We live in a society where we are blessed to enjoy the modern convince of indoor plumbing. However, from time to time, something gets stuck in the system, and water starts backing up in the kitchen sink. It’s time to call the plumber.
You and I may think that the problem is the drain in the kitchen sink. But, the plumber knows better. He finds the real cause of the problem—a blockage in a pipe on the other side of the house. The only reason water was coming up in the kitchen sink was that it was the weak point in the system … that was the easiest place to water to escape the pipes.
Just like the plumbing in a house, we all have blockages in our system, conflict erupts and the “kitchen sink” overflows. But, Jesus knows where the real blockage is and calls us to walk the Way by confronting it.
Scripture: Matthew 8:28-34; 9:1 (click here to read)
Bottom Line: Jesus allows us to confront ourselves so that we can be transformed to walk The Way.
The Story of the Pigs
The Gospel lesson of the pigs is one that Orthodox priests come to dread. It pops up several times a year in the lectionary. Since the Sunday Gospel readings are the same year after year, it means that a priest not only has to come up with a new sermon about the pigs each year, but several times a year.
Yet, despite this, the passage continues to raise questions and demonstrate the power of the cross for modern readers.
It opens with Jesus crossing over to the “country of the Gadarenes”—a clear indication that Jesus has moved beyond his own people. He’s now among the Gentiles, outsiders and foreigners who were considered unclean by Judeans.
When he gets there, Matthew’s version says that two men possessed by demons came out to meet him.
To the reader really paying attention, it’s no surprise that Jesus encounters demons among the Gentiles. After all, Judeans despised people who didn’t follow the Torah, Law of Moses. In fact, demons often represent “false-teachings” in scripture; “teachings” contrary to the Law.
Though the two demon-possessed men didn’t know the Law of Moses, they still recognized Jesus and the power of the Law that he demonstrates.
In the ensuing conversation, they ask if Jesus has come to torment them. But, interestingly, in Matthew’s version, Jesus does not respond and stays silent.
The demons press on and decide to ask Jesus to exorcise them into a herd of swine.
The Judean reading this in the 1st-century, probably starting cheering at this point. Swine were dirty animals and Judeans didn’t even their flesh. Even today, pork is forbidden in the Jewish custom. So, the lawless demons being driven into unclean animals only seems natural. And, Jesus willingly allows this to happen.
But, an unexpected twist happens: the herd of swine jump off a cliff and drown in the waters below.
As if that wasn’t strange enough, the passage ends with this story spreading among the folks of the city who then come to Jesus and beg him to “pass beyond their borders.”
How Do You Hear the Story?
It’s easy for us to hear this story either as historical or simply mythology.
For those who hear it historically, it’s merely an event in the life of Jesus. It’s interesting. It demonstrates Jesus’s power as the “son of God.” And, for some, it may be proof that demon possession is real or that miracles can happen. But, an historical reading of this story misses the point of what Matthew is trying to do. It relegates the episode to the past with no meaning for us today.
For those of us who see it as mythology, it also loses its power. Mythology, in our world, is understood to be “fake news.” It’s a work of imagination whose foundation is set in fantasy. Though it may be entertaining, its power to speak to us today is usually lost as the story is regulated to the world of “make-believe” and children. In other words, most adults start to tune out when this passage is read at church.
Reading Scripturally
However, if learn to read scripturally, the power of this story becomes an instruction for us to walk the Way.
To look at this passage scripturally, we have to start to ask some questions.
What’s the point of these two demon-possessed men? What do they represent? Why does this town allow them to exist? And, why are they living in the tombs?
And we look deeper, more questions start to rise to the surface.
Why are they afraid of Jesus? What is really at stake when they are driven into the swine and die by jumping off the cliff?
And, just as troublesome as those questions, is the question of: why doe the townsfolk fear Jesus as well? Why do they beg him to leave?
Healing the Community
I think the answer to all these questions is in an earlier verse. This verse is a transitional verse in the Gospel of Matthew. Here’s what the verse says,
“Thus was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah when he said, ‘He took away our infirmities and bore away our maladies.’” (Matthew 8:17)
My thesis is that by healing the two men possessed by the demons, Jesus was not only curing the two men, but the entire community—he was taking away their infirmities and bearing away they maladies, but he was doing it by taking away their excuses!
What do I mean by this?
As I mentioned earlier, Gentiles (and their symbolic representatives, both demons and swine) were an easy target for Judeans. Gentiles could be blamed for all the ills of the world. The Judeans blamed them for conquering their land and enslaving them.
In other words, the Gentiles functioned as a scapegoat for the Judeans. And, Matthew, the author of this Gospel and a Judean, was using the two Gentile demon-possessed men as scapegoats in this passage. They symbolize those who the Judeans wanted to blame them for not having their own free Promised Land to govern.
So, when something went wrong in the Gadarene community, instead of facing the real problem, it was easy for everyone to blame the two crazy men who lived among the tombs.
If we go back to our plumbing example at the beginning of our podcast, a scapegoat is the kitchen sink overflowing. Instead of finding the real clot and taking care of it, the scapegoat allowed the water to flow by releasing the pressure in the system—never mind that it caused a mess in the kitchen!
The scapegoat system isn’t a system that’s built on fairness. It’s a system that’s designed to protect the privileged in society. The two demon-possessed men were an excuse others could use so that they could avoid real responsibility. They could avoid walking the Way of the Lord and continue to live life as they’ve always done so: by oppressing those less fortunate than themselves.
So, when Jesus allows the demons to enter the swine and go over the cliff, Jesus has cleared the clot in the system. There’ll be no more water overflowing in the kitchen sink.
Facing the Real Problem
In other words, when Jesus healed the two men, the city no longer had their scapegoat. They didn’t have anyone to blame when things went wrong. And, for the citizens of this city, this is a scary thing because it means they will now have to face the truth: that the problem may lie with themselves. They may be the ones to blame. They may not have been walking the Way.
By not having the two men in the tombs to blame for society’s problems, Jesus has taken away the victimization of these two innocent men. Instead, he’s put the people of the city under judgment and challenged them to take a long hard look at themselves. They will now have to bear the responsibility of walking the Way, and they will have to own up to their own mistakes.
If they take this challenge seriously, they will learn God’s path. They will learn God’s mercy. They will learn to extend that mercy to others, instead of looking for a scapegoat, an easy way out.
But, to face yourself and your own shortcomings—your own failings at not following the Law—isn’t easy. The people, afraid of this new way of life, beg Jesus to leave instead.
Taking Away Our Scapegoats
We can see how our society has reacted. The United States, unfortunately, has made an entire class of people their scapegoats. African-Americans and immigrants have been blamed for society’s ills. They are being sacrificed and demonized. After all, this is easier than placing the blame where it really belongs and making the necessary corrections.
Recently, the death of George Floyd has functioned like the death of Jesus on the cross. His death has opened up our eyes to see that we’ve been sacrificing innocent victims. But, instead of confronting our disease, we’ve turned to look for other scapegoats and the political battles and mudslinging continues.
But, we can’t always control society. We can, however, take a look at ourselves. If Jesus and the cross wake you up to the realization that you too may be blaming someone else for your mistakes and you realize that you too may have been using someone as a scapegoat, how will you react? Will you be like the townsfolk and ask Jesus to leave? Or will you step up and take the first step on the Way that leads to the Kingdom?