The Gerasene Demoniac By Kelly Carson |
Luke 6: 26 39, Mark 5: 1 - 20 There was a man from the city of Gerasene who was an outcast. Believed to be possessed by devils because of his uncontrollable behaviour, he was forced to live not in a house but in a tomb, a place for the dead. His behaviour was difficult to understand and the people did not know how to help him. Afraid that he would hurt himself and others, they had tried to secure everyone's safety by putting him in chains and fetters. However, his pain was so great that no one had the strength to control him, least of all himself, so he ran away deeper into himself where he would howl and bruise his already broken body. Then Jesus came to town. There was something different about Jesus, something only a broken man could recognize. He had spent years as an outcast, knowing people were afraid of him; revolted by him. How could he not notice the man who not only acknowledged his problem but actually confronted it, without chains and without fetters. To be sure, he cried, "Do not torture me", for he had been tortured enough. He needed love, and Jesus has plenty of that. Naked and broken at Jesus' feet, he asked for his mercy and Jesus delivered. Through Jesus he gained peace and calm. As his inner body was healed, his outer body was clothed; no more shame. When his neighbours see him healed and sitting at Jesus' feet, they feel afraid. The fear runs deep. How many times had they tried to help this man, yet failed. Those heart wrenching moments when what they were doing felt wrong, but they didn't know what else they could do. Get this man Jesus out of town. He is making us all look really bad. What they had failed to do for years, he accomplished in one swift moment. Jesus goes, he understands; but he doesn't forget them, or their own need for mercy. He leaves behind the only man who can help them; the one, who having been strengthened by God, can forgive them. The outcast becomes a leader; the last becomes the first. Most merciful Father, I bless You, I praise You, I thank You, for all the times You have forgiven me through Faith, my autistic daughter, as I knelt at her feet, crying in her warm embrace, because I didn't know what else I could do. I thank You for your son, Jesus, and the way he treated people with special needs. He has helped me to see Faith the way You see her. I thank You for making yourself known to me through Your Holy Spirit. Amen |
