Wednesday 05 August 2015

Psalm: Psalm 62

Background

Luke has just told the Parable of the Sower which speaks of thepatience and generosity of God the sower of the seeds of theGospel. Now we are told stories of unexpected places where thatseed is taking root - in the life of the man who tells Jesus hisname is Legion, who is possessed by demons, and a leader of thesynagogue and the woman with the issue of blood (verses 40-56). Allof these people recognise who Jesus is and believe that he can helpthem.

Jesus asks the demon possessed man his name, and the crowd seemto be shocked by the question. The man has been shouting andraging, and into this wild clamour Jesus speaks, "What is yourname?" The question humanises the man and gives him some dignity.He has been naked, alone, bound by chains and beaten like an angrydog for many years. Did he ever have a name?

Although the man cannot remember what those who once loved himcalled him, Jesus puts down a marker, he wants to restore this manto full humanity. Jesus wants to know the man's name because he cansee beyond the raving into the heart of the human being and ismoved by compassion to make him well.

This is an amazing story and just as in the story of the calmingof the storm (verses 22-25), Jesus is able to control the wind andthe waves, here he dispels the man's turmoil and brings him peace.So then why were people afraid when they saw what Jesus had done(verses 34-38)? He had transformed a man's life and brought peaceand calm where there have been turmoil and terror. Perhaps thepeople were afraid of how Jesus might transform their lives if theyput their trust in him as Legion had? 

To Ponder

• There is a wonderful depiction of the story of the calmingof the storm in the Methodist Modern Art Collection. What newinsights does this give you into the story?

• What is the key message coming out of this passage for youtoday?