Gospel: Matthew 8: 28-34
Today we find ourselves on the very outer margins of any society in today's reading: Jesus encounters two violent men possessed by demons. Even these men deserve our love and attention! And so Jesus heals them, but it comes at a cost: the herd of swine are sacrificed so that these two men might be restored and made whole again.
The town cannot accept this bargain. The swine represent their profit and economy. The pigs - unclean animals in the Law - are regarded as a greater value than the life of these two people. How often is that moral calculus applied in our own times! Whether it be environmental issues that disproportionately affect the poor, care for the mentally ill, protecting migrants and refugees - in every case we prefer to protect the lifestyle to which we have grown accustomed than to helping in any appreciable way those on the margins.
The Gospel is clear about where our values should reside. If we were those men in dire need we would want someone to care for us and help us. Are we willing to follow Jesus to the margins to care for people there?
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