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Those swine pay the bills Luke 8:26-39 The man filled with inner demons is wild and out of control. He runs around naked, lives in the tombs, shouts at the top of his voice, and the people of his community have bound him with chains and shackles, supposedly for his own protection. Confronted by this wild, demon-possessed creature, Jesus is calm and in control. He drives out the demons, which enter a herd of swine and the herd runs full tilt into the lake and drowns. It’s the response to all of these happenings that intrigued me upon my reading of this rather familiar passage. The man, free of his demons, is immensely grateful and asks to follow Jesus. Instead, Jesus makes this request: Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you. (39) There’s the rub, you see. The man is asked to witness in his own community, and the man is faced with a tough job! Why? Well, just look at how the people of this man’s “home” have responded to Jesus’ healing. The swineherds ran to tell everyone about the pigs drowning in the lake, and so here comes the crowd, eager to see for themselves. They find the man, one of their own (he’s somebody’s child, somebody’s brother, he’s got family here!!) – they find him clothed and in his right mind. (35) You might think they’d be elated, right? Not on your life! Not one word of wonder, not one sign of their awe, not one expression of gratitude, not one expression of joy and celebration that one of their own, a lost sheep, has been healed. No sirree. Instead : they were afraid.(35) In response to their fear, they ask Jesus to leave them, for they were seized with great fear. (37) The folks are more concerned with the loss of the pigs than with the return of a lost brother. They’re more concerned with their own economic well-being than with the well-ness of their hearts and souls. Blinded by their own narrowness, they’re unable to see and receive the glory of God. They prefer to keep the man in chains and shackles, possessed by his demons – or is it their demons by which he’s possessed? It’s sorta nice and convenient to have someone else upon whom we can project or inflict our demons, our sins – isn’t it?  Wonder if we have any such fears – you know, the kind of fears which seem to paralyze us?  Wonder if our fears make us unable to reject and drive out some of the sins which we find within ourselves and within our community? Wonder if we’d rather be economically comfortable than working to relieve the pain and suffering of brothers and sisters? Wonder if being stifled by such fears also renders us incapable of judging right from wrong, and of recognizing when the glory of God is right there, right there in front of our very eyes? I wonder. Oh, and the man? Well, he goes on in faith, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him. (39) Tough job, but somebody’s got to do it. - Pastor Piet - June 24, 2007