February 27, 2005 Mark 5:1-20
February 27, 2005 Mark 5:1-20
Mark 5:15-17 “They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood.”
I can’t imagine myself in the situation described in this passage, can you? You just witnessed a great miraculous cure and you chase away the person who brought it about. That just doesn’t make sense. I’m sure we’d all welcome such a healer in our midst. Wouldn’t we? Or would we?
Stop and look at the situation again. Jesus cures the man but at the cost of 2000 swine. That’s a pretty fair sized bunch of pork on the hoof. How much would that many swine bring at market today? Maybe that is what the people were afraid about. Perhaps they thought Jesus would find another industry that was prohibited by the law and put an end to it too. After all, pork was a prohibited food.
Now let’s fast forward a bit, let’s say 2000 years or so. And let’s put the situation this way. Jesus comes into town. He encounters a homeless person suffering from schizophrenia. This person (or non-person if you will) is largely ignored by the entire town as they concentrated on their dog races. Jesus cures the individual. Only instead of putting the curse/disease/demons upon 2000 swine, he chooses to put it upon 2000 racing greyhounds. The dogs run and jump into the sea and drown, depriving their owners of the profits generated at the dog track. They are afraid and now, without their primary source of income, they insist that Jesus leave.
Sound like the same story? But it is. The miracles of healing through Christ bring benefit not just to the ‘identified patient’ but to all who witness or hear of them. In one sense it wasn’t just the demoniac who was cured, it was the community. And sometimes the community doesn’t want the cure.
So it is with us, when just one person is ‘cured’ through an encounter with Christ, all of us are changed. And the change happens whether we want it our not. We become a little more aware of the way our actions can harm others. We learn again each day that although many things are legal they are not good for us as individuals or society. And perhaps, we learn again what it really means to love one another.
Dear Lord, help us this day to see your hand at work and not be frightened. We believe with our mind that all things work for good through you, but our heart has doubts. Strengthen our faith this day. Amen.
Mark 5:15-17 “They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood.”
I can’t imagine myself in the situation described in this passage, can you? You just witnessed a great miraculous cure and you chase away the person who brought it about. That just doesn’t make sense. I’m sure we’d all welcome such a healer in our midst. Wouldn’t we? Or would we?
Stop and look at the situation again. Jesus cures the man but at the cost of 2000 swine. That’s a pretty fair sized bunch of pork on the hoof. How much would that many swine bring at market today? Maybe that is what the people were afraid about. Perhaps they thought Jesus would find another industry that was prohibited by the law and put an end to it too. After all, pork was a prohibited food.
Now let’s fast forward a bit, let’s say 2000 years or so. And let’s put the situation this way. Jesus comes into town. He encounters a homeless person suffering from schizophrenia. This person (or non-person if you will) is largely ignored by the entire town as they concentrated on their dog races. Jesus cures the individual. Only instead of putting the curse/disease/demons upon 2000 swine, he chooses to put it upon 2000 racing greyhounds. The dogs run and jump into the sea and drown, depriving their owners of the profits generated at the dog track. They are afraid and now, without their primary source of income, they insist that Jesus leave.
Sound like the same story? But it is. The miracles of healing through Christ bring benefit not just to the ‘identified patient’ but to all who witness or hear of them. In one sense it wasn’t just the demoniac who was cured, it was the community. And sometimes the community doesn’t want the cure.
So it is with us, when just one person is ‘cured’ through an encounter with Christ, all of us are changed. And the change happens whether we want it our not. We become a little more aware of the way our actions can harm others. We learn again each day that although many things are legal they are not good for us as individuals or society. And perhaps, we learn again what it really means to love one another.
Dear Lord, help us this day to see your hand at work and not be frightened. We believe with our mind that all things work for good through you, but our heart has doubts. Strengthen our faith this day. Amen.
Contributed by Anonymous
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home