M atthew 8:28-34 And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. (29) And behold, they cried out, "What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?" (30) Now a herd of many swine was feeding at some distance from them. (31) And the demons begged him, "If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of swine." (32) And he said to them, "Go." So they came out and went into the swine; and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and perished in the waters. (33) The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, and what had happened to the demoniacs. (34) And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their neighborhood.
* Meditation by Chas Kestermeier, S.J.
In some stories of Jesus doing miracles it is Jesus who takes the initiative, and in others it is someone else who starts the exchange, who seeks a healing or another gift, but almost always the recipient of Jesus' action is grateful and praises God. Not here.
Jesus is clearly in a pagan territory (Jews would not be raising herds of swine!), and He deals with two men and at the same time with the demons who possess them. He treats the demons in what might almost be described as a friendly manner, granting their request to go into the pigs, and He frees the men to live relatively normal human lives. Gratitude on the part of the demons, or the men, or their families, is far from apparent: the men and the people of the region plead with Jesus to leave them, apparently out of fear that He will take away more of their livelihoods.
When Jesus calls us to give up our sins and to accept life, we too have a certain reluctance to do so and we at least consider whether we are ready to let go or not: after all, we have found sin to be attractive and we have had at least some satisfaction in it. We are indeed attached to our demons, to something we believe to be essential to our lives even if it is harmful.
This attitude that we know better than God does what is good for us, that we alone know what we need and what will make us happy, is more than a demon in us, more than an external agent, it is our very own willfulness and sinfulness.
And if we ask Jesus to stop ruining our lives by calling us to freedom, love, and generosity, He will respect our wishes and leave us alone, radically alone, with our sins....
Supplementary Readings
When Planting Yields No Fruit
You have planted much, but have harvested little.... ~ Haggai 1:6
H ave you ever worked and worked only to yield very little from your efforts? Such was the case for the workplace believers during the time of the prophet Haggai. Finally, God spoke through the prophet Haggai to inform the people why their efforts were not yielding any fruit. There was a specific reason this was happening.
"You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?" declares the Lord Almighty. "Because of My house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house. Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the oil and whatever the ground produces, on men and cattle, and on the labor of your hands" (Haggai 1:9-11).
God had finally had enough. His priorities were not His people's priorities. So, He withheld in order to get their attention. Zerubbabel was governor of Judah at the time. He was a godly man who sought to do God's will. He listened as the prophet gave these words; then he responded.
Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord (Haggai 1:12).
Sometimes God has to stir up the spirit of one man to initiate needed change. Zerubbabel was that man. Scriptures say, "The Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel" (Hag. 1:14). God is stirring up the spirit of a remnant of workplace believers throughout the world today. They are seeing what breaks God's heart, and they're responding. Has God placed the spirit of Zerubbabel in you? Are you one who will make a difference for the Kingdom, or are you concerned about building bigger and better barns? The Lord is calling forth His people in these last days to make a difference. Ask Him what He wants to do through you.
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