Proper 7 / Pentecost 5 / Ordinary Time 12
Devotional
Water From the Rock
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle C
Object:
They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.
-- Luke 8:31
The authority of Jesus was expressed in a striking way in this passage. Everyone recognized Jesus' authority and in their own way were disturbed by it. The man possessed with demons begged Jesus not to torment him. Was it the demons talking or the man? Why would the man suggest that Jesus might torment him? Had he grown so accustomed to his status as the village crazy that he did not want to face what it would mean to be cured?
Next, the demons twice acknowledged Jesus' authority by begging him. First, they begged him not to be sent into the abyss: "They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss." Second, they begged him to send them into the swine that were feeding nearby. Jesus' response suggested almost a compassion for the demons. Rather than treat them as an enemy to be vanquished, he listened to their plea and allowed them to enter the swine.
Then when the demon-crazed swine rushed down the hillside and were drowned, the people in the city asked (begged) him to leave. They saw the results of his healing in the person of the man sitting beside him now restored to his sanity, but they also knew of the economic cost to their village. The swineherd was a source of income for the villagers. Finally the cured man begged to go with Jesus, but instead, Jesus told him to return and proclaim the good news of what God had done for him. There was a fear of Christ that was present in the man, the demons, and the villagers. What is the threat of recognizing and responding to the authority of Christ in your life? Would it cure you, threaten your economic well-being, or throw you into a chaos of uncertainty?
-- Luke 8:31
The authority of Jesus was expressed in a striking way in this passage. Everyone recognized Jesus' authority and in their own way were disturbed by it. The man possessed with demons begged Jesus not to torment him. Was it the demons talking or the man? Why would the man suggest that Jesus might torment him? Had he grown so accustomed to his status as the village crazy that he did not want to face what it would mean to be cured?
Next, the demons twice acknowledged Jesus' authority by begging him. First, they begged him not to be sent into the abyss: "They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss." Second, they begged him to send them into the swine that were feeding nearby. Jesus' response suggested almost a compassion for the demons. Rather than treat them as an enemy to be vanquished, he listened to their plea and allowed them to enter the swine.
Then when the demon-crazed swine rushed down the hillside and were drowned, the people in the city asked (begged) him to leave. They saw the results of his healing in the person of the man sitting beside him now restored to his sanity, but they also knew of the economic cost to their village. The swineherd was a source of income for the villagers. Finally the cured man begged to go with Jesus, but instead, Jesus told him to return and proclaim the good news of what God had done for him. There was a fear of Christ that was present in the man, the demons, and the villagers. What is the threat of recognizing and responding to the authority of Christ in your life? Would it cure you, threaten your economic well-being, or throw you into a chaos of uncertainty?
