
June 18, 2025
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ps from ps I saw a church sign last year when I was out for a run that read: Hurt people, hurt people. Healed people, heal people. Seems to be profoundly true. Our lesson coming up this weekend is Luke 8:26-39. And it’s a good one…unless you’re an unsuspecting pig that is. You can click that link to read it or here’s the summary: guy has demons in him; people shun him and he lives in isolation in the “tombs”; demons recognize Jesus; Jesus calls out demons; demons are sent into nearby pigs; pigs jump over a cliff; pig owners are super mad; they tell the village and confront Jesus; they find the man, now healed, sitting with Jesus; they force Jesus out of town; the healed guy wants to go with; Jesus says: go back to your town and proclaim the healing you’ve received. Several questions come to mind as I read this story: 1. How did these folks get so blinded to the man’s pain that they left him to live in the tombs? What happened in their own lives that they ignored his needs and allowed for this isolation to happen? But I guess: hurt people, hurt people. 2. Isn’t it amazing that the demons throughout the Bible always seem to recognize Jesus? Sometimes faster than the regular towns folks! The demons know there’s a “call out” coming from God and want to avoid it most times. Even they can sense God’s power over evil. Can we? 3. Are we more concerned about our own pigs than we are for those who are suffering and in need of healing and community? Are we willing to sacrifice and even change vocations (if we’re out of pigs) to see the healing that is needed and celebrate when it happens? 4. Seems like it might be a tad risky to return to your own town to proclaim God’s healing when some folks just lost their income source and others ignored you when you were hurting? I guess following Jesus involves some risk. Some challenges. Some changes. But it seems that the potential for healing of others is worth the risk and could lead to bigger and better things. Healed people, heal people. There’s a lot going on in this story. There’s a lot going on in our stories. There are a lot of questions. But throughout it all, we find Jesus once again standing with the least, little, lonely and left behind. We find Jesus healing. We find Jesus present. We find Jesus inviting us to proclaim. In the midst of all the questions in your story, may you find the same. Lord, thanks for being in the questions with healing, power and presence. AmenStill in One Peace, ps |
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