Between our house and the elementary school our boys attended was a large cemetery. It was close to the road and you couldn’t miss it. At night it was spooky to drive past it and because we lived in a predominantly Catholic area there were usually small, flickering candles in their red holders at the tombstones. Even riding past it during the day was enough to cause the first questions our boys ever had about death.
It was a scary place, but you know what they say, people were just dying to get in there.
This Sunday at the Gathering Church we will look at a story that could have been written by Stephen King. Found in Mark 5:1-20 it is about a man who was so messed up that the only place he could live was among the dead. There was no hope for him
Enter Jesus, and of course, as you can imagine, everything changes.
The interesting part, though, is how the local people respond after Jesus does what no one else had been able to do.
They beg him to leave.
Oh, there is something about two thousand pigs committing mass suicide.
Why does Mark want us to know this bizarre story?
What are we supposed to learn about Jesus?
What are we supposed to learn about ourselves?
Whatever, it must be important.
Let’s see this Sunday.