It’s hard to imagine a time when people possessed by unclean spirits were commonplace. When Jesus heals one such man in this week’s
Gospel reading, he does so unbidden: the
man does not, cannot ask Jesus for healing because the unclean spirit governs his tongue, speaking for him, dominating his
life, binding him.
The experience of the demoniac might seem utterly removed
from our experience: we are not
possessed by demons; we are not ruled by unclean spirits. Yet often, we too can have unhealthy
attachments, weaknesses, anxieties or desires – weaknesses we don’t necessarily
want to get rid of, desires we cling to.
Fear holds us back when we have an intimation of a truth uncomfortable
to hear, one we don’t want to acknowledge.
And so we don’t pray for healing, hoping, perhaps, that God won’t
notice. Maybe we aren’t even entirely
aware of our weakness ourselves.
The beautiful thing about the story of the man with an unclean spirit is that God does know, and heals him. Jesus came precisely to help us cast aside
whatever binds us, to free, so that, by the power of his grace, we might be
free to serve him, and to love him, better.
God is active in our lives, unceasingly, and always for the good; his
love is the preeminent source of order for the chaos of our human lives – if
only we can live from a place of trust in that love.
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