Friday, September 26, 2014

Friday, September 26, 2014

Luke 4:31-37

                It seems that one of Jesus’ regular activities was the casting out of demons. This can be hard for us to relate to, as fear (or experience) of the demonic is not so widespread today. Many commentators associate it with what we consider mental illness, but no matter what is being referred to in the gospel stories, Jesus is unafraid, and he heals those who suffered and were outcasts. 

                I’m intrigued at how the man with the demon was in the synagogue, a place of religious instruction (and interesting that the demon identifies Jesus as the Holy One of God!). This setting and Jesus’ quick dealing with the demon takes my mind to contemporary situations where there is unrest and a lack of health in worshipping communities. I’m not saying that dissenters are demoniacs (we all disagree at one point or another), but I’m struck by how Jesus confronts the demon. Ignoring the plea “let us alone!” Jesus shakes things up. In our places of worship and instruction there are times when we need to let Jesus take care of our problems: our unhealthiness, discord, dysfunction. The walls we build around us, our cries of “what have you to do with us?!” must be replaced by an openness to transformation. 

                How does our story end? The demon comes out of the man without doing him any harm. And word of Jesus spreads throughout the region.

               

-          Matthew Kieswetter