Wednesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

 Lectionary: 379

The demons pleaded with him,
"If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine."
And he said to them, "Go then!"
They came out and entered the swine,
and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea
where they drowned.

There's a lot of driving out in today's readings. First we hear of Sarah's insistence that Abraham should drive away Hagar and her son Ishmael, because

 "No son of that slave is going to share the inheritance with my son Isaac!"

And Abraham does so. 

Secondly, we hear of the Savior's driving demons out of a possessed man and into a herd of swine, which unfortunate creatures are driven mad, throw themselves into the sea, and are drowned. And then, the people whose economy has been struck by a severe blow with the loss of swine, drive the Lord and his disciples out of the region, back across the sea to Jewish territory.

We can surmise that these minutiae of Bible history fit God's plan of salvation. If we think of God as doing only good things; but have predetermined what we  consider good, only one of these stories might fit our good definition. The first and third are problematic. 

Like Abraham, we may feel compassion for his concubine and their son; but we can also see Sarah's point of view. She will not abide any confusion about the heir of God's promise; it is her son Isaac and not the illegitimate Ishmael! Isaac's descendants and not Ishmael's; which is to say, Sarah's descendants and not Hagar's! And it's all as God intends. 

We might also wonder at the Gadarenes' insistence that Jesus immediately leave their territory and return to his own side of the lake. Did God intend that too? If they are not descendants of Ishmael, they share his lot of not being among the Elect. And they are missing an opportunity that might. The New Testament says nothing about the Church's missionary outreach to Gadara but the Risen Lord did send his apostles to nearby Galilee; and then, "to make disciples of the whole world." So we can suppose the same people had a later opportunity to be saved by the Gospel. 

Under far worse circumstances -- long before the birth of Jesus but long after the birth of Isaac -- the Prophet Jeremiah assured the wretched exiles in Babylon, 

For I know well the plans I have in mind for you...

plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope.

 
And Saint Paul reminds us that 

We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

But we'll give the last word back to Jeremiah in the words that followed,

When you call me, and come and pray to me, I will listen to you.

When you look for me, you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart,

I will let you find me... and I will change your lot; I will gather you together from all the nations and all the places to which I have banished you... 

and bring you back to the place from which I have exiled you. (Jeremiah 29:12)