Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you

 Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes.  And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains.  And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him.  And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him.  And he cried out with a loud voice and said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?  I implore You by God that You do not torment me."  For He said to him, "Come out of the man, unclean spirit!"  Then He asked him, "What is your name?"  And he answered, saying, "My name is Legion; for we are many."  Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.  Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains.  So all the demons begged Him, saying, "Send us to the swine, that we may enter them."  And at once Jesus gave them permission.  Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea. 

So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country.  And they went out to see what it was that had happened.  Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind.  And they were afraid.  And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine.  Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.  And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him.  However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you."  And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.

- Mark 5:1-20

Yesterday we read that, on the same day of preaching parables to the crowds at the shore of the sea, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side.  Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was.  And other little boats were also with Him.  And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.  But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow.  And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"  Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!"  And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.  But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful?  How is it that you have no faith?"  And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!"  

Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes.  And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains.  And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him.  And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him.  And he cried out with a loud voice and said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?  I implore You by God that You do not torment me."  For He said to him, "Come out of the man, unclean spirit!"  Then He asked him, "What is your name?"  And he answered, saying, "My name is Legion; for we are many."  Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.  Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains.  So all the demons begged Him, saying, "Send us to the swine, that we may enter them."  And at once Jesus gave them permission.  Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.   The country of the Gadarenes was still in Galilee (although on the other side of the Sea of Galilee), but it was a territory of mixed Gentile and Jewish population.  In this story, the people who raise the swine are Jews, but they have taken on Gentile practices, possibly in order to sell the pigs to the Gentile market.  But, for Jews,  this is a practice forbidden by the Law (Deuteronomy 14:8).  We see the extremely destructive effects of the demons, both on the man who calls himself Legion for the number of demons who have taken abode in him, and on the swine who rush to their destruction in the sea.  As by now has been observed several times in Mark's Gospel, the demons recognize Jesus and know who He is. 

So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country.  And they went out to see what it was that had happened.  Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind.  And they were afraid.  And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine.  Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.  And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him.  However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you."  And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.   We can simply think what a marvelous sight it would be to see the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind.  But that doesn't even rate a mention from those who fed the swine.  Instead, they are simply afraid.  Those who've been told how it all happened simply plead with Christ to depart from their region.   It seems likely that their chief concern is money, and therefore the loss of income from their swine.  Clearly the man who's been demon-possessed and living among the tombs has no friends here, and he wishes to go with Christ and the disciples.  But instead, Christ offers him a new role -- to go home to his friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for him, and how He has had compassion on him.  The Decapolis was a region of ten cities, of Greek and Roman culture, but of mixed populations of Jews and Gentiles.

It's intriguing to think of the man with the legion of demons, and his perspective.  Perhaps we could compare him to someone who has simply suffered with severe mental illness, out of his mind for a long time -- so much so that he has lived among the tombs, away from his home and the population of the towns where he comes from.  He's out of control, completely wild, and nothing can tame him.  He's the opposite of what one might call "civilized," and unable to live among people but only among the dead.  The destruction of the demons, and the desperation of the man is clear -- especially in his immediate response to Christ, as if he understands that He is the only one who can help him.  This man is not so far away from some modern scenes mentally ill or drug addicted people.  Perhaps he's even metaphoric for many who suffer in isolation from destructive mental illness or addiction.  He cries out and cuts himself.  But his total isolation is clear:  even when he is healed and in his right mind, those who raise the swine who have been near him all this time do not seem to care at all.  They care only for the loss of their swine.  This healed man is instructed by Christ to rather return home and proclaim to his friends what great things the Lord has done for him, and how the Lord has had compassion on him.  We're reminded, in the ones who raise the swine and beg Jesus to leave them, that it is Christ who teaches us that one cannot serve two masters, one cannot love God and mammon (Matthew 6:24).  But for the one who is healed, we have to ask ourselves where he will go.   He cannot stay among the tombs, nor among these people who care nothing for him.  It gives us even a parallel sense of life on the streets, where only money matters, and exploitation of others gives one value.  The healed man instead must find those who are his friends, and give the message of compassion.  The people who want Jesus to simply leave can accept no value in compassion, and the healed man must instead go "home."  As much as we might hate to admit it to ourselves, given the deep need each person has for salvation, there are times when we must turn away from those who share no value in such stories of compassion and healing, and no value to faith in a spiritual reality of understanding of Christ.  There are times when we must realize that even if we treasure our faith, even if we know the Lord has done great things for us, and we have indeed experienced His compassion, others around us -- possibly even those among whom we've lived (or suffered in one way and another) have no interest in the things of God.  Christ encourages this formerly demon-possessed man to find a new place, where his message will be received with joy, as the good news that it truly is.  So it may be with us.  When we have recovered from something harmful and destructive (or are in an ongoing process of recovery) may need to take up a new life, in which we understand that where "home" and "friends" are is where we find those who will be glad at this good news, and in particular who will value the compassion of the Lord for themselves.  An uncaring world is easy to find, love is where real and rare value is.  Compassion is the strength of the Lord and in which we can take joy.  Let us share that joy with others who do as well.