Bible Challenge Day 9

Genesis 22-24, Psalm 8, Matthew 8

In today's Gospel reading Jesus just keeps getting busier and busier.  It's astounding, really, to think of all he's accomplished by just the 8th chapter of the book!  He's been baptized, chosen disciples, given a huge sermon on a mountain, and now he's healing people left and right.  No wonder he's telling people not to talk about his healings.  If this gets out the poor man will never get a moment's rest.

I find the idea of community very interesting in these healings.  We see three different examples of people joining or working within community.  First of all, the leper asks for healing so he can "be clean".  He's speaking of the Jewish idea of "clean" here.  In ancient Jewish law, leprosy was considered "unclean", so the lepers were ostracized from the community.  He was physically unclean from the rotting flesh and spiritual unclean as he wouldn't be allowed to participate in the community of faith.  After Jesus heals the man, he orders him to go into the temple and "offer the gift that Moses commanded".  In other words, his first act as a clean member of the faith community is to participate in worship.

Next, Jesus meets a centurion.  This man does not belong to the Jewish community.  Even though he doesn't participate in the same worship that Jesus and his followers do, he recognizes Jesus' great power and humbles himself before him.  I can only imagine the embarrassment that would bring on a Roman soldier to humble himself before a lowly Jew.  He actually says, "I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed."  This phrase, sometimes said during Holy Communion, shows great faith on the part of the centurion and creates a great precedent for Jesus' place among the Gentiles.

Finally, and conversely, we have the story of the demon-possessed people.  This one bothers me.  Here Jesus drives the demons out of the men and into swine who hurl themselves off a cliff.  I've seen enough monster movies to know that when someone rids a village of an evil monster, the villagers should cheer and revere their hero.  Not in this story.  Here "the whole town came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their neighborhood."  Rather than embrace the miracle of Jesus, these people fear him.  Perhaps that happens every day.  Rather than embrace the gift of God's love we fear the unknown and cast it out.