Theme for the week

At the heart of this weeks gospel is evil. We meet a man, tormented by oppressive evil spirits, a great problem for his community who seek to protect themselves by binding him in chains in the cemetery. Nothing works and they are at their wits ends. Then along comes Jesus, fresh from calming wild storms on lakes. And in a flash all is changed. Evil is outsmarted. The man is liberated. Pigs die. And the people are filled with….awe, wonder? Fear! They are afeared to their core and ask him to leave.

For many of us it is a story that makes us feel uncomfortable. We are not so sure what to believe about or what to do with these evil spirits. But at its core this is about evil, and the man is a victim of the work of evil.

One possible interesting word play in this story is the name “legion”. The Roman Legions were the power on which Roman peace was based. Wo betide any who fell fowl of that legion. For those who did Legion was evil personified. Merciless, unjust, ruthless. They could make this man’s plight seem easy. Evil can be understood in many ways in this story.

So however we understand “evil”, whether individual spirits possessing people, or the evil inherent in some social structures and powers; Jesus comes to bring liberation from evil and free the man.

Some questions:

What is our reaction when meeting wild behaving “possessed” people?

What and where is evil for us?

Where is God’s liberation?

When do we ask God to leave us alone in the comfort of our current lives?