What to do when all your pigs die. Part I

Mark 5:1-20

He lives among the dead. Naked, crazed, violent, desperate, driven. His people

did not know what to do with him, so it was a relief when he fled to the tombs and stayed there, tormented and alone. Forgotten.

Who knows how he had come under the power of these demons? Perhaps he had actually invited them in himself. Perhaps they had simply seen his weakness and seized it. We only know that he was there, dying with the dead.

He stands upon the shore of the sea, still marveling at what he has seen. A furious storm howling around him like his own torments, hurling waves over the rocks. He had been driven out into that storm, had stood there letting it lash him, wishing it would swallow him up and end it all.

But then.

A sudden swoosh, like a flash of something forgotten, and the storm vanished. Disappeared. Calm settled over the sea in quiet stillness. Stars blazed overhead. He felt the power, and fear and hope surged up as the war within his soul grew frenzied.

Now he stands, watching the speck in the distance become a tiny boat that moves ever closer. He waits. The powers in him pulse with fear. His own heart, so long a prisoner, beats hard.

He does not know the Man, but the spirits in him recognize the Son of God. They throw him down in terror at those holy feet. They beg.

And then.

The Man speaks, his body jerks, and suddenly his soul is as calm as the untroubled sea. He is still. He is free.

He doesn’t even notice the disciples staring slack-jawed at the thousands of pigs squealing and hurling themselves into the water. He looks into the eyes of his Savior, who looks right back with a smile on his face. This Man sees straight into his broken soul and doesn’t flinch away.

The people come running. They see the man they feared, sitting still and calm, and they see a whole herd of pigs floating away in the sea.

They are terrified.

They don’t know who this Man is, only that he has just destroyed their livelihoods and won over one they had learned to fear and hate. And just as the demons begged to be released from this powerful presence, they beg him to leave. No questions asked. Just go.

Sometimes our healing takes different forms. Sometimes it happens all at once; in one glorious moment, the storm within us evaporates. Sometimes it looks like everything we hung our hopes on rushing down the hill, away from us, and plunging into the sea.

I wonder what would have happened if those people had asked Jesus to stay. If they had just heard his voice, listened to what he had to say. If they had stepped through the fear of the sudden unknown and asked.

What are you doing here, Jesus?

And yes, why the heck did you just destroy our pigs? And what do we do now? And why is this crazy man suddenly sane, and what is that light in his eyes?

I wonder what he would have said. Where he would have led them. What wonders he might have done, and how their lives might have changed.

But they were too afraid. And instead of laying hold of the gift that was right there—right there!—they fled from it. They sent it away.

The King of the Universe had just sailed to their shore, and they asked him to leave. They preferred the safety of their grazing pigs to the miracle of the healed wretch.

The life he calls us to is always better than the one he calls us to leave behind. If he drowns your herd of pigs, you'd better believe that’s what you needed. Maybe it’s the only way to get rid of the demons in your life. Maybe it’s the only way to be free. How will you know unless you listen?