When Jesus came to the territory of the Gadarenes,
two demoniacs who were coming from the tombs met him.
They were so savage that no one could travel by that road.
When the powers of darkness hold sway, when demons hold human souls under their power, there are possibilities that are inaccessible and roads that cannot be traveled. These two individuals were not able to play their intended role in the life of the larger world. On top of that, they made life more difficult for those who would have preferred to use the roads they occupied. People had to choose other routes while the possessed individuals themselves were increasingly alienated. In our own time, even without full scale possession, we may wonder what roads and possibilities would open in our world if only Jesus reigned in the hearts of more of his creatures.
The demons pleaded with him,
“If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine.”
Jesus is unwilling to see the potential of his creatures squandered. He is willing to take extreme measures to set them free, even if there is some initial collateral damage. In modern times we would be eager to cast out the powers of darkness, but perhaps only after we found a way to soften the blow to the economy. Jesus instead acted for the sake of individual human souls and left the economy to adapt to the consequences. This did not make him popular, at least not at first, while people struggled to find new and less compromised ways to make a living. We can see for their response to the actions of Jesus that they cared more about their income and less about the two individual who were now set free.
Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus,
and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district.
These two individuals, who were in their right minds for the first time in a long time, actually had more to offer to the life of the community than a herd of swine. No amount of bacon, however thick or nitrate-free, can add up to the value of a single soul. And that is no mere abstraction. When everyone in a community is living up to their God given potential that community can thrive in ways that remain impossible if it manages to shield itself from the healing disruption Jesus seeks to bring. But rigid order resists disruption in ways that are sometimes helpful, but often serve only to preserve the status quo. We are heartened to see that Jesus did not ask permission, did not wait to get enough votes in a committee formed to study the issue, before unleashing his power.
In what ways are we still clinging to the status quo merely because it is convenient rather than cooperating with the creative disruption Jesus would unleash in our world? The power of darkness will not be allowed to last forever. There is an appointed time after which they will be cast into the abyss. And so we should untether our destiny from theirs sooner rather than later. We should hitch our wagons to a power leading us down a path that has a future. This we should do both as individuals and as a larger society. No more can we neglect the disenfranchised few for the happiness of the many. We must be a society that seeks to recover every lost sheep, to welcome and care for everyone.
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