When Jesus Cleanses: Lessons from the Gerasene Demoniacs and Free Will
“Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district.” ~Mt 8:34
The first time I heard this account of Jesus healing the demoniacs, I missed the greater context.
The town of Gerasene was a gentile town. This explains why they were raising swine since that’s against Jewish law. Additionally, Mark’s account reveals that there are at least 2,000 swine that Jesus sent to the sea.
The number of demons expelled from the two people is remarkable. Picture 2000 pigs purposely running towards the cliff to kill themselves.
Side note: note that the demons loudly called Jesus by one of his titles “Son of God.” Maybe, to the gentiles that didn’t mean anything, but to the Jewish people following him, it must have caught their attention. Granted, it was likely overshadowed by the view of a herd of swine “randomly” deciding to run off the cliff.
The town had been oppressed by these two demoniacs who attack anyone who came near them. It was unsafe. Jesus just got rid of the threat but the entire town kicks him out of the town. Why?
The key is the swine.
The town’s entire economy depended on the products derived from the herd of swine.
Jesus not only removed the demons but also destroyed the economy of the town.
Now, pretend you are a gentile and an unknown person just came to town to make it safe and then got rid of your source of income. What would you do?
From one perspective, we could think this was a mixed outcome but I think Jesus was playing a different game altogether.
Recall that to the Jewish people, swine was considered an unclean animals and symbols of impurity. It prevented them to be close to God.
Putting it all together.
Jesus comes to my house to purify it and remove all threats and blemishes. Yet, I am so accustomed to the mess, so reliant on the unclean, that it becomes difficult to fully welcome Jesus into my life.
Now, we are here regularly reading Bible reflections so it’s easy to say “but not I Lord.” Well, what about the areas of our lives where we refuse to give God control?
To paraphrase what I heard from Fr. Chad Ripperger, “the only thing God wants from us is to exchange our will for His.”
We even pray it every Mass “…thy will be done on Earth as it is is Heaven…”
To me, today’s Gospel is a reminder that Jesus comes to fully clean our house while still giving us the free will to accept or reject the offer.
May we receive the grace to see the areas in our lives that Jesus wants to purify.
In peace,
~Juan
