"Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their district."
Matthew 8:34
It has been pointed out, by many more learned than me, that people often respond to a personal encounter with Jesus with fear. That is the LAST response Jesus desires from us as he says so often, "Do not be afraid..." Encounters with Jesus take us out of our comfort zones, though. Consider this Gospel today, where Jesus drives two demons out into a herd of pigs and the pigs all jump into the sea. No wonder the townspeople were afraid! People fear what they cannot understand or explain. People fear what does not fit neatly into the box of their normal experience. People fear other people, too, who don't fit neatly into those categories. We fear who and what are different from ourselves. And that fear can cause to do stupid things, like begging Jesus to leave. Let's spend some time on a summer day pondering what things cause us fear. Can we believe Jesus when he tells us, "Do not be afraid." Love, heidi
No comments:
Post a Comment