[Jesus and his disciples] landed in the country of the Gadarenes and were met by two madmen, victims of demons, coming out of cemetery. The men had terrorized the region for so long that no one considered it safe to walk down that stretch of road anymore.The problem? Two terrorizing madmen, driven by demons. People's lives had been so impacted by their presence that they had to reroute their travel.
Seeing Jesus, the madmen screamed out, "What business do you have giving us a hard time? You're the Son of God! You weren't supposed to show up here yet!" Off in the distance a herd of pigs was browsing and rooting. The evil spirits begged Jesus, "If you kick us out of these men, let us live in the pigs."It is always curious that demons recognize Jesus for who he is, even when we do not. They even understand that he has complete power over them.
Jesus said, "Go ahead, but get out of here!" Crazed, the pigs stampeded over a cliff into the sea and drowned. Scared to death, the swineherds bolted. They told everyone in town what had happened to the madmen and the pigs.The madmen were presumably now in their right minds. The demons went elsewhere. The pigs were dead. (Granted, those pigs were someone's livelihood.) So what happens in light of this extraordinary news?
Those who heard about it [the healing of the madmen] were angry about the drowned pigs.The stretch of road is now safe to walk and terrorizing madmen are in their right minds. But fear capsized the message of healing; Jesus chose a path that was too disorienting, too large, too unorthodox.
A mob formed and demanded that Jesus get out and not come back.Jesus threw out the demons and, in response, we threw out Jesus.
When healing frightens us, we clamp down in fear and resist love and mercy. We lament the pigs lost and miss the restoration.
Lord, help us stay focused on the scary big love and healing you are bringing to our world. Give us the courage to let go of that which we must lose in order to gain that which you freely offer.
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