Throughout the Gospels, there are many reactions to Jesus
and his miracles and preaching. Some
people are amazed and praise him, some people call him a blasphemer, the
apostles leave their livelihoods to follow him, the rich young man goes away
sad.
After Jesus healed this man possessed by a demon from
Garesene, his townsfolk have a rather said reaction. Their townsman who was suffering these
terrible effects of demon possession had been healed, the demons were sent into
this herd of swine and sent over a cliff.
Rather than amazement and praise of Jesus they were afraid and begged
him to their district.
In the face of what must have been a stunning manifestation
of power, they could not remain neutral towards Jesus. And rather than face the uncomfortable
question of who Jesus is and what claim he might make on their lives, they
would prefer to have life go on as it is, without any divine interruptions to
rock the boat.
In our modern day we have many reactions towards Jesus. Many ignore him, some claim that he is but
one enlightened teacher among many, which is also a way of ignoring him. Many people, even Christians are lukewarm
concerning Jesus, they just want enough association with him to hopefully get
to heaven and count themselves as good people, but they don’t want others to
think they are fanatical or anything.
Yet, the Saint and the martyr show us the response to Jesus that leads to the fullness of life and that deep, intimate,
life changing love of Jesus is also possible. However, the saint and the martyr also
show us the consequences of this radical love of Christ—Jesus' friends often endure
mockery, scourging, chains, imprisonment, and violent death in his name. Yet, radical
love of Jesus is incomparable to even life’s greatest sufferings.
Jesus invites us into this relationship of radical love of
Him, and he sends us out to invite others into that same relationship. This is also why the saint and the martyr are
so effective at bringing others to Jesus.
They show us that love of Christ is greater than love of any worldly
treasure. Radical love produces radical
results.
As the Lord comes into our midst in Holy Communion today,
let us allow him to lead us ever more deeply in that communion of radical love
for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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