Written by Scott B. Hayashi
Luke 8:36-37a (NRSV) Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear.
The demoniac is a known person to everyone in his community. He is tolerated as long as he stays in the tombs, not reminding the people of his strange brokenness. But they must have provided food for him, and surely someone left him new rags to replace the old ones. But we would be hard-pressed to imagine people inviting the demoniac into their homes, interrupting their whole lives with this fractured being. As long as he stays among the tombs, and not next door, they can tolerate him.
I do not think that we are very different from the demoniac’s neighbors. We are willing to tolerate incredibly painful fractures in our communities and families even though Jesus could heal them. We do not want to be healed; we do not want to take our medicine. We do not want to embrace the Healer.
Today, pray for the world. Pray that we will not ask Jesus to go away.
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