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Let me begin by saying that this sermon is about a verse that is not included in our reading.  As a matter of fact, it is not even included in the Bible we read from.  But first, let me set the stage.
 
In our reading from Luke this morning we hear that Jesus is traveling through Samaria.  Elsewhere in the gospels we also hear of the Samaritans, and it always seems to be in adversarial or pejorative terms.   Obviously, the Jews and the Samaritans didn’t get along.  So, why did they dislike each other … even to the point of prejudice and bigotry?  What is so repugnant about a Samaritan to a Jew, and a Jew to a Samaritan?

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​The gospel this week about the Gerasene demoniac is really a bizarre story.  A nameless man has been exiled to the margins of human existence.  He's filthy naked in public.  He can't control his speech.  He is so violent that people can't come near him.  All attempts to restrain him have failed.  He lives in a graveyard.  He exhibits the most common form of self-harm even today … self-mutilation.  The people of the time added it all up and using the language of the day called it demon possession.

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Today, in the Christian calendar, is Trinity Sunday, the Sunday after the Feast of Pentecost.  It is devoted to the theological concept of the Triune God … One God in Three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Although the roots of the Trinitarian formula are found in the Hebrew Scriptures, the theological principal was not formalized until the Council of Nicea in 325 of the Common Era.

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A couple of months ago my laptop computer finally called it quits, and I realized that it was time to upgrade to a new one.  There is a nonprofit organization called TechSoup that sells computer hardware and software at huge discounts to other nonprofits, so I went looking for a replacement laptop on their web site.  I found a deal I couldn’t pass up … a computer with state-of-the-art processor, a solid state hard disc, lots of memory … all the bells and whistles.  However, the computer was a refurbished model … Grade B which meant that it had visible blemishes, and they wouldn’t … or couldn’t … tell me who made it the computer.  It seems that the make of the computer was dependent upon what laptops were available for refurbishing.  Yet, at less than $200 … with a 20 percent discount off of that … I figured I’d take the chance.  

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Last week, after preach my NOT A SERMON about our new initiative, Beyond the Commons, I heard from a number of you reporting your opinions on the new seating … your report about the pews.  On most weeks I also hear reports from you about all kinds of things … I see it as a report from the pews.  But there is another Pew Report … this one written by the Pew Research Center in Washington DC, and the Pew Report is different from the report from the pews, or the report about the pews.  Anyhow, the Pew Report on Religion documents the changing landscape of religion in America.  For me, the most significant statistic is the growing number of “None’s” … those who check “None” when asked what their religious affiliation is … it is spelled N-O-N-E not N-U-N.  In 2007 those who said they had no religious affiliation were 16% of the population.  In 2014 … just seven years later … that had increased to 23%.  In the youngest age group surveyed, the Millennials, the percentage of those claiming they have no religious affiliation is 36%!