Catching sight of Jesus from a distance,
he ran up and prostrated himself before him,
crying out in a loud voice,
“What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?
I adjure you by God, do not torment me!”
T he unfortunate demoniac in today's gospel asks a familiar question, "Why should you bother with me when I don't want your help or advice?"
And yet he came running to the Lord as people sometimes come running at us. It's called a mixed signal. They don't like our teaching but they want our understanding, compassion, and help. But they also want us to be true to God's Word even if they don't like it.
Why should we care that some people want abortions? Or that some people think they have a "right" to marry as if anyone can call any arbitrary right from non-existence into being. They have no desire for what they call "traditional marriage" but want their friendships to be honored as if they're really married. Why should we care? Can't we just live and let live?
The man, possessed by demons, or by any current ideology, demands, "What have you to do with me? Do not torment me with your reasonable questions? I must be free of such restrictions!"
But Truth persistently intrudes upon cockamamie schemes. It does not let people believe in foolishness or pursue evil. And the more they fight it, the more credence they give it.
There is no need for those who love the Truth to be rude about it. Truth has its own patient, persistent, "rude" way of invading people's minds and hearts. It often shows on their faces and afflicts their heart, lungs, and other internal organs. Most of us can tell stories of how we resisted and stubbornly refused to see the obvious. The older we get the more these stories accumulate!
But we serve the truth and we offer compassion to the misled. We've been there; we may return to it! God owes me nothing and if I decide to worship another God, or decide to worship God in my own special way, he might sit back and let me make a fool of myself. I'm good at that and so is he!
But we praise God for persistently calling us and leading us back to the Truth. It's just better there.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.