Living in the Spirit
June 19, 2022
Scripture Reading: Luke 8:26-39
Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, ‘Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.’ So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him. –Luke 8:32-39
One of the greatest challenges we face in these days of divide and conquer is sharing our faith with loved ones and friends when they are on a totally different path. I belong to a Christian Facebook group and cannot believe how many postings I have seen where people had been asked to leave their church because they did not support the political viewpoints of its leaders. Also, I have read many posting where people had not responded to any political discussion but had made the difficult decision of leaving the church they loved because it has drifted away from its purpose. Thus, I do not take likely the assignment Jesus gave the man he had healed of the demons when he said, ‘Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.’
I like the idea of finding issues and actions on which we and our loved ones can agree. Work on a Habitat house together. Feed the hungry. Adopt a nursing home and visit its residents who do not have anyone. We need to all get out of our ivory palaces as the old song says and address the great needs of people like the ones that crossed Jesus’s path regularly and he stopped and cared for them. If we see the world through Jesus’s eyes we might find our way to Oneness.
My Lord has garments so wondrous fine,
and myrrh their texture fills;
its fragrance reached to this heart of mine,
with joy my being thrills.
Out of the ivory palaces
into a world of woe,
only his great eternal love
made my Savior go*.
Prayer: Lord, guide us in spending some time each week living life among people as you did when you walked this earth. Amen.
*The first verse and chorus of Out of the Ivory Palaces by Henry Barraclough see at https://hymnary.org/text/my_lord_has_garments_so_wondrous_fine
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.