Saturday, August 25, 2012

He has a Name

The man in Mark 5: 1-20, who Jesus delivered of a legion of demons, he has a name. I never really thought of it before but of course he does. He was born to parents who no doubt named him. He at one point lived among people who tried to help him. There was a man in there, made in God's image, a man who maybe at one point loved someone. There was a man who had lived in relationship and had experienced intense rejection.

When we meet him in the Scriptures he is living in the tombs outside of town. He was too much for the community. They could not control him, even with chains they couldn't keep him from hurting himself or others.  They threw him away.  What to do with a guy like that?  But he has a name...  I never thought of that before. To me, he was always the demon possessed guy who Jesus fixed with a command for the "legion" of demons to enter a heard of pigs.  It never dawned on me that Jesus loved this man. It never even crossed my mind that this man might have been one of Jesus' favourite guys.  Living in the tombs it is super easy to forget about a guy like that, but I think Jesus went to him on purpose, with purpose.  He went to set him free. 

My pastor posted this verse on his website the other day. "Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him." Proverbs 14:31.  It challenges me.  Do I look at the poor as a mass of humanity who we need to give a little spare change and some old clothes without many holes?  Do I think of the poor as just a problem that our society or government needs to handle.  I need to think of folks who go hungry at night as people with a name. They were made in God's image. They are born with his desire for relationship, joy, love, and with the capacity to bring those things to others.  They are created uniquely and beautifully by an all powerful God who loves them no matter where they live in the city.  

Lord God, change my heart for the poor. Let me see them as beloved and know them by name. Let me serve even the least of these that I might get a glimpse of your love and kindness for all people.  Lord, I am poor and full of selfishness, laziness, and pride and all sorts of ugliness and yet when you look at me, you see beauty.  You look at me and smile. You know my name.  You know me.  Thank you Lord, thank you for knowing my name. Teach me the names of the very least of these.

2 comments:

  1. Good point, Judy. Thanks for drawing our attention. All those in the Gospel who came across Jesus's path had names and were created in God's image. We must remember that everyone has a story.

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