to courageously fight for it, opposing the enemy like St. Demetrios opposed the tyrannical Emperor. The courage often takes the form of just getting up and facing another day, or of confessing our sin and making yet another fresh start with God’s help. It takes courage to get back up after we’ve fallen, but with God’s help we can do just that.

It’s Christ who sets us free from the legion. He delivers us from the storm. He, and He alone, can clothe us with His glory and light, and bring sanity to our mind and purity to our hearts. The demons have absolutely no power whatsoever against Him. With Him on our side, they are nothing but little puffs of smoke. The powerful wind of the Holy Sprit can dispel them instantly. But to receive that deliverance we have to keep our eyes on him, and courageously keep calling upon him no matter how discouraging things may seem. And if we stumble, we don’t give up, we get up, and we call upon him again, and again, enduring to the end with faith and trust.

May the Lord Jesus Christ, through the prayers of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrios, deliver us from the legion that attacks us, granting us true freedom, true sanity, and the robe of immortality. Amen.