Reflections on the Gospels from a Justice Perspective written for St. Andrew's Episcopal Church by members of the congregation

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Sunday 23 June 2013 - Luke 8:26-39

23 June 2013    Luke 8:26-39 ---   Facing Our Demons

There are times when life on West Washington St. is loud and contentious.  Those who show up at the homeless shelter drunk, high, or off of their meds are denied admission and often react vehemently as they stalk off to find a place to sleep exposed to the cold, the rain, and people who prey on them.  I watch people respond in fear - shy away, hurry around, attempt to ignore.  I watch fear happen when various groups proclaim their various issues on the Capitol steps – faster walk, crossing the street, citation issued.   I think it’s natural to want to shut these folks out– yelling and antisocial behavior, singing and slogan-shouting can be frightening.  However, I believe what really  frightens us is that all of these folks remind us of our fear of all of the forces (demons) that can tear any one of us from family, from safety, from community, from everything that makes the world make any sense or have any warmth.  Folks were afraid of Jesus.  When he named and confronted whatever demons kept folks from health and wholeness, he was changing their life and the life of their community.  The folks in today’s gospel were a lot like my good friend in Ohio who told me that she was going to continue joking her way through Bible study because if she took what I was saying seriously, her life was going to have to change, and she was not prepared to do that yet – fear at is most fundamental level.


The problem with fear is that it exacerbates the divisions among us.  We become “us” and “them.”   Our fear drives our de-humanizing of “them” into categories that we can marginalize or judge not worthy to be part of our community in some manner.  How can we choose to name and confront the powers that oppress and divide us?  How can we face our fears and choose to restore to community those whom we have shut out of it?

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