Friday, June 6, 2025  

Today's Scripture
Matthew 8:28–34

When he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs coming out of the tombs met him. They were so fierce that no one could pass that way. Suddenly they shouted, “What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” Now a large herd of swine was feeding at some distance from them. The demons begged him, “If you cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.” And he said to them, “Go!” So they came out and entered the swine; and suddenly, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the water. The swineherds ran off, and on going into the town, they told the whole story about what had happened to the demoniacs. Then the whole town came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their neighborhood. (NRSV)

Reflection

Reading this story in Matthew has made clear the similarities between many of the miracle accounts in the New Testament. The similarities include the fact that the people who were crying out to Jesus for a solution to their needs were in many cases marginalized by the society of the day. For instance, the people with physical challenges that could not be addressed at the time — the blind, deaf, mute, and the lame. The people who were outcast because of the nature of their disease — the lepers, the bleeding woman, the demon-possessed (those with mental illness). The people of other countries who received a low status, the Canaanite woman seeking healing for her daughter — who kept pressing Jesus even after she was first denied.

It is significant to me that the people whom society has set aside are the main characters in these stories of faith. Yet the characters that I think would naturally have faith simply cry out to Jesus in fear, as the disciples did waking up a sleeping Jesus during the storm at sea. Even the close friends of Jesus, who, when their brother had died, only cried out in grief saying, “If you had been here, you could have saved Lazarus.” These people were reacting to an event, not living into their faith. The same sort of reaction is true of the townspeople of this story, reacting in fear by banning the unexplained, like the mob of villagers in Beauty and the Beast, who attacked the beast whom they didn’t understand.

I think these stories are presented in this way to teach me that faith must exceed societal solutions. Relying on people only goes so far. The people asking for help are not only the main characters. They are, in fact, the heroes of the story.

Prayer

O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, help me to see the message behind the miracle stories and to seek you as the solution. Amen.  

Written by Katy Sinclair, Associate Director of Music for Children and Youth

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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