Saturday, February 9

Today’s Lectionary Readings: Psalm 74; Leviticus 26:27-42; Matthew 8:23-34; Galatians 3:15-20; Psalm 65

Have you ever noticed that stories that have unexpected endings often get folks riled up. I think lots of folks hate unexpected endings because we human beings like to have a sense of where things are going. We like to be able to anticipate how things will turn out. Expected endings give us a sense of control. If unexpected ending frustrate you, then you probably didn’t connect with today’s passage from Matthew. For in that passage everything is sailing along as expected until you get to the very end of the story. Most folks would expect the story to end with Jesus receiving the love and adulation of the crowd. So how does the story really end? Matthew 8:34 tells us: “And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region” (NIV). Why would they plead with Jesus to leave the region after he had done so much good? Probably because Jesus did the unthinkable – he upset the status quo. Over the years I’ve noticed that lots of times folks in difficult circumstances often cling to those circumstances rather than seek healing and change. For instance, they stay in abusive relationships; they continuing living as a slave to their addiction; they continue to try to derive a sense of self-worth by being a people pleaser. Why do they do those things? Because the familiar (even if it makes you miserable) is better than the unknown. So where do your loyalties lie? Are your primary loyalties to maintaining the status quo at all costs, or do they lie somewhere else? Somewhere where the healing spirit of Christ might actually effect change and take you to a new place? Just a little something to consider. Til next time…