We have an important decision as preachers this week: How do we talk about demonic possession? I want to begin by saying, I don’t think there is a totally wrong answer here. There will be a lot of debate among commentaries and articles that talk about not negating the power of these texts. There will be some commentaries that talk about demonic possession as part of the apocalyptic genre. There will be some social media clergy debates about whether or not we should describe medical conditions, mental health struggles, or addiction as examples of demonic possession. There are a number of pitfalls to each of these arguments (more than I can cover here). There are a number of very good points to these arguments (some of which I hope to cover). But at the end of the day, I think there’s only one explanation that would totally miss the mark. That the people of Mark and Jesus’ time were ignorant and didn’t understand a medical thing and thus these stories no longer apply to us. If you hear me say anything in this commentary, hear this. Regardless of if these texts are describing supernatural forces, medical conditions, mental health struggles, or addiction, a human being is suffering and is separated from the community and from feeling the love of God. And in these moments, Jesus breaks down that barrier so the person can be restored to community and to feeling the love of God. There is meaning in these texts for us today. There is no reason to throw them away.