Contemplative Bible Reading

Luke 8:34-35 (New Living Translation)

34 When the herdsmen saw it, they fled to the nearby town and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran. 35 People rushed out to see what had happened. A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been freed from the demons. He was sitting at Jesus’ feet, fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid.

This is part of the (hi)story of Jesus freeing a man from demons that were living in his body. After the miracle, people came from the nearby town to see for themselves (no fake news allowed).

How did they react? Here was a crazy man sitting calmly next to this Jesus fellow. The crazy man was perfectly sane and dressed well in the business casual attire of the day. Rejoicing? Thrilled?  They could see their neighbor was no longer a menace but now a good member of the community.

Afraid. There was no explanation of what they saw. It was impossible.

I like to think that when the impossible becomes possible that this is a great thing. Everyday, science and technology advance and we can do things that… That, however, has explanation. What these people saw had no explanation. It was super natural, i.e., beyond any explanation of natural events.

Of course they were afraid. Demons had power over demons. Maybe this Jesus was a super demon. I would be afraid of a super demon. Then again, the prophets of old could do these things. Was a prophet standing before them. If Jesus was a prophet, he would be well known, but he wasn’t.

None of the explanations fit. Of course they were afraid. I would be as well.

Are people today afraid of Christians? Should they be? Should our lives show things for which none of the regular explanations fit?