When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way

 

 When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.  And suddenly, they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God?  Have You come here to torment us before the time?"  Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding.  So the demons begged Him, saying, "If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine."  And He said to them, "Go."  So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine.  And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.  Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.  And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus.  And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region. 

 

- Matthew 8:28–34 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go."  And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."  Then another of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."  But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."  Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him.  And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves.  But He was asleep.  Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us!  We are perishing!"  But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"  Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.  So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"   

When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.  And suddenly, they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God?  Have You come here to torment us before the time?"  Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding.  So the demons begged Him, saying, "If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine."  And He said to them, "Go."  So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine.  And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.  Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.  And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus.  And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.  My study Bible remarks upon today's entire passage that the demons, recognizing Jesus as the Son of God, are surprised that their power is being terminated before the time of the last judgment.  Though the malice of the demons is great, they can do nothing against the will of God, and therefore can only enter the swine at the command of Jesus.  This immediate destruction of the herd shows that the men had been protected by God's care.  Otherwise, they would have perished under the cruel demonic influence.  Moreover, it reinforces that swineherding was not lawful for the Jews.  In this light, it shows the incomparable value of human beings, whose salvation is worth  all sacrifices.

The action of the demonic is quite explicit here in the gospels.  There is no other story where perhaps it is as pronounced and clear, and here, we remember, we have a legion of demons (as reported in Mark 5:9).  Let us note one of the first things we learn about these demon-possessed men is that they are exceedingly fierce.   This seems to be a condition of the demonic.  Historically, the demonic has also been associated with death in the image of a large mouth that desires to swallow up human beings.  This comes from very ancient times and ancient gods, but it is nevertheless a telling characteristic that comes to us from history.  Note that the demons are not acting out of ignorance.  They know full well who Jesus is.  They know things that human beings cannot perceive, and they are nevertheless evil and oppressive.  This gives us a hint about the demonic.  These decisions to be evil and to reject Christ are made with a knowledge that human beings don't have, and so the choice for evil is much more far-reaching.  What happens to the swine makes clear the association between the demonic and death, and how destructive they are.  In a modern mind-set, it is the stuff of fantasy stories and spooky horror movies to contemplate demonic evil.  This often falls into categories of lurid and vivid stories about haunted houses and poltergeists.  But if we're looking with eyes that can see, we might be able to spot aspects of demonic behavior around us in the world.  Do you see ruthless and murderous people?  Do people excuse exceptional cruelty, even exulting in such behavior and seeking to publicize it?  Yes, these things are happening in our world, and what we should understand in a historical spiritual mindset is that while we are invited to participate in the life of Christ, through the Church and all the ways the Church can be at work in our lives such as the sacraments, Eucharist, Scriptures, etc.  -- so we can also participate in the energies of the demonic by choosing to engage in behaviors  that follow the life of the demonic.  That would include the  harshness, cruelty, and destructiveness of these demons.  When human beings choose to participate in activities that imitate what we know characterize the demonic, then they are themselves participating in demonic life.  At the risk of saying something controversial, one cannot proclaim that God is great while committing gruesome horrors and filming oneself without indicating clearly which god is being served by such behavior.  If we are to think on spiritual terms, we need to be able to detach ourselves from circumstances and look plainly at what is around us.  We need to make clear choices and watch our own behaviors.  We need to watch our passions and not delve into reactionary fierceness when the scenes of the world dismay us.  Our best weapon in order to carry ourselves well in the world is prayer, but we also need to study and to be aware of all of these things -- and to be aware of ourselves and our impulses.  We can recognize what we see around ourselves.  Christ calls us to watch ourselves.  Let us note that in today's reading that the whole city came out to meet Jesus, and instead of glorifying God for the miraculous healing of this demon-possessed man, they begged Him to depart from their region.  This is a rejection not just of Christ, but of the obvious effects that helped the demon-possessed men.  The townspeople care much more for their swine, their property, and perhaps that also tells us about what we might call an "evil" mindset that sees things only in terms of material value, especially placing it over human health and wholeness.  This kind of exploitative, aggressive perspective, coupled with a seeming incapacity for valuing transcendent good, is also another characteristic of evil in Scripture.  So let us consider all of these things and follow Christ's teachings that we are to be the ones who are watchful.  This teaching is frequently given in conjunction with the theme of end times, but we miss the understanding of the Scriptures if we do not understand that the end times are always with us until the time of His return.  The various things we've been warned about return again and again, recirculate, and come about in new form.  When we see the things that terrify, let us remember that we are taught to "Take heed, watch and pray."  We are not meant to be foolish but alert, and following the Master's commands until His return.