Monday of 4th Week In Course
To be frank, David messed up, and messed up royally. He did only one thing right in getting involved with Bathsheba. He acknowledged and repented of his royal, deadly sin. And he was forgiven, but that was not the end of the story. He and Bathsheba lost their child, as Nathan had predicted, and Absalom, David’s adult son, killed his oldest son for revenge. Then he led a revolt against David. The northern tribes of Israel had followed King Saul and his son for years, and only accepted King David because there was no alternative. But they considered Absalom one of their own, since his grandfather had ruled over the Golan Heights in the north. Absalom looked to be the man of the hour, and they rallied to his rebellion.
Today we see King David in one of the saddest hours of his life. He had hurriedly gathered his other children and wives and left the palace at Jerusalem in charge of some servants and his concubines. We see David ascending the Mount of Olives, where his descendant Jesus would suffer His own agony several centuries later. David was probably sobbing, walking barefoot into exile across the Jordan River. As if he hadn’t enough pain, here comes one of King Saul’s kinsmen, Shimei, cursing David and pitching dirt and rocks at him and his entourage. But see how David remembered mercy in his time of repentance. When one of his generals asked permission to lop off Shimei’s head, David demurred, speculating that God Himself might have ordered the abuse. David would not get in the way of God’s will.
Every political entity has cracks in it—left and right, liberal and conservative, inward-seeking and outward-seeking. That’s human society. Politicians spend lots of time trying to cultivate one or the other side of these splits, and even make the divisions sharper to enhance their power. Let’s be honest, it’s always been that way, but that is not because God wants us to be at each other’s throat. Jesus came, we know, to draw us all together into one body, made up of members whose joy it is to serve each other.
So our Gospel tells a story of that human division, one that runs down the east bank of the Sea of Galilee and divides Jews from Gentile pig farmers. When you look carefully at the story of the demoniac, you see that he, too, has a split personality. He is afflicted with a whole mess of demons, nasty evil spirits that together have the name “legion” reminiscent of the oppressive Roman legions patrolling Israel. The poor man possessed by evil has hurt himself with rocks. He was probably covered head to toe with bruises and cuts. He was filthy, but he hadn’t completely succumbed to evil. When he recognized Jesus, he worshiped Him. Jesus cast out the demons, who then invaded a herd of swine. The herd then rushed into the big lake and drowned. The swineherds rushed to the city to claim they had nothing to do with the loss.
Now when the townspeople came out and saw the healed man, washed up and in borrowed clothes in his right mind, what did they do? They totaled up the economic cost and instead of praising God for visiting them and eliminating a local hazard, they told Jesus to get out of their territory. We human beings tend to have quite small minds that are very self-absorbed. Jesus Christ, son of God and son of man, appears in our midst and when He does, we count the cost of discipleship to Him and often pass up the opportunity.
Let’s spend some time this week looking at the divisions in our life, and the presence of Our Lord and His call to discipleship. And let’s see how we can say “yes” to His call and see the marvels He can do in us.
