Mark 5:14-20
The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. But Jesus refused, and said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.
There is one more scene to this drama that merits attention.
The story begins with the man running to meet Jesus, the untold number of unclean spirits possessing him asking Jesus what he is here to do with him. Jesus drives the unclean spirits away, giving them license to enter and take possession of an enormous herd of swine that run down a bank into a lake to drown. This, not unsurprisingly, draws a crowd who, frightened by the consequences of this episode, ask Jesus to leave.
And he does. But as he is about to go, the man comes after him. And, as at the beginning of the scene, they have just a moment alone in this point of transition. But this time he is clear-headed and in his right mind. He has been restored: to himself, his former life, and to his community – no more will he need live with shackles to make him safe to the living or roam unshackled among the tombs of the dead.
Except that he doesn’t want to return to his community. He wants to follow Jesus. I suppose that’s understandable; certainly others for whom Jesus had done less have also felt that way. What’s interesting to me is that Jesus refuses, sending him back to witness to his family and friends about what God has done in his life. That’s clearly not the response Jesus always gives. Often he invites persons to follow him, to forsake family for the sake of the kingdom. But not this time.
To be honest, we don’t really know why. Perhaps Jesus believes that although the people of this region rejected him, yet they might heed this lost son returned to them. Or perhaps Jesus has probed the heart of this man and sees him better suited to life and ministry among his people than across the sea. We just don’t know.
What we do know is that we will not all be called in the same way. We all have different gifts, different temperaments, different opportunities. The same Lord calls, but to each in a unique way. Vocation is not a one-size-fits-all affair.
We have no way to know, of course, what his life might have been like had he followed Jesus, but we do know that out of obedience to the one who saved him he stayed to proclaim the goodness of God he had seen and experienced and, as Mark writes, “everyone was amazed.”
Prayer: Dear God, help us to heed your call when you lead us far away and when you bid us stay at home, always declaring your mercy, grace, and love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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