From Demoniac to Missionary
AM Psalm 75, 76 • PM Psalm 23, 27
Gen. 43:16-34 • I Cor. 7:10-24 • Mark 5:1-20
In today’s reading from Mark, Chapter 5, Jesus and the twelve have escaped into Gentile territory to get away from the soul-hungry crowds. It was late in the evening when they set sail across the Sea of Galilee and weathered a ferocious storm, so that by the time of their landing, it is now the darkest hour of the night. From the rocky caves comes a demon-possessed man, so fierce that chains cannot hold him. Again, he has escaped to live among the tombs, where he beats himself with stones and cries out day and night in his misery of body and soul.
Dangerous as the man is, he poses no risk to Jesus. Although the man, or the demons, or both recognize Jesus as “Son of the Most High God,” Jesus senses that the man resists healing, possibly because he thinks he doesn't deserve it, possibly because he doesn't recognize Jesus’ power to overcome his particular malady. Clinging to his demons makes the exorcism difficult. When Jesus’ order for the demons to come out fails, he demands they name themselves, the ancient formula for breaking a demon’s power. The demons remain, since the man believes himself still demon-possessed. Jesus, understanding the power of a diseased mind, knows he must give incontrovertible proof to the man that he has been cleansed, so he allows “the Legion” to enter a herd of about two thousand swine grazing on the hillside. As the swine rush off the cliff and into the sea, the man finally has proof that the demons have been cast out, and his peace and sanity are restored.
When the herdsman and townspeople return, they find the former demoniac “sitting there, clothed and in his right mind.” Angered by the loss of the swine as well as afraid of Jesus’ power, they tell Jesus to get out of their neighborhood. The newly-healed man wants to leave with Jesus and the disciples, but Jesus says, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you.” Home to this man is the Decapolis, literally the Ten Cities on the east side of the Jordan that were essentially Greek. Here is Jesus, ashore on Gentile soil, healing a probable Gentile, then bidding him tell his marvelous news throughout his homeland. Here is the former demoniac, now a newly-created person, assigned to spread to the wider world the good news of the healing love of God through this miracle-worker from Nazareth, Jesus. What a wonderful story!
Written by Kay DuVal
Kay is a retired English instructor who coordinates the St. Paul's Recycling Ministry, which she started almost twenty years ago. She thanks her faithful volunteers and further thanks St. Paul's parishioners for their dedication to making this a greener world.