The 2nd Sunday after Pentecost:
Scriptures: Psalm 22:19-28; Luke 8:26-39
Key Verse: “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” (Luke 8:39)
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Hello, This is Jade.
Welcome to Yi.kigai
A space for all to explore the intersection between faith and daily life
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About three weeks ago, a church member and I were chatting about the current crisis of the homelessness in the metropolitan Seattle area since the start of the pandemic. We were at a golf course handing out cards with information on support systems and our weekly hot meal on Wednesdays to campers that were nearby our church.
It took us about one and half hours to walk around the golf course where there were several campsites. We got to visit at least 7 of them and talked to a couple of campers. They distanced themselves but showed their appreciation. There was one big campsite that caught my attention. They tied several waterproof camping tarps along the trees which functioned as a long fence covering the campsite. On those tent tarps, we saw big letters, “Do Not Enter!” That was their safe haven.
Whenever I saw campers on my way to work, I pictured where I would go if I ended up homeless one day. The first place that came to my mind was church. It would be a miracle if I could situate myself at just one small corner where I could be protected from wind and rain, where God’s Word and Love are proclaimed and shared, and where I could be reminded that healing and hope are there for me to take. Ironically, most of the churches can't even offer such simple support because the full scope of homelessness is much more complicated than we can see.
Things become complicated nowadays because we make all things complicated. If asked, what would you list as the basics or essentials of a blessed relationship, a blessed marriage, a blessed home, a blessed job, a blessed trip or vacation? Three on the top of the list for me would be: safety, acceptance, and joy. What are yours? As our list gets longer, we forget why we have it in the first place, and we easily and gradually lose the joy of living and treasuring each moment and each day with gratitude.
Why did the people in the healing story from Luke 8:26-39 fear Jesus? What was beneath their fear? Had they lost a heart of joy with gratitude? Did they get to know who Jesus was and why He did what He did? Did Jesus mess up everything they have cultivated to live with? Did they fear what else Jesus could do if he could even cast out demons that entered the swine that drowned in a lake?
What Jesus offered to that particular community is the Good News of healing and hope. Such healing and hope were missing in the household of that man who was possessed with demons and in that village where the man belonged. Jesus’ message was that no one should be isolated, abandoned, and forgotten. And in God’s kingdom, the safe haven for all, that is here but not fully fulfilled, Jesus asks us to share what God has done just as he asked the man to do. And he did.
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May your coming week be blessed by God’s grace
As together we explore the intersection between faith and daily life
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