Smallest of All

Posted on by Betsy

One of the many blessings of a church with a preschool and kids’ ministry is that people get to observe first-hand how small things grow. Parents experience this at home every time they have to replace shoes and clothes that fit last week. A toothless baby needs braces before you know it. Soon enough, that fixed and perfect smile is grinning back at you on her wedding day. Small things grow … sometimes too fast!

In our reading today, Jesus told the parable of the tiny mustard seed. Have you ever seen a mustard seed? They are actually about 1 to 2 millimeters in diameter, about half the size of a peppercorn. This teaching sits amidst other parables that talk about small things growing; a handful of seeds becomes food for the community, small weeds shoot up and threaten to take over a garden, and a mustard seed provides branches for bird’s nests. Even these parables themselves help our small faith grow.

Matthew 13:31-32

31 He told another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and planted in his field. 32 It’s the smallest of all seeds. But when it’s grown, it’s the largest of all vegetable plants. It becomes a tree so that the birds in the sky come and nest in its branches.”

A parable is a short and memorable story that is told to reveal a longer, more complicated truth. The word parable means “to throw alongside of.” Parables teach a single lesson with one point. Jesus’ parables revealed the kingdom of God to people who couldn’t comprehend the truth about it and protected him from his enemies. 

The mustard seed parable is a prophetic story that reveals the future of the church. From the very small beginnings, the Gospel of Christ would grow to be a movement that would be large enough to offer refuge and protection to the world in her branches. This kingdom on earth reveals the all-encompassing kingdom of heaven. The seed grows fantastically into a tree, not a bush as it should, indicating the supernatural scope of an exponential world-wide faith.

This is a fantastic reminder to us about our own faith. The applications here are endless. With a tiny grain of hope, life is renewed. With the smallest seed of faith, peace is restored. With just a little perseverance, a door is unlocked and you are set free. With one word gently spoken, anger is prevented. With one small act of kindness, a day is made. With one selfless move, an accident is avoided. With one smile, a stranger decides to hang on for another day. With one quick phone call, a lonely person is comforted. With one man’s actions on a cross, the world is saved.

Where is God calling you to be that one small thing? What little effort on your part could turn things around for someone else? You are the mustard seed! Go and plant peace, hope, and love in someone’s heart. You can make all the difference in someone’s day today.

Growing in Grace by Becca Ziegler

Seek Ye First

Posted on by Betsy

If you’ve ever had the joy of watching little boys play Little League baseball, you know what a  challenge it is for the coaches to achieve one thing. It’s not good batting, although that is important. It’s not good field work, although that is important. No, for little ballplayers in their first years in uniform, the coaches struggle with one thing: Getting them to pay attention! I once watched my four-year old grandson wander left field with his glove on his head and then sit for the rest of the inning and play in the dirt. God bless those patient coaches!

God must sometimes feel like a frustrated coach trying to get us to pay attention. In our Scripture today, Jesus tried to home in on the essentials of disciple life. He contended that if you sought the Kingdom of God first above anything else, everything you need will be given to you. 

Luke 12 (Common English Bible)

29 Don’t chase after what you will eat and what you will drink. Stop worrying. 30 All the nations of the world long for these things. Your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, desire his kingdom and these things will be given to you as well.

32 “Don’t be afraid, little flock, because your Father delights in giving you the kingdom.

This passage follows a series of “attitude adjustments” that Jesus called for as he was trying to define what being his follower should look like. The verses immediately preceding this focused on not worrying. His message was that we don’t have to seek and hold onto the “treasures” of this world. God offers the treasures of heaven, which are everlasting and real. When we shift our attention to God’s kingdom on earth, everything we need will be given to us. Jesus exemplified this with his life. He never sought after physical comfort or things and freely let go of any worldly pursuits by simply putting his trust in his Father when he let go of his life on the cross.

Jesus taught that if your god was “mammon” i.e. material things, then your life will be consumed with worry over your physical needs. He invited his followers to replace worry with a focus on God’ kingdom and its goodness. Putting God’s kingdom first allows us to seek the heavenly treasure and divine provision that God offers, which leads us to the fulfillment of God’s highest purpose for humanity: fellowship with God in the kingdom.

I think our hymn “Seek Ye First” says it well. I hope this will be an “ear worm” for you for the rest of the day! 

“Seek ye first the Kingdom of God
And His righteousness
And all these things shall be added unto you
Hallelu, Hallelujah!” (United Methodist Hymnal, page 405)

How will you seek God first today? What needs to be set aside to do this? Pay attention, people! God is calling.

All These Things Will Be Added by Bonnie Bennett

Counter-Culture

Posted on by Betsy

A man approached a stop light and waited for the light to turn green behind a car with a woman in it. He noticed that she had her head down and was texting. When the light turned green, she continued to text all the way through until it turned red again. The man was furious! He honked, beat his steering wheel, yelled loud curses, and punched the air with his fists. Suddenly there was a rap of knuckles on his window. He looked out to find a police officer indicating that he should move his car over to the shoulder. He complied but argued vehemently that there was no law against yelling in your own car. The officer took his license and registration and went back to his vehicle to check things out. Finally he returned and told the man he was free to go. Aggravated, the man said, “See! I told you there was no law against yelling in your own car.” The officer responded, “Sir, that’s not why I pulled you over. I was behind you at the stop light. When I noticed the cross hanging from your mirror, the “Honk if you love Jesus” bumper sticker, and the Christian fish symbol affixed to your trunk, I pulled you over on suspicion of car theft. Surely, no real Christian would act the way you did!”

In our Scripture today we see Paul struggling with how to teach his congregants in Rome about how to act like Christians in a secular world. There was a lot of judging going on among them that threatened the health of the church. Paul wrote that such judging was inappropriate, because they weren’t each other’s masters and most of the issues came down to a matter of conscience. At issue was the controversy over eating meat that either wasn’t kosher, a wholly Jewish issue, or that had been sacrificed at a pagan altar and sold at market. Paul’s contention was that these matters belonged to God’s judgment and folks were called to accept one another’s “weaker” faith and quit arguing over things. He realized that as a whole, they all lacked good teaching on their new faith, and some were still trapped by the legalism of their past faith. 

Romans14:7 (Common English Bible)

7 We don’t live for ourselves and we don’t die for ourselves.

Being a Christian was counter to their previous culture. It was counter to the culture in Rome. Being a Christian meant no longer living for themselves anymore but living in connection with others for the sake of the Lord.

The same is true for us today. We live and die for Christ and serve as his ambassadors in between. Do your behaviors and values reflect Jesus’ teachings? We live in a culture that prioritizes celebrity, entitlement, selfishness, and greed over humble servanthood and obedience to God. You’re the only Jesus some will ever see. For heaven’s sake, act like it!

Follow His Light

We Shall All Be Changed

Posted on by Betsy

Recently I visited a church and spotted a humorous sign on the door of the baby nursery. It was a clever take on today’s Scripture. It read “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.” True story! Well-run nurseries can’t guarantee that your baby will nap while in their care, but every baby’s diaper is changed before pick-up time.

Paul’s use of the word “sleep” in some translations is contrasted with the more direct translation in our Common English Bible. There the Scripture reads, “All of us won’t die, but we will all be changed.” We have to give Paul a little grace here, as he fully, hopefully, and optimistically anticipated that Christ would return in his life time. And we also have to acknowledge that by saying “All of us,” he may have believed that there will be one last generation that would be on alive on earth at the moment of Jesus’ return. In any case, Paul taught us that in a singular moment at Jesus’ Second Coming, the dead will rise and join the living in receiving changed bodies that will be appropriate for heaven. 

1 Corinthians 15 (Common English Bible)

50 This is what I’m saying, brothers and sisters: Flesh and blood can’t inherit God’s kingdom. Something that rots can’t inherit something that doesn’t decay. 51 Listen, I’m telling you a secret: All of us won’t die, but we will all be changed— 52 in an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the final trumpet. The trumpet will blast, and the dead will be raised with bodies that won’t decay, and we will be changed. 53 It’s necessary for this rotting body to be clothed with what can’t decay, and for the body that is dying to be clothed in what can’t die. 54 And when the rotting body has been clothed in what can’t decay, and the dying body has been clothed in what can’t die, then this statement in scripture will happen:

This understanding of a future imminent kingdom of God on earth makes perfect sense. Humanity began in the perfection of the Garden of Eden and Paul’s words indicate a return to an Eden-like existence where fellowship with God is restored and bodies do not break down and decay as they once did. Paul explained that since we are made in the image of Christ, we have a clue about what our resurrection bodies will be like. We can look at Jesus’ resurrection appearances for a hint. He had a material body that could walk, talk, and eat, and yet he was not bound by the laws of nature, as demonstrated by the fact that he could walk through a closed door. This “mystery” of the Second Coming is not so much a mystery in the usual sense, but rather a biblical mystery that can only be understood in a spiritual sense. This mystery is something that the church in Corinth could only learn by God revealing it.

Death has been swallowed up by a victory.
55         Where is your victory, Death?
        Where is your sting, Death?

Many Christian readers today have a deep interest in trying to figure out what will happen at the end of time. Theories about a “rapture” and its pre-and post-millennial times abound and there is a great diversity of thought. Paul reminds us that such mysteries will only be understood when God chooses to reveal them to us at the Second Coming. Until then, we are to learn, study, and hold fast to the Word that teaches us about the life, death, and resurrection of our Savior. Death has no victory over us, and it has no sting thanks to Jesus’ promise that we will share in his resurrection. What are you doing to be ready?

Garden Path by Kathy Schumacher

With a Touch and a Word

Posted on by Betsy

Many years ago, early in my appointment as an Associate Pastor, my large church held a healing service in our sanctuary. It was my first time to participate in one and I approached it wide-eyed and full of awe and trepidation. Our United Methodist Book of Worship includes a healing service with the anointing of oil, but I had never seen one. People flocked to our church that night from all corners and denominations of our town.

One of our own church members was brought on a gurney by her family. She had been very ill with stage 4 cancer for over a year. We anointed her and found out the next day that she died later that night. It was a huge lesson for me. I came to realize that sometimes, healing comes through death.

Our passage in Matthew describes many different ways of healing for many different kinds of people. Jesus used touch on the poor leper who had not been touched in years. Indeed, Jewish law required a people to maintain a 6-foot distance from lepers, much akin to our separation requirements during the Pandemic. The leper approached Jesus alone, with full confidence that if Jesus so chose, the leper would be healed. He didn’t beg but knelt in worship and addressed Jesus as “Lord.” His request to be cleansed rather than healed reflects the condition of his life. He was ostracized and outcast by his disease, and Jesus’ touching him showed the community that this man was now ceremonially clean. Later in the passage we read that Jesus used a gentle touch to heal his friend’s family member of her fever.

Matthew 8 (Common English Bible)

8 Now when Jesus had come down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. 2 A man with a skin disease came, kneeled before him, and said, “Lord, if you want, you can make me clean.”

3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched him, saying, “I do want to. Become clean.” Instantly his skin disease was cleansed. 4 Jesus said to him, “Don’t say anything to anyone. Instead, go and show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded. This will be a testimony to them.”

We also saw healing come to the Gentile centurion’s servant through a verbal command. The centurion understood Jesus’ spiritual authority and based his request on Jesus’ rank as the One in command. He spared Jesus the awkwardness of coming into a Gentile home and made a tremendous statement of faith by asking Jesus to “just say the word.”

5 When Jesus went to Capernaum, a centurion approached,6 pleading with him, “Lord, my servant is flat on his back at home, paralyzed, and his suffering is awful.”

7 Jesus responded, “I’ll come and heal him.”

8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I don’t deserve to have you come under my roof. Just say the word and my servant will be healed.9 I’m a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and the servant does it.”

10 When Jesus heard this, he was impressed and said to the people following him, “I say to you with all seriousness that even in Israel I haven’t found faith like this. 11 I say to you that there are many who will come from east and west and sit down to eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the children of the kingdom will be thrown outside into the darkness. People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth.” 13 Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; it will be done for you just as you have believed.”And his servant was healed that very moment.

Later in the passage we read that Jesus cast out demons by the strength and power of his spoken word.

4 Jesus went home with Peter and saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her. Then she got up and served them. 16 That evening people brought to Jesus many who were demon-possessed. He threw the spirits out with just a word. He healed everyone who was sick. 17 This happened so that what Isaiah the prophet said would be fulfilled: He is the one who took our illnesses and carried away our diseases.

Matthew answers the question about who is qualified to receive Jesus’ healing. A diseased Jew with no social or religious privileges. The servant of a Gentile officer of the army occupying Israel. A mother-in-law of a friend. Unnamed multitudes from every corner and denomination in the land. You. And me. By touch or by word, all may be healed.

Do you need physical, spiritual, relational, or mental healing today? Ask your Lord with the confidence of the Gentile centurion and the faith of a family pushing a gurney into a church. Then listen for God’s answer and know that you will be heard.

Healing Waters by Kathy Schumacher

The Tender Root

Posted on by Betsy

In an iconic scene from the original 1977 “Star Wars” movie, we see Obi Wan Kenobi use his Jedi powers for the first time when he protects droids named RD-D2 and C-3PO from the Stormtroopers. Obi Wan, Luke Skywalker, and the two droids were stopped at a checkpoint and about to be captured when Obi Wan simply waved his hand and said, “These aren’t the droids you are looking for.” He used this Jedi mind trick to force the Stormtroopers to allow them to go, and the droids, Luke, and the Rebellion were saved.

That scene comes to mind when we read Isaiah’s prophecy that a messiah would come and not look like what the people were expecting. Isaiah’s messiah would not be a handsome warrior who would lead the people to victory over their oppressors but rather would come with no splendid form or desirable appearance. Rather than a tall sturdy tree, this messiah would grow like a young, tender plant surviving in dry ground. This messiah would serve as a suffering atonement for the nation of Israel and would be despised and rejected for his efforts.

Isaiah 53 (Common English Bible)

Who can believe what we have heard,
    and for whose sake has the Lord’s arm been revealed?
2 He grew up like a young plant before us,
    like a root from dry ground.
He possessed no splendid form for us to see,
    no desirable appearance.
3 He was despised and avoided by others;
    a man who suffered, who knew sickness well.
Like someone from whom people hid their faces,
    he was despised, and we didn’t think about him.

It is easy to put on our New Testament glasses and see this as a direct prophecy about Jesus. He was planted in the dry ground of Galilee under Roman occupation. Luke 2:52 tells us that Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, in favor with both God and people. The strong and mighty arm of the Lord revealed Jesus as our Savior even though his humble beginnings countered that notion. Jesus was rejected throughout his entire ministry, was spat on and vilified at his crucifixion, all the while taking upon himself the diseases, griefs, and sorrows of the world.

Verse 4 serves as the take-away for our learning today. It was our sickness he carried. It was our sufferings that he bore. He packed up the sorrows and grief of the world and carried them upon his back all the way up to the cross so that we didn’t have to. And we rejected him. 

4 It was certainly our sickness that he carried,
    and our sufferings that he bore,
    but we thought him afflicted,
    struck down by God and tormented.

One of the ways that we reject him is to take back the sorrows and sufferings that he carried and carry it ourselves. When we believe Satan’s lie that our sin is too great to be forgiven and continue to beat ourselves up over past transgressions, we effectively despise Jesus and turn away from what he did on the cross.

Jesus carries all those diseases away, throwing them as far as the east is from the west. He makes us whole through the forgiveness of sin and the grace of redemption. Are you struggling with the past? Release it. This is the Messiah you are looking for.

Flower Growing in Concrete by Michelle Robertson

Even The Crumbs

Posted on by Betsy

My husband and I were blessed to take a trip along the Seine River in France last year. It was a good opportunity for me to revive (resuscitate?) my college French. Somedays it worked well, but other days I had that “Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore” feeling. Several days into the trip we ventured into a Creperie Restaurant. I had noticed less English speaking in that small town, so I worked very hard to construct our order in what I hoped was acceptable French. After my delivery, the waitress gave me a blank stare. Finally my husband pointed to the menu and indicated “two” with his fingers. She beamed with comprehension at him and scowled at me. I was in a foreign land for sure.

In our reading today, Jesus was in a similar situation. This scene takes place on the Gentile side of Galilee. Mark called this location the Decapolis, i.e. the Ten Cities, indicating a wilderness spot on the east side of the Sea of Galilee (See Mark 7:31). The people there were heathen or semi-heathen, yet they confidently and boldly sought out Jesus for healing. And they were healed, every one of them.

Matthew 15 (Common English Bible)

29 Jesus moved on from there along the shore of the Galilee Sea. He went up a mountain and sat down. 30 Large crowds came to him, including those who were paralyzed, blind, injured, and unable to speak, and many others. They laid them at his feet, and he healed them. 31 So the crowd was amazed when they saw those who had been unable to speak talking, and the paralyzed cured, and the injured walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

This raises an uncomfortable question for us about the value of our faith. These folks had no faith in Jesus, no frame of reference to the messianic prophecies, no connection with God, and yet they were healed. Do we need faith to be healed?

We see a clue in the stories that come before and after this one. In the feeding of the 5,000 and the feeding of the 4.000 there were many in the crowd who had no idea who Jesus was. And yet they were fed. They came from pagan faith systems or no faith systems and yet they were healed. They were freely offered “even the crumbs” of Jesus’ ministry regardless of the fact that they weren’t Jewish. Do you remember that story? A Canaanite woman asked Jesus to heal her daughter. He told her he couldn’t because he was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. The mother reminded Jesus that even the dogs get to feast on the Master’s crumbs and Jesus was impressed with her persistence. The daughter was healed, unlocking grace in an earth-shattering, universal way.

The healed people praised “the God of Israel,” confirming that they were saved by someone else’s God. But by praising God, they were now included in this crumb ministry that went forth and changed the world.

How important is faith in our healing? Does it bother you that Jesus’ salvation is offered to unbelievers? Remember, grace is just that: Freely given and freely received so that all might be saved.

Freely Given by Kathy Anderson Weeks

Just A Touch

Posted on by Betsy

Every state has a nickname that explains something about that state. What nickname does your state have? I grew up in the “Garden State” where beefsteak tomatoes and sweet corn are grown. I went to school in the “Keystone State” of Pennsylvania, named for its position in the 13 original colonies. But I admire the boldness of Missouri, the “Show Me” state. These folks simply demand proof, and they aren’t shy about it.

Our passage today follows a series of miracles. After the beheading of John the Baptizer, Jesus and his disciples traveled away from danger and ended up in Gennesaret. Jesus knew his time hadn’t come yet and he still had a lot of work to do. He fed the 5,000, healed people, walked on water, and taught Peter a lesson about the importance of keeping your eyes on your Savior at all times.

Matthew 14:34-36 (Common English Bible)

34 When they had crossed the lake, they landed at Gennesaret.35 When the people who lived in that place recognized him, they sent word throughout that whole region, and they brought to him everyone who was sick. 36 Then they begged him that they might just touch the edge of his clothes. Everyone who touched him was cured.

The people of Gennesaret had heard of Jesus’ healing power and flocked to see him. Our passage today tells us that it only took a slight touching of his hem to receive it. This tells us two things. 

First, Jesus was accessible to the crowd in a way that the Pharisees and Essenes would never have been. They never mingled in crowds because one never knew what kind of ceremonial uncleanness one might brush up against in a group. Second, it tells us that Jesus’ healing power was so profound, all the people had to do was touch his robe to receive it. 

This demonstration of faith is in contrast to Peter’s lack of it. And all the people were healed because of their faith, which had emboldened them to push forward and touch Jesus’ robe. Peter might have been comfortable in Missouri, but Jesus looked for followers whose faith didn’t need to be proved.

Yet we remember the faith of Thomas, who demanded proof of the resurrection. In John 20, Jesus answered his questioning with a deeply personal response: Go ahead and touch my wounds, he said. Your questioning won’t scare me away.

Faith isn’t a spectrum, but a seed. It is watered and sun-blessed every time we pray, read Scripture, hear the Word, serve, and worship.

What kind of faith are you growing? It is bold enough to shove your way to the front for a brief pass at the Savior? Is it young enough to still have doubts? Is it sure enough that you know you will find your answer in the presence of Jesus?

Sometimes healing comes in the form of a cure or remission. Sometimes healing comes through death as we enter into perfect eternal life with our Lord. But in every case, faith is the sure foundation upon which we seek God. How sure is your foundation? What do you need to do to strengthen it?

Sun-Blessed by Michelle Robertson

“Yes, Lord!” Faith

Posted on by Betsy

Our daughter’s cancer diagnosis in her junior year of college came without warning or preparation. Suddenly we were thrown into a season of surgeries, chemotherapy, doctor visits, and pain. We brought her home for the semester to the excellent health care in Atlanta and for nine months, life was upside down. But Jesus healed her and she returned to college, bald and thin, and we were blessed to eventually go back to normal.

Not everyone gets that happy ending. Not everyone is healed. Not every Mom gets to tell the story twenty years later with the calmness of answered faith. While faith does not guarantee healing for every believer, a lack of faith can impede healing for many, perhaps because those people do not ask.

Our story today of the two men healed of their blindness follows a series of healing miracles in the book of Matthew. The leper in Matthew 8:1-4 knew he could be healed. The Centurion in Matthew 8:5-13 was attributed to have “great faith” by our Lord. The woman with the issue of blood in Matthew 9:18-26 was healed by a persistent faith that only needed a touch of a hem to accomplish. Their faith led them to ask and because of their faith, their request was granted.

We notice right away that the approach of the two blind men is different than the others. They are noted as the first people in the Gospel to call Jesus “Son of David.” This phrase was so rich in its messianic implication that the Pharisees had banned anyone from calling Jesus the Christ on penalty of excommunication from the temple (John 9:22). If even the Pharisees recognized the danger and power of these words, all should take heed. The blind men could see who Jesus was even without eyesight.

Matthew 9:27-31

27 As Jesus departed, two blind men followed him, crying out, “Show us mercy, Son of David.”

28 When he came into the house, the blind men approached him. Jesus said to them, “Do you believe I can do this?”

“Yes, Lord,” they replied.

When Jesus said that they were healed “just as you believe” he was not implying that the healing was given in proportion to their faith. Rather, his observation of their faith in action had caught his attention.

29 Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, “It will happen for you just as you have believed.” 30 Their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly warned them, “Make sure nobody knows about this.” 31 But they went out and spread the word about him throughout that whole region.

These men had faith enough to follow Jesus. The had enough faith to cry out. They were willing to raise a ruckus and not be embarrassed. They immediately recognized and identified Jesus as the Messiah and weren’t afraid to be public about it. They didn’t ask for healing, but rather for mercy, indicating they didn’t feel entitled to healing but made their case on the basis of Christ’s lovingkindness. They believed Jesus was able to heal them and responded “Yes, Lord!”

Is your faith a “Yes, Lord!” kind of faith? Can you call on Jesus’ mercy to heal you?

Yes, Lord!

Unrecognizable

Posted on by Betsy

My high school reunion is approaching, and a large Face Book group has been formed to organize it. As the invitations to join have been accepted, I have been surprised to see faces I have not laid eyes on for years. Some I remember right away but others have changed so much that  even though we were once close, I don’t recognize them. Decades of living will do that to you. Whether you experienced great hardship or great plastic surgery during that time, none of us will arrive at the party looking the same as we did long ago.

The subject of recognizing people for who they are plays a big part in today’s lesson. The irony is that just one verse before today’s reading, the disciples yet again question Jesus’ identity. “Who can this be?” they say (Matthew 8:27). This was their response to Jesus’ stilling the storm from their boat! Two verses later, the demons instantly recognize Jesus, calling him “Son of God” (Matthew 8:29). How is it that agents of the devil know what Jesus’ closest companions did not?

Recognizing Jesus’ authority, the demons begged to be cast into a herd of unclean pigs. They hated to be idle and hoped to continue their destruction in a different form. This request would free the poor men who had been possessed by them. Their lives in the tomb must have been horrific years of torture, and finally they were restored and made whole by the Son of God. You would think that people would have cheered this, but alas, they did not.

Matthew 8 (Common English Bible)

28 When Jesus arrived on the other side of the lake in the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed came from among the tombs to meet him. They were so violent that nobody could travel on that road. 29 They cried out, “What are you going to do with us, Son of God? Have you come to torture us before the time of judgment?” 30 Far off in the distance a large herd of pigs was feeding. 31 The demons pleaded with him, “If you throw us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

When the swine herders went to tell the townspeople what had happened, they told about the miracle of the two men’s deliverance. But the town reacted by coming out to see Jesus and asking him to leave. Their ingratitude for the removal of demons in their community is stunning. Granted, the men lived in the unclean tombs and perhaps they didn’t have much interaction, but to respond with rejection is unconscionable. Or is it?

32 Then he said to the demons, “Go away,” and they came out and went into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the cliff into the lake and drowned. 33 Those who tended the pigs ran into the city and told everything that had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 Then the whole city came out and met Jesus. When they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.

The great liberator had come, and they told him to get out. Do we ever do that? Do we ever tell Jesus to get out of our business when he calls us to change? Do we reject his ministrations when he tries to liberate us from our addictions, pre-conceived prejudices, bad habits, and laziness? Are we like the townspeople?

Jesus came to free us from our bondage and break the chains that prevent us from living whole, clean lives. May we recognize our deliverer when he comes.

Pig! by Becca Ziegler