“There was no good reason for the trip. They weren’t going on summer vacation or passing through to another destination. There was no clear plan or purpose, just a desire to cross from the familiar to the unfamiliar, from Galilee to Gerasene, and from status quo to salvation. There, Jesus took the thousands of the things that oppressed and tormented that man and sent them into the sea.
“But, instead of rejoicing or even decrying the economic impact of killing all the pigs, the swineherds and people of the town were overcome with fear and sent Jesus away. And, that’s always intrigued me about today’s story. Why would those people who watched this tormented man and who probably tried to restrain him with those shackles react with such fear? The story doesn’t give us an answer, but we know how fear works. In fact, fear is probably one of the demons that possessed that man. Fear can be that voice that preserves status quo at any cost. Fear can make us reject life-giving change for what has become a familiar tomb. Fear can easily become our Lord and supposed savior. So too, this changed man now forced the townspeople to wrestle with their own demons. For, after this man with God’s power engaged in the uncomfortable work of transforming tombs into true life, the only thing left is for the townspeople to do their own uncomfortable work.
“And, you and I, we see this all the time. Like, once an incarcerated person returns to our communities, we often don’t rejoice and restore them to the community; instead, we fear them. We fear that they might not have actually changed, but we also fear the work we will have to do to understand them as a new person, we fear that our preconceived judgments may not be accurate, and we fear that we might have to accept our infallibility. We fear that our laws and policies might have to change when we realize the reasons why that human was inhumanely caged. We fear that we might actually have to address the root causes of violence, immigration, theft, drug abuse, mental health, mass incarceration, and a slow-moving judicial system. So, in the midst of our fear, it’s much easier to send away the liberator and find ways to avoid what God has done with distractions in our own dark tombs.”
~Rev. Jason S. Glombicki, Wicker Park Lutheran Church
https://www.wickerparklutheran.org/sermons/second-sunday-after-pentecost-4/
