March 20 - Lenten Devotional

“Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear.” (Luke 8:37)

Jesus performs an exorcism – he heals a man and gives him back sanity… his reward? The people ask him to leave. I imagine they weren’t really polite about it either! We think about Jesus being followed by the twelve, and thronging crowds running about the countryside tracking him down. It’s easy to forget there were also a lot (I would fairly comfortably say many more than followed) of detractors, doubters, and outright antagonistic voices. Whether it was Samaritans who wouldn’t even let him travel through their country, the “many” that stopped being his disciples in John 6, the people of his home town… or these here – in the country of the Gerasenes.

There were many more who didn’t follow than those who did.

There are many reasons I’m sure why folk didn’t follow or want Jesus around. The Gerasenes are said to be seized with great fear. I, for one, don’t blame them a bit. We live safely distanced from Jesus (2,000 years and half a world away). Growing up singing “Jesus loves me” and feeling like Jesus’ humanity makes him our friend (and he does call his disciples his friends) we often have a very approachable sense about Jesus. But let me tell you something – this guy messes with your world.

He doesn’t play be the rules (he’s a known and well reported Sabbath breaker, eats on the wrong side of the tracks, consorts with women and lepers, and I’m pretty sure he’s homeless). He’s known to want to change your vocation (or at the least drastically alter what you’re fishing for). He avoids answering questions – in fact he tends to answer questions with other questions. He has a tendency to tell insulting stories – and has no respect for his elders or established authorities. He’s a rogue element – doesn’t belong to the institution, in fact he seems to want to bring it down.

You might think something like healing a demoniac would be good – but its not! What if we like our demons? What if we enjoy the way we have strayed from righteousness? What if we want to be able to find a little hole and have God leave us alone… leave us to our illusions… let us have a bit of that much talked about “free will”!

Have you ever heard someone say of a sermon, “It went from preaching to meddling”? Well that’s Jesus – he meddles… and not just with some people – he meddles with everyone. He really thinks we all ought to give over our whole lives to following him. And you know what sane people do in that situation? They pick up the guy who is rocking the boat and they throw him in the water before he can dump them all in!

The gospel may say they asked him to leave- but I’m imaging it was more graphic and physical an “invitation” than that… and Jesus left – and the Kingdom of God went with him.

Where are you preventing Christ from meddling in your life?
What is it that you don’t want healed?
Are you ready to be a fool for – and with – Jesus?

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Meddling God,
It is hard to find the trust to really open ourselves to you.
Give us strength to set aside our known and controlled world in order to enter your Kingdom. Have mercy on us, O God. Amen.