Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus,
and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district.
People are so accustomed to the way things are that they are willing to put up with the occassional demonic possession to preserve it. They're so attached that they don't want Jesus there shaking things up. They would rather have bacon than healed brethren.
What about us? When Jesus enters a situation it always drastically changes. Are we willing to risk the collateral damage to the comforts we enjoy?
The swineherds ran away,
and when they came to the town they reported everything,
including what had happened to the demoniacs.
We can see why the town protested. They had every reason to be afraid. They really didn't know what would happen if Jesus stayed. He had already done something that was certainly a challenge to them. That whole herd that was lost represented livelihood and food for them.
What we need to learn is that we can trust Jesus. Because he values the people who were possessed more than anything he heals them. He drives back the impurity the the pigs represent to the mythical origin of that impurity in the sea. What the people didn't realize was that this was done for their good, not to harm them. Jesus put the people first. If they lost that herd Jesus wouldn't abandon them to hunger and poverty. He healed the people because of love.
To allow Jesus to set things right, to place human lives above material concerns, is how we "let justice surge like water, and goodness like an unfailing stream." It is precisely how we seek "good and not evil" so that we may live. We're bad at this because evil has certain benefits. And we don't always learn from our experience of it enough to be unsatisfied with the results, even though those results inherently leave us less happy and less free.
Hate evil and love good,
and let justice prevail at the gate;
Then it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts,
will have pity on the remnant of Joseph.
This is how we can see the saving power of God. We welcome the healing touch of Jesus, no matter how he wants to change us.
No comments:
Post a Comment