Mark 5:15-17
Have
you ever been around something that is so unbelievable, so unprecedented that
you were scared? I remember the first time I was up close to a sky jump hill.
When I realized that people flew off that ramp and were in the air that long
and fell that far, I felt fear rising in me. I wasn’t even wearing skis! There
was no way I was going to be going down that hill, but I still sensed the fear
of falling that far that fast with nothing but a couple thin boards strapped to
your feet.
Or
this past weekend we saw the Blue Angels perform their stunts in Lakeland,
Florida. Those jets traveling so fast, with so much power, and doing all those
twists and turns at such high G forces, was scary. And the sound of the engine
roars as they flew past! My grandchildren clung to adult bodies like a third
layer of clothing. They were shaking and quaking.
Jesus
has brought deliverance to a man who had been controlled by demons. His life
had been one of misery and solitude, at least from other people. The demons
never left him alone. But Jesus has sent the demons packing and now the man is
whole again.
He
is able to sit still. Now that might not seem like much, but when I was a
child, sitting still was one of the most difficult things for me to do. I am
ADHD! I have so much energy that it bursts out in unexpected directions. Even
today I must choose to focus, or I bounce like a playground bouncy ball,
pinging from one thing to the next. My teachers would always remark that I
would do so much better in school if I could just learn to sit still. Oh if
they could see me now, they would not believe I was the same person. I am able
to sit still.
This
man is wearing clothes. You don’t have to shield your child’s eyes as he walks
past. This man is said to be in his right mind. He is in control of all his
mental faculties. He doesn’t run around naked, screaming and yelling, cutting
himself with stones. He can carry on a conversation. He can answer questions. If
you didn’t know his history, you would welcome him into your neighborhood
without reservation, but that is not what the people do.
What
a strange reaction! Think of the contrast between this man who lived in the cemetery,
was uncontrollable, who mutilated his body by cutting it with stones and this
man sitting next to Jesus in his right mind. And they are afraid of this
healthy, restored person. A little bit upside down, don’t you think! They
should welcome sanity, but they don’t. They reject him.
The
people who were tending the pigs and witness what happened tell the story, an
unbelievable story that puts Jesus at the center. And not only do they not want
the man around, they want Jesus to leave as well. Health can be a scary thing!
The
people must be afraid of so many things. If they recognized that Jesus
pinpointed the pig industry because of its sin implications, then what industry
would be next! What other area of their lives would Jesus disrupt? What other
losses would they incur? They don’t want to find out, so they tell Jesus that
he is persona non grata, a person not wanted. Jesus brings healing and
wholeness, and they reject Him.
Some
families reject other family members when they become Jesus-followers. They are
cutoff from all connections, holidays, finances, conversations, support. They
become a little fanatical about following Jesus and it can be scary. The light
gets brought into a dark closet and the tendency is to turn off the light
rather than face what is in the closet.