Homily for July 1st, 2020: Matthew
8:28-34.
Jesus is in
Gentile territory. We know that from the herd of pigs mentioned at the end of today’s
gospel reading. Jews considered pigs unclean animals and did not raise them for
food.
The “demoniacs” who encounter Jesus
are possessed by demons. This has made them violent and dangerous. “They were
so savage that no one could travel by that road,” the gospel says, adding that when
they met Jesus “they were coming from the tombs.” The idea of cemeteries being
dangerous and scary places lives on today in stories about people whistling in the dark, to keep up their courage, as they walk by a
cemetery. Here, as elsewhere in the
gospels, the demons perceive something that ordinary people do not. They
recognize who Jesus is: “Son of God.” Most of Jesus’ friends would discover his
true identity only after the resurrection.
“Have you come here to torment us
before the appointed time?” they ask. This question reflects the belief in
those days that demons were permitted to torment humans until “the end time,”
when God would come to earth in blazing glory and banish all demons. Unlike
humans, the demons recognize that with the coming of Jesus, God’s kingdom was
already breaking in – which was bad news, of course, for the demons and all
forces of evil.
Aware of Jesus’ power, the demons
plead with him: “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine.” Jesus
does what they ask, and the pigs, now controlled by demonic forces, rush
headlong into the nearby sea and drown.
When the men who had been looking
after the pigs carry the news of what has happened to the nearby town, the
inhabitants come out en masse and beg
Jesus to leave. But of course! The loss of the pigs was a disastrous blow to
the local economy. What fresh disasters might occur if Jesus were to stay?
The story
takes us into a world very different from ours. Or is it? Still today there are
dangerous people who do horrible things: mass shootings at schools,
kidnappings, slaughter by crazed suicide bombers. Despite all precautions by
the military, police, and electronic surveillance, there is only One who has
power over today’s demonic powers. His name is Jesus Christ.
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