What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?

 

 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 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, in Capernaum, 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 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 comments on today's passage that the demons, who recognize Jesus as the Son of God, are surprised that their power is being terminated before the time of the last judgment.  Although their malice is great, they can't do anything against the will of God.  Thus, they can only enter the swine at Christ's command.  Moreover, my study Bible adds, the immediate destruction of the herd reveals that these men had been protected by God's care; without it, they would have perished under the demonic influence.  Additionally, it reinforces that swineherding was not lawful for the Jews.  It shows the incomparable value of human beings, whose salvation is worth every sacrifice. 

 

 This story also appears in the Gospels of St. Mark and St. Luke, but there are a few distinctive differences.  In the story according to Sts. Mark and Luke, there is only one demoniac mentioned, but as there are also more details given to us of his story following his healing, it seems quite possible that those accounts were written about a particular man, while in St. Matthew's Gospel, there are two in need of exorcism.  This is a Gentile region, with a population of mixed Jews and Gentiles, and our story takes place outside of city, in the countryside.  But the people who raise swine are likely Jews who herd and sell swine for a Gentile population, which already tells us something in terms of their adherence to their faith.  Moreover, many sources assure us that such demonic possession is not possible without prior participation in some forms of demonic rituals or practices.  These men live in the tombs among the dead, and so uncleanness is associated with everything in this environment.  It's possible they practice a kind of idolatry; according to at least one Church Father (Chromatius, Bishop of Aquileia, late 4th cent.), this might include venerating the memories of dictators or images of the dead.  All of these are practices forbidden in Judaism.  Over the course of the past few readings we've witnessed Jesus moving to save and heal those who are in some sense unclean, touching the leper to heal him in Saturday's reading, and a willingness to enter the home of the centurion to heal his servant in Monday's reading.  Let us keep in mind also the remarkable story of the journey to get to this place, as Jesus has taken His disciples across a threatening and stormy Sea of Galilee to come here (see yesterday's reading, above).  What it tells us in a nutshell is about the character of Christ, Savior and Redeemer, who will go through any and all lengths required to save what is salvageable.  Of course, this understanding reflects the whole of the story of Christ's Incarnation, and particularly His death on the Cross, and the Resurrection and Ascension that followed.  The fierceness and chaos in these two men reflect the effects of the demonic, the affliction that tears people from civilization and renders them rudderless save for the malice of the demons.  Note that the demons recognize Jesus first, and even indignantly demand to know if He's come to torment them before the time of the Judgment to come.  They know all about Jesus; they know He is the Son of God and call Him so.  Then they bargain before exorcism; they wish Him to send them into the herd of swine, who become suicidal en masse under their influence.  Those who keep the swine flee into the city and tell all to the people.  The whole city returns to beg Jesus to leave their region.  This tells us about an environment as a whole, a people for whom the exorcism of these demons means nothing compared to the loss of their swine.  But again, the stories that appear in the Gospels of St. Mark and St. Luke tell us about one man now freed from demonic possession who will go on to proclaim in the city what great things the Lord has done for him.  Today's story is a kind of reflection of spiritual battle, a picture of Christ -- our ultimate commander and Lord -- who can go into the worst of afflicted environments and yet still command the demons who desire to resist His rule.  He is authority over all; at the conclusion of St. Matthew' Gospel Jesus will declare to the disciples, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth" (see Matthew 28:18-20).  Clearly we are given to understand that there are no limits to the depth or the breadth of Christ's authority, and this is what St. Matthew's Gospel teaches.  Let us take heed for our faith, and remember that He is with us always, even to the end of the age.

 

 

 

 

 

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.  

And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region

 

 When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out fo 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.  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 comments on this remarkable story that the demons, as they recognize Jesus as the Son of God, are surprised that their power is being terminated before the time of the last judgment.  Although the malice of the demons is great, they can do nothing against the will of God, which means they could only enter the swine at Christ's command.  The immediate destruction of the herd shows that the formerly possessed men had been under God's protection and care -- they would otherwise have perished under this demonic influence.  Moreover, it reinforces that swineherding was not lawful for the Jews, and shows the incomparable value of human beings, whose salvation is worth every sacrifice.  

It's frequently assumed about this story (and others which appear in Mark and Luke) that the swineherders are Gentiles.  But in the context of the stories it is more likely that they are Jews who do not abide by the Mosaic Law, as they live in a region of mixed populations, and so raise swine for the Gentile market.  Their materialist orientation shows in their complete failure to value the healing of the two men, and in that the loss of their swine is all that matters to them.  So much so, that they beg for Jesus to depart from their region.  They don't think about what healings Christ could do for others among them; they prefer things as they were, with these men demon-possessed and living among the tombs.  There's a not-so-subtle message here about what we tolerate and what we do not, and more than a hint that when we accept to deviate from what we know God would want from us, we're participating in demonic life.  Whether we realize it or not, God is present to us in spirit, just as these demonic beings are also spirits.  Of course they have no power against God, but we can make choices about what kind of life we participate in.  We separate the world into different realities of spiritual and material, but in the Church this is not really a truthful picture.  St. Paul writes that we are all temples of God:  "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" as he admonishes the Corinthians, "If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are" (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).  Our choices become significant and powerful because our bodies are not simply material but also spiritual, and included in those "energies," if you will is all the rest of us, including our minds, heart, soul, etc.  Therefore our choices do, indeed, have an impact on everything we are, because we are not really separated and compartmentalized even if we manage to believe we are.  Modern medicine has clearly established a link between self-destructive habitual patterns of thinking and the physical effect that can have on us, for example.  But let us consider the spiritual component of life as if it were always present to us.  If this were vividly the understanding with which we lived, how would we conduct ourselves differently in our interactions with others?  Suppose the throwaway insult handed to someone who was hurt was really hurting us spiritually?  (See Matthew 5:21-22 for Jesus' take on this behavior.)  If we thought about what exactly we were allying with when we took an action or made a choice, it gives us a deeper and richer sense of what life is all about, adding meaning and depth.  There are those who want to believe that what is unseen doesn't exist, but this doesn't hold water in any conventional or scientific sense either.  We can read in the Gospels -- and especially in today's reading -- of the destructiveness and malice of the demonic.  Without taking a deep dive into the theology of evil, let us simply observe and spot the patterns in life that echo what they do in the Gospels, even to the point where these men are forced to live among the tombs, are in total disorder, and cannot function in community.  Let us observe the materialist preference of the people of this region who beg Jesus to leave them.  They make a clear choice to reject Jesus, and they show a marked preference for the life which included the affliction of the demonic on the now-healed men.  Let us think then about the choices we make -- and the things with which we ally ourselves -- when we make choices, including the spiritual component to life that is present to us and within us at all times. 

And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region

 

 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 

 

On Saturday we read that, after performing many healings, 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 comments that the demons recognize Jesus as the Son of God, and they are surprised that their power is being terminated before the time of the last judgment.  Although there is great malice in the demons, it says, they can do nothing against the will of God, and therefore can only enter the swine at the command of Christ.  The immediate destruction of the herd shows that the men had been protected by God's care; otherwise they would have perished under the demonic influence.  Moreover, this story reminds us that swineherding was not lawful for the Jews, showing the incomparable value of human beings, whose salvation is worth every sacrifice.  

This story appears elsewhere in the Gospels (in Mark 5:1-20, Luke 8:26-39).  There are a few differences, but they don't change the substance of the story.  They also flesh out the understanding that those herding swine are likely to be apostate Jews catering to a Gentile market.  Their fear and rejection of Christ (as they begged Him to depart from their region) give an emphasis to the idea that they prefer an environment in which the demons could act freely:  they reject Christ and His incredible healing work.  It's not the healed men that matter to them -- but rather the loss of their swine.  So the story says several things to us.  It asks us to make choices about what's important.  Is it the quality of human life in terms of spiritual health?  Do we care about the torment of the demons and the self-destructive behavior that results?  Their evil is the imposition of strife, of pain, of malice.  Or is what matters a lucrative trade, regardless of what our faith would ask of us?  The townspeople, in effect, make a clear choice for their preferences, and while we may live in what seem like dramatically different times and places, we really do make choices like this all the time.  We look around ourselves and can see these choices offered to people all the time.  How often do we tolerate cruelty or turn a blind eye to suffering or torment because it's inconvenient, or it gets in the way of something in our lives we've chosen?  We might be surprised to truly observe closely.  One thing that is very characteristic of demonic activity, or evil, is simply suffering or cruelty.  The root of the word for evil in Greek means "pain," and we can see that in all the stories of demonic affliction in the Gospels.  While every evil thing we observe cannot be claimed to reveal the presence of demons, we can say that evil is distinguished by the characteristics that are revealed through these stories:  malice, cruelty, unnecessary suffering, and great destruction of human life, hopelessness.  We can observe such things all around us in a modern world, in all kinds of ways:  addiction and its varied characteristics of affliction, mental illness in which people are tormented by their own thoughts and patterns of thinking, petty cruelties and bullying, harassment, neglect, and deliberate abuse of many kinds.  This would also include toilsome work, hardship, oppression.  The "fierce" behavior of the demoniacs as described in the various Gospels we might today characterize as highly disordered.  Again, while we might not necessarily attribute these things to a direct presence of demons, it is useful to observe them as characteristics of demonic activity in the Gospels, for they point to us what is evil and harmful to human beings.  They make us more aware of choices and what we're serving in accepting these choices.  They should open our eyes to looking for a better way, to prayer, to seek Christ's word and teachings and God's presence.  They should get us thinking about what choices and exchanges and preferences are being made -- and remind us that we're told these stories in the Gospels for a reason.  We are meant to look around and identify what is "like" these stories in the Gospels and wake up to the realities still present and with us, and the choices we're making for what might seem convenient, or what we'd prefer to be blind to, rather than waking up to the values we're supposed to embrace.  These stories are in the Gospels for our awareness, and we can see quite clearly that these people prefer their swine to the health of the demon-possessed men and to the presence of Christ whom they reject and beg to leave their region.  The story is a declaration that whole communities can reject what is a higher good, and prefer instead a kind of darkness.  This can be illustrated in well-known patterns of family and community, in what would be called toxic relationships, and enabling of destructive behaviors and outcomes.  There are times when whole countries can evince pathologies based on lies, manipulation, corruption, and evil practices such as genocide or terror.  While the solution to every problem or affliction may not be obvious, we can simply pray for Christ's presence in the midst of them.  We might not be able to fix what is around us, but we are called to make a choice for ourselves and the power we do have in our lives.  We can seek His will for us in how we're taught to live and choose; we can ask for guidance in the practice of compassion.  But most of all, it seems to be our work as faithful to bear His presence into the world, even when we see others reject Him.  For Christ yet carries a holy power, a light unseen by the darkness but there nevertheless, and this is what we're meant to do and be as faithful -- to bear His light and presence into the world, even where only two or three are gathered.  Sometimes the best we can do is prayer, but that alone is far more powerful than we might think or see, than those who can't see would have us believe.

 

 

What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?

 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.  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 comments on the demons in today's reading.  It says that they recognize Jesus as the Son of God, and are surprised that their power is being terminated before the time of the last judgment.  Although the malice of the demons is evident, they still can do nothing against the will of God, and therefore can only enter the swine at the command of Christ.  The immediate destruction of the herd of swine, my study bible says, shows that the men had been protected by God's care.  Otherwise, they would have perished under this clearly destructive demonic influence.  Moreover, it's a reinforcement of the unlawful practice of swineherding for the Jews, and it also shows the incomparable value of human beings, for whom salvation is worth every sacrifice. 

It's interesting to think of the protection of these men, although they were demon-possessed.  Clearly the demons are destructive, and they lead the swine to mass suicide.  So what of these men?  Why does God allow evil in the world, and yet the men were protected?  I don't pretend to have the answers to all of the questions raised by such a scenario, for many theologians and philosophers -- geniuses all -- have provided us with various answers.  I can't even pretend to know or understand them all.  But we have been taught to stick with what we know or have experienced, and so I may say that it is my belief that very deeply within us there are choices that are made.  Sometimes, perhaps even often, those choices are made without our conscious knowledge.  We might wonder how we can claim a freedom to choose when we aren't even conscious of rational reasoning about those choices.  Nevertheless, I think it's true that we make choices from such deep places within ourselves that we're not entirely aware of them, and those choices do tell us something about ourselves.  Our deepest impulses of the heart are, importantly, clearly known to God.  This is why it is so significant that Christ is known as the "heart-knower" (see Acts 1:24).  There are things deep within ourselves of which we are not aware, but Christ is aware.  These demonic forces have chosen for destruction of human beings.  Why?  That is another question I could not venture to answer.  I simply know that it is so.  But one thing is clear from the Bible and the Gospels in particular:  that our world is not "fixed" simply because Christ has come into it.  Oh perhaps in an absolute sense this is true, that salvation is already full in a place we cannot access.  But the time when that occurs is "the time" of Judgment, Christ's return, to which the demons allude when they ask if He has "come here to torment us before the time."  Where we are now in time, we human beings live with both evil and good, and we are in the midst of time making choices.  Jesus teaches us, in the Sermon on the Mount:  "You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:43-45).  To my mind it is a clear acknowledgement of the evil and the good existing at once together in this world.  That would include even the demonic influences we see at work in today's reading.  So given this state of the world, one might conclude that it's simple to think why that might be.  We are called to choose the good.  But choosing the good is not so simple.  Christ Himself makes that clear in the teaching just cited from the Sermon on the Mount.  We're not called upon to respond to evil with evil; that does not build up Christ's Kingdom in the world.  We are called instead to "withdraw" into Christ's love and protection, and to follow Him.  This is the way that we build the Kingdom in the world.  It is the way that we live a prayerful life with each decision and step.  It is the sense in which we may start to understand the mysteries He opens to us, that He came into the world to reveal and to draw us into.  And that protective power of God, even to cast off demons, is with Him and in Him and in the life into which He invites us to participate.  It doesn't come with conventional understanding nor conventional weapons.  It comes through the saints, through the Church as a whole, and by doing our best to keep His word, to love God as God loves us.  Let us start there and find our places, even as Jesus calls these demon-possessed men to wholeness as well.  Let us note in the text that those raising swine are most likely meant to be apostate Jews who do not follow the Mosaic Law.  They reject Jesus through fear, and do not embrace what He offers with love.  In that is also a story of how we choose and reveal what is most important to us - and that we cannot embrace both God and mammon, and what Jesus calls the deceitfulness of riches.

If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine

Ottheinreich Bible, c. 1425-30. Folio 18v (Matthew 8)

 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

On Saturday, 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 comments that the demons recognize Jesus as the Son of God, and they are surprised that their power is being terminated before the time of the last judgment.  Although their malice is so great, they can't do anything against the explicit will of God, and so therefore can only enter the swine at the command of Christ.  It notes that the immediate destruction of the herd shows that the men were protected by God; if it were not so, they would have perished under the demonic influence.  My study bible adds that moreover, this reinforces that swineherding wasn't a lawful occupation for the Jews, showing instead that the value of human beings is incomparable, their salvation worth all sacrifices. 

Some commentaries remark that these people must be Gentiles, non-Jews, as their raising of swine seem to indicate.  But the text, according to my study bible and many Fathers, seems to indicate that, on the contrary, these are Jews raising swine for marketing to Gentile populations, and doing so contrary to the Mosaic Law.  One indication of this is their preference for Jesus to leave them -- they begged Him to depart from their region.   This is done after they've seen the miraculous cure of the demon-possessed men.  The people here prefer their income from the swine, and are dismayed at what has happened, rather than joyful for the healing of the men.  What this indicates is not simply their material mindset, and not merely that their priorities are in the wrong place.  The fact that they care nothing for the Law given through Moses is coupled with their lack of care for the lives of these men, indicating that in fact these are people who care nothing for real justice.  They are fundamentally unjust in their outlook -- meaning they are unrighteous in a number of ways.  If it's going to cost them money, a loss of stock or inventory, they don't care at all and do not rejoice at the healing of the men.  Their fundamentally wrong-headed outlook renders them less than righteous or just, because their priorities are in the wrong place.  They are those who worship mammon rather than God (6:24).  Jesus' preaching in the Sermon on the Mount has addressed this concern and inward disposition in our lives; here the Gospel tells us a story that expresses such a problem and its outcome.  Jesus is rejected because He heals.  The swine, in the eyes of the Jews, are unclean animals, but these townspeople don't care.  They care about the income.  Moreover, if we look closely at the text, we may observe also that they are simply used to living with these demon-possessed men the way they are; this is something "normal" for their world.  It shows a disordered social construct, a world where priorities are out of whack, and true natural relations between people need restoration.  These violent, demon-possessed men do not dwell among the living but among the dead, midst the tombs.  They are exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.  This is a disordered and unnatural (in the sense that what is truly natural is God's will for us) violence that lives among them, and counts for "normal."  It is what the townspeople and swineherds are used to, what they live with, their static state.  So let us take a look at what passes for "norms" here:  the unlawful breeding of unclean animals for the money, a repulsion to what happens when Jesus heals the men and the animals are destroyed (thus a loss of income source, however outside of the law), and their set of values -- such as it is -- means they beg Jesus to leave, apparently without caring at all for the healing of these extremely violent men.  It is, in some sense, a picture of our world, no matter how disordered it may seem in the text.  Violence is normal, no sacrifice is too great when it comes to wealth (even the sacrifice of any form of true health or real justice or righteousness), and that which would shake up the world and put it in right order -- a healed state --  is simply desired to be cast aside, gotten rid of, so that they beg Jesus to leave.  In fact, they can think of nothing else.  Imagine, in our world, forces that would prefer war and violence over peace as it may bring them income, a violence that results in great injustice and disorder and all sorts of human ailments, and can only see healing and the peace it would bring as a woeful loss of income.  This priority of mammon over God gives us a fundamental picture of disorder and injustice, as it is a willingness to forego the righteousness of God if it is going to change things and ask us to look for a better way to make our lives, our living, our way of life.  Is it so strange to us, or can we think of examples that might seem even just a little similar?  Perhaps we could think of relations in a family, in a neighborhood or town, or even on a greater scale.  Where does our picture of righteousness come into play?  Is a little violence acceptable?  What would we be willing to give up for peace and healing?  What takes top priority when it comes to human well-being?  Is righteousness worth our sacrifice or adjustment, even repentance?

What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God?

 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 (in Capernaum), 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 says that the demons recognize Jesus as the Son of God, and are surprised that their power is being terminated before the time of the last judgment.  Typically, the demons show great malice, but even they can do nothing against the will of God.  They can only enter the swine at Christ's command.  The immediate destruction of the herd shows that the men had been protected by God's care; such destructive forces would have resulted in their deaths under the demonic influence.  We should keep in mind that for the Jews, these are unclean and unlawful animals.   These swineherds and the people who begged Jesus to depart their region are likely Jews who are unlawfully raising swine for money in this region mixed with Gentiles.  They care much more about the loss of the swine than the healing of these formerly demon-possessed men.  My study bible says the suicidal destruction of the swine emphasizes the incomparable value of human beings, whose salvation is worth every sacrifice.  Indeed, Jesus and the disciples have crossed a frighteningly stormy sea to come here.

Jesus has traveled across the Sea of Galilee to come to this place.  It's seemingly a God-forsaken place, and these men are perhaps like some in the world we can see who are tormented by circumstances, by the things that plague and ail, by demons we don't see.  But perhaps what's important here is that Jesus comes to this place.  It's a sign of the Incarnation, an image we're given that Jesus will go to the far off ends of the earth, away from what we know as civilized, even into the realm of the dead here among the tombs, to reclaim life and to heal human beings.  In becoming a human being, Jesus is able to come and to be with us, to influence our communities, to come to the places where we live regardless of how far off they may seem from something appropriate to Christ, to redeem and to set things right.  It's a picture of a world dominated by malice, by things that cause destruction and harm, people tormented and fears that challenge us -- but He's here to put those problems in their place and render appropriate judgment, to let us know what is right and to teach us how we may be healed, even to wake us out of complacency with what is surely harmful.  The people of the town, we note, have their say.  They beg Jesus to leave.  They prefer their livelihood of the swine to the awesome change and healing in the formerly demon-possessed men.  Perhaps that was what they were used to, and leaving the men in the tombs to live a life of destruction was just acceptable.  But Christ comes to give us new ideals and values and to wake us from what is just acceptable.  Evangelization, in this image, is bringing the good news to all for each one to choose which version of life they prefer.  This is the purpose of the apostolic mission that will come and is ongoing, and we still have that choice, along with the plagues that ail and torment human beings and the violence of the world that denies that there is more to life than what we do for livelihood and material prosperity or property.  Let us make careful consideration before we dismiss this strange, even unusual, story, and consider how many elements here resemble the world in which we live today.  We still have the choice with which He presents us, and the good news He brings, whether others around us accept it, relish it, desire it, or not.  So much depends on where we choose to take our security and place our trust.

What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God?

 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.  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 so 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.   Jesus has told the disciples to set sail for the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  Similar stories appear in other of the Gospels, but in this one there are two demoniacs, rather than one.  It's not the only time that a kind of "doubling" seems to appear in Matthew.  Perhaps it is an indication that Jesus, as Messiah, comes into the world for both Gentiles and Jews.  In Luke and Mark, there is one demoniac (although possessed of a "legion" of demons), and some suggest perhaps that this is because, similarly to the story of the ten lepers healed by Jesus, only one responded to Jesus' call (and there are other significant details in both accounts of Luke and Mark that are not included here).  Here we note that the demons recognize Jesus as Son of God, and that they are surprised that their power is being terminated before the time of the last judgment.  My study bible says that although the malice of the demons is great, they can do nothing against the will of God, and can only enter the swine at Christ's command.  It notes that the immediate destruction of the herd shows that the men had been protected by God's care, else they would have perished under demonic influence.  It emphasizes that swineherding was not lawful for Jews, and shows, as my study bible says, "the incomparable value of human beings, whose salvation is worth every sacrifice."

It's interesting to note that in our previous reading, Jesus has just told a would-be followers, rather shockingly, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."  There is a tie here in the details of the demon-possessed men (which fits as well with the other Gospel accounts) in that they live in the tombs here in this place where the people also seem to have forgotten the God of Israel (presumably they are apostate Jews, under Gentile influence in this region, who raise swine).  This would also be why their response is to beg Jesus to leave their region, more upset about the loss of the swine than impressed with the casting out of the demons from the men.  It shows a very materialistic outlook; the healing of these human beings takes a clear back seat to the immediate loss of their livestock.  They don't stop to think what else Jesus might do for them, all they can see is the loss of livelihood.  In some way, it parallels an overarching theme of the Gospels, the rejection of Jesus by the Jewish leadership.  When Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, in Luke's Gospel, He mourns, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes."   These people raising swine seem to be unable to see "the things that make for peace."  They are "hidden from their eyes."  It's a theme that is repeated in Matthew, as Jesus quotes from Isaiah, for example in chapter 13:  "For the hearts of this people have grown dull.  Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them."  The failure to truly see and to perceive is perhaps the great crux here:  although many may be physically healed, to truly perceive what is behind the wonders and miracles and healings of Christ takes another kind of perception altogether -- and these are the disciples and followers He has come to claim, particularly among the people of God, Israel.   The Gospel will go out to all the world, but He has come first to the Jews, and Matthew is written primarily for a Jewish audience well aware of the spiritual history of Israel and the Jewish Scriptures.   These men are lost to the demonic, living among the tombs, in a wild and fierce life, away from "the things that make for peace."  They are both restored, but the real question remains:  what happens to them in this community?  Who lives, and who is dead?  We remember also the Life in the tomb to come.  What of the true spiritual healing Jesus is here to reveal and to offer as the gift of grace, the light that is the true life of the world?   Perhaps Matthew's "doubling" is really a question of Judgment: God "makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (5:45), but who in Israel can "hear" the Messiah?  That is the question that remains in this account; and we are all to ask ourselves who in this story is truly "godforsaken." It's a question we can all ask ourselves about our lives today as well.

What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God?

 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

On Saturday, we read that when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side.  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.  This story -- or a very similar one -- appears also in the other Synoptic Gospels (Mark and Luke).  One big difference is that in Matthew's Gospel there are two demoniacs, and in the others there is only one.  (There's also a difference in the location; here it is the country of the Gergesenes, elsewhere it is the country of the Gadarenes.   Either way, many commentators note that both were names, respectively, of a little town and a city near one another in the Decapolis, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.)   Of note is the fact that these demon-possessed men come out of the tombs.  They are also exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.   Jesus and the disciples have come to the "other side" of the Sea of Galilee.  The Decapolis was a "mixed" territory, so-called as it was constituted by ten cities of  Greco-Roman influence, containing both Gentile and Jews.  So it's a kind of foreign territory, and this story reads like an epic in the ancient Greek tradition, with these two exceedingly fierce men who are so beyond civilized norms that they live among the tombs.   The disciples were already terrified as they crossed the Sea in a ferocious storm, although among then are well-seasoned fishermen by profession.  The strangeness of their situation as Jesus leads them to this place is only amplified by the story.

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?"  The demons know who Jesus is.  This is yet another new "strange" element in the story, as the disciples are brought into this place, following Jesus' directions.  We're given a clue about the spiritual reality that surrounds every biblical narrative.  Jesus comes representing a Kingdom, that is not just of this world.  His opponents are a part of a spiritual battle.  These demons ask Him if He's come before the time of the Judgment.  They are perplexed, says my study bible, that their power is being terminated before that 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.   This frightening event increases in its dramatic and vivid images.  We note the power of Christ over the demons; although their malice and destructive power is great, they still need permission from Christ to enter the swine.  My study bible says that the immediate destruction of the herd shows that the men had been protected by God's care; otherwise, they would have perished under the demonic influence.  It reinforces that swineherding was not lawful for the Jews, and shows the incomparable value of human beings, whose salvation is worth every sacrifice.

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.   Some commentators believe that since these people keep swine, they are not Jews.  But still others say that indeed, these are Jews who are apostate, raising swine unlawfully.  And we see their rejection of Christ -- they are much more deeply concerned about their loss of swine than the restoration of the demoniacs to health and freedom from their oppression.  All of it adds to the strangeness of the place and the experience for the disciples.

This is a story that is really a rarity and a mystery.  Why this place?  Why these men, so isolated from the world that they live among the tombs?  Why has Jesus come here?  In Mark and Luke's versions, there is a single man, and there is more to the story.   He begs to come with Christ and the disciples, but Jesus tells him to go to his home, and tell all the things the Lord has done for him.  So, why two demoniacs here?  There are other occasions in which a story found in other Gospels involving one character is "doubled" in Matthew.  Some speculate that Matthew's Gospel was written primarily for a Jewish audience, and this "doubling" is meant to show that Christ as Messiah is here for both Jew and Gentile.  Some comment that it's not of real importance.  But each version of this particular story has some basic elements that are far more important than any differences:  Jesus has come to this extremely strange and forlorn place, and led His disciples here through a storm in which they were afraid for their lives.  We're invited to ask why, due to the dramatic nature of this story.  Has Jesus come here for these demoniacs?  Well, on one level, we'd have to answer "yes" to that question.  From the other stories, we know the healed man became a type of evangelist in the Decapolis.  On another level, it's a story that teaches all of us about our Lord, and about discipleship.  Nothing stops Jesus from coming to the most hopeless and afflicted and isolated.  There is no obstacle that will stop the healing power of Jesus to change affliction, to restore, and to bring back those dead to life and community for their uncontrollable problem, or the destructive influence by which they are oppressed and rendered far from community or "civilized" life.   This story teaches us that the same is true and expected of His disciples, wherever He leads then in true faith.  There is no problem too tough for Christ, too strange, too outside the box.  This is the message of this story.  There is nothing so far outside of experience that Christ's essential healing power can't come into play and influence.  We note carefully that there is a vested financial influence also at work here in this story, in the people who beg Jesus to leave because they're lost their swine.  Brilliantly, we must also add that as one more obstacle that will not stop Christ from bringing His healing power -- on any level of what that means -- to those who love Him and need Him in faith.  With all the vivid images in this story, we may be tempted to think that it's so strange it couldn't possibly apply to our lives or to situations with which we're familiar, but really we'd be wrong.  All of it applies.  When we think we're in a hopelessly strange situation, when we know of others who are somehow forlorn, when we wonder if anyone has been in so strange a mess as someone or something we've heard about, let us dwell on this story.  It teaches us that there is no surrounding too strange, no situation too tough, no odds so great that Christ can't be there with us.  No oppression is too harmful, nor material interest too strong.  And He will command His disciples to follow.

What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God?

 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

On Saturday, we read that when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side.  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?"   My study bible has an extensive note on today's entire passage.  I will quote from what is relevant here:  "The two Gergesene demoniacs are unsuitable for society and live at great distance from the village.  They are possessed by mental derangement, which makes them aggressive and self-destructive.  The demons in them recognize Jesus as the Son of God.  They know they have nothing in common with Him, for Jesus seeks man's salvation; but His presence torments them and expels them.  They are surprised that their power is being terminated before the time of the last judgment.  Thus, even before His Resurrection Jesus rescues people from the devil's control."  In yesterday's reading, Jesus set off with His disciples across the sea, where they faced great danger in a storm.  Here is the "other side," in Gentile territory; in some sense, it's like a symbolic wasteland or desert.  The encounter here is with demons, and human beings tormented and oppressed by them.

  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.   My study bible's note continues:  "Jesus does not yield to their [the demons'] request, but sends them out by His will:  though the malice and deceitfulness of the demons is great, they can do nothing unless He permits them.  Even the demoniacs had enjoyed God's providential care.  The demons' entering into the swine, which were unclean for the Jews, is a sign of the reality of the demoniacs' healing.  Jesus' sovereign power is not only over physical infirmity, but over mental illness as well.  It shows us the incomparable value of human beings, whose salvation is worth every sacrifice."

  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.  Let us note the environment of the two demoniacs:  it's not a place where healing is appreciated!  All they can think of is the loss of their swine, and Jesus is not welcome.  His power is perhaps too strange, challenging, and frightening. 

There's a potent metaphor here -- or perhaps metaphor isn't a strong enough word -- regarding mental illness.  We note that the environment for these once-deranged men isn't a healthy one; it's not one that supports true healing, which at its root is a spiritual problem.  The healing of these men shakes up their world too much for those around them, and so the "whole city" begs Jesus to leave.  The changes that may be necessary for real healing -- and the resistance that can be felt in an environment surrounding those with mental illness -- are insights here that we can't just gloss over.  The other important part of this story is the very strangeness of the place.  Jesus and His disciples go across the Sea of Galilee, to the "other side" into this Gentile territory where swine (unclean animals for the Jews) are being raised.  The loss of the swine is more important to the people there than the healing Jesus brings to these men, via the casting out of the demons that possessed them.  What is the value of the human beings here, and the value of the swine?  Their values are upside down, and although it's not a place where Jesus is received, nevertheless, His power is at work all over the world:  among the Jews, and among the Gentiles even in this place where the unclean animals are preferred to the healing of the men.  First Jesus has rebuked the wind and the waves of the storm on the sea; here, He rebukes the demons -- even in a place where faith isn't strong.  As for the possessed men themselves, we don't hear from them in this episode in Matthew.  (In other Gospels, similar stories tell us of one man possessed, and in at least one case, he "worships" Jesus.)  But the demons know Jesus, they recognize Him not only as Son but also as Judge.  And here is a recurring sign of the appearance of Messiah.  The demons know what the people don't.  Jesus' power as liberator from sin and oppression extends everywhere, even where people don't know His name, and do not want what He has to offer.  Again, in other stories, the healed demoniac begs to get into the boat with Jesus and the disciples, but Jesus sends him back to his own city and home, to tell his friends what great things the Lord has done for him.  But here, these men are strangely silent, which emphasizes their terrible powerlessness and oppression.  Yet, Christ has come here to liberate them; we simply don't know the rest of the story.  Christ as Messiah is a liberator of captives.  As Isaiah's passage also tells us, He's here to give sight to the blind.  But today's reading shows us we're free to reject that vision He offers, as the people who live in this place beg Him to leave.  In the Gospels, our entire world is a spiritual battleground, and Christ is here as liberator for each one of us.  It doesn't matter where we are, who we are among.  Even the silent prayers of the powerless are heard.  He is still here and His power is over all the world, in every place, in every hour.  Let us understand it's up to us to accept what He offers, and to accept the changes He brings as well.  To be liberated, and to truly see, may involve some adjustment on our part -- just as the disciples had to face their fear as they followed Him across the Sea of Galilee.  Can we follow Him, as well?

What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?

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

In yesterday's reading, Jesus gives a command that He and His disciples will depart for the other side of the Sea of Galilee. They are in Capernaum and headed to Gentile territory across the Sea. A scribe tells Him that he will follow Jesus wherever He goes. But Jesus tells Him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Another disciple says, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead." As they set off over the sea, great waves and a tempest come up, so that the disciples fear they are drowning. But Jesus is asleep in the boat. Jesus 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. This story is presented in a more detailed way in other Gospels (see My Name is Legion). But there are a few details that are different in Matthew's Gospel. Here, there are two demon-possessed men. They are mentally deranged to the point of violence and cannot live among the community. Instead, they live in the tombs, among the dead. This is Gentile territory, a new mission for the disciples, across the Sea. These frightening, wild demoniacs live even further out of community, possessed by that which is ultimately outside of community. It is a kind of picture of the absolutely forlorn, the wild and chaotic, without any sense of rule -- simply a meaningless, purposeless violence, a frightening forsakenness.

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?" These are the words of the demons. "Before the time" refers to the time of Judgment. They recognize who Jesus is. My study bible says, referring to the demons, "They know they have nothing in common with Him, for Jesus seeks man's salvation. . . . They are surprised their power is being terminated before the time of the last judgment." Jesus' authority is immediate and full. This is something surprising to the demons who torment the two men and pull them from all community, into a violent self-destructive life.

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." The demons have possessed these men, driving them out from community into the wilderness and among the tombs, caves carved out of rock, far away from the village. Now it is Jesus who will drive them from these men. The herd of swine is a kind of important symbol in the context of the Jewish audience of the Gospel. They are unclean animals in Jewish law, and another sign that we are in Gentile territory. My study bible says that the demons' entrance into the herd of swine is a sign of the reality of the demoniacs' healing. We observe Jesus' authority and power over the demons; without His permission even they can do nothing. His presence expels them.

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 notes here: "Jesus' sovereign power is not only over physical infirmity, but over mental illness as well. It shows us the incomparable value of human beings, whose salvation is worth every sacrifice." The people of the town beg Jesus to leave because they have lost their swine. But the swine throwing themselves into the water is a sign of the destructive power of these demons, who formerly occupied the men, making them crazy with violence, and self-destructive. This Gentile community fails to realize the value of the healing, and can only look to the material value of the swine who are destroyed. The healing of the human beings is not "worth every sacrifice to them" and they want Jesus to leave. It's another sign of "lawlessness" - a lack of regard for God's law. In Mark's Gospel, the healed demoniac wishes to follow Jesus and get in the boat with the disciples. But Jesus tells 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." Then, Mark's Gospel tells us, he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled. Here in Matthew, we are not told what becomes of the healed men, only the power of Christ even here in Gentile territory. The two demoniacs, as opposed to one, symbolize to me both Jew and Gentile, and in Matthew's Gospel we will find this sort of "doubling" happening. Christ's power is for the whole world; the light of the nations will come from Israel, and will be for both Jew and Gentile.

Christ's authority is complete. It is there in Jewish territory and among Jews; it is also so in this forsaken territory of demons, among people who prize their "unclean" animals above the healing of the demon-possessed human beings. I think this must have been a terribly frightening and powerful experience for Christ's disciples, especially coming after they nearly drown. There is no exception to the places that this power is at work. Even before Resurrection, my study bible points out, "Jesus rescues people from the devil's control." So, the Gospel is telling us, the power of Christ is over all things and all people, and in all places. There are no exceptions. In Revelation, we read, "Behold, I am making all things new." And this is the real power of Christ. He makes all things new. He renews these men, He brings a new order out of chaos, and His priorities are clear: the salvation of human beings is worth every price. He is here to restore us all, to bring order out of chaos, health out of self-destruction. What does that mean to you? Are there places in your life that feel out of control, without rule, forsaken in some sense? Are there things for which you need a resolution, a kind of restoring hand to distinguish what is good and healthy from what is not? Do you at times feel that you are in a true wilderness, far from life and community? We seem, at times, to live in a time of chaos and violence, fear and anxiety. My study bible says that "even the demoniacs had enjoyed God's providential care." We don't know how God's power will work in our lives, we only know that it does. We call Him into places where we fear, where there is chaos, and we ask for His law in our hearts, the Logos that restores us and all things into right-relatedness. Call on the Paraclete, the one who comes by your side, when you need a restoring hand, the one who helps you to see your way through chaos and destructive power.