On Demons and Swine

Today's Gospel (Mt 8:28-34) begins on a bit of an ominous note: "When Jesus came to the territory of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs who were coming from the tombs met him. They were so savage that no one could travel by that road." That's how the New American Bible describes them -- "savage," which means brutual, vicious, barbaric, ferocious, or violent. The Jerusalem Bible calls them "dangerously fierce." A quick look at this Scripture passage on the Web at The Unbound Bible (a marvelous Bible search engine worth bookmarking) gives me two other descriptions: "Exceeding dangerous" and "extremely violent." So this is what our Lord is dealing with, and, as always, His greatest concern is for our souls. He casts out the demons, which enter a nearby herd of swine. The swine then rush down the steep bank into the sea, where they all perish. The herdsmen run away and when they arrive in town, they report everything. Thereupon, the town comes out to meet Jesus, and they beg him to leave their neighborhood.

Ah yes, these townspeople may have indeed lost their livelihood when they lost their swine, and that's understandably uppermost in their minds. Who knows what else they might lose if they let this unknown itinerant preacher into their lives! But isn't the life of the soul far more valuable? Is there anything at all worth hanging onto, large or small, if it gets in the way of life on high in Christ Jesus? Not really, for any such thing can be exceeding dangerous for me and can do extreme violence to my soul. Sometimes I may not even realize that something I'm clinging to is an obstacle to my life in and with Him. But Jesus knows, and in His wisdom and mercy, He makes the break for me. Then I can say with St. Paul, "But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I might gain Christ, and be found in Him" (Phil 3:8-9)

Dear Lord, God of power and might, please don't leave me, even though I am afraid of what You might take from me. Please keep casting out all my demons, along with everything else that You think is necessary, so that I may always be found in You and so live for the praise of Your glory. Amen.