One-Year Bible, 2/20/12
“The demons begged Jesus, ‘Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into
them.’ He gave them permission and the evil spirits came out and went
into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the
steep bank into the lake and were drowned. Those tending the pigs ran
off and reported this . . . . When the people came out to Jesus
they saw, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of
demons sitting there, dressed in his right mind. . . . Then the people
plead with Jesus to leave their region (Mark 5:12-17).”
Reading
this you might say not much has changed. Jesus had entered the
beautiful hillsides of the Gerasenes on the other side of the Sea of
Galilee. It is a beautiful region of verdant hills not unlike Northern
California. It was a very prosperous multicultural community, hence the
herding of pigs—an unclean animal in the eyes of Jesus and his
disciples.
Now Jesus had healed a man whose demented,
tortured condition was well known. This man, a “cutter”, once so insane
that he could not be subdued, was now in his right mind. Did they
congratulate Jesus for finally curing the man of his extreme mental
“dis-ease?” Did they celebrate the positive outcome? Were they
encouraged that others who struggled with similar serious conditions
might be relieved? No.
Their concern was the loss of
profit--that they had lost the pigs, not that a man had been healed and
returned to the community as a productive, happy and healthy citizen.
The challenge that Jesus faced concerning human greed and disregard for
human well-being continues to confront us as people of faith and people
of good will. Will you stand against communities, leaders, political
strategies programs and public policies that place profits before
people?
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