Sunday 23 June 2013

Background

In this story from Luke (who was a doctor), Jesus encounters aman whose condition was so disturbing that he lived outside thenormal community among the tombs or, in our language, a cemetery orgraveyard. The word "country" (v. 26) here can also be translatedas 'an empty expanse' or 'the space lying between two places orlimits'. He was so seriously disturbed he wore no clothes. Eventoday people often talk of struggling with their demons and thisman certainly struggled with his - so much so that he was calledlegion (verse 30). In the days of Jesus Roman soldiers occupiedPalestine. And a legion could be anything between 3,000 and 6,000Roman soldiers.

It is interesting to note the reaction of people of thesurrounding area who were alerted by the herdsmen with their storyof the destruction of the herd linked to the deliverance of theman. They seem more scared of Jesus and the man being clothed andin his right mind than they were when he was manifesting disturbingbehaviour, perhaps because of the transformation Jesus had brought.Also in this case Jesus tells the man to go and tell rather thancome and follow.

Jesus met this man where he was and ministered to him there, Ofthe 20 or so miracles of healing in the Gospels only 3 are in thesynagogue. A worker in a factory where I was chaplain asked what achaplain did. When I told him, he said, "Oh I see, the peoplearen't coming to church so this is the church coming to the people.I like that!"

The contemporary Methodist Church has been described as "adiscipleship movement shaped for mission". A website I was lookingat recently said the most sacred part of a service is when God'speople go out of the church door into the world to be the churchsent out, with words such as "Go in the power of the Spirit to liveand work to God's praise and glory!".

To Ponder

• Where and how have you sensed the presence of God? Was it in areligious context such as a church or cathedral or in your everydaylife?

• God has been described as a 'missionary God'. What do youperceive as the missionary activity of God in your workplace,community, club, gym, supermarket, shopping mall, the neighbourhoodwhere you are?

• What would help you to engage in God's mission in theworld?