The Stories of Jesus...

Jesus cast out demons. That would be a show stopper, wouldn’t it? Back in the day, in Jesus’ time, the surprise wasn’t so much that he could drive out an ‘unclean spirit’ from the body of a man possessed, but that he did it, and did it with such authority. Today, we might balk at the story for other reasons: we don’t think of people being held by demons or unclean spirits, and we’re incredulous when we hear stories about miracles.

But perhaps I speak/write too soon. When we scan world events, don’t we ask each other ‘What would possess them to do that, say that, think that”? It’s not uncommon to wonder about the motivation of those individuals and collectives that do horrendous things. And perhaps we fail to ask ourselves as often as we should, what holds us back from doing the right thing - addressing climate change and massive income equality come to mind. What ‘possesses’ us to hesitate?

This Sunday, as we continue with our series on the stories of Jesus, we’ll consider miracles, demons, and the possibility that we’ve encountered both more often than we realize. 
And hey - how’s your 4:00-stop-and-look-for-signs-of-Jesus-abiding-near-you assignment going? As for me, I struggle to remember to do it, but when I did, I saw a miracle. Just sayin’