Just
about 20 years ago, a series of events led me and my wife to begin looking for
our first house. After what seemed like
a too-long search, we eventually found one on the northwest side of
Spokane. It was a cute little
two-bedroom, 1 bath deal; fairly small, but just right for a “starter”
home. It also came with a washer, dryer
and box of brownies in the kitchen.
I
did some cleaning shortly after moving in, mainly in the laundry room and
especially in and around the washer and dryer.
The previous owner left the house in good condition, don’t get me wrong;
I just felt the need to do a little more.
My mom called while I was cleaning, and I remember telling her, “I don’t
mind dirt, but I want it to be my dirt.”
It
just doesn’t feel quite right mixing DNA that’s accumulated in, on and around
the laundry facilities. So I
cleaned. It wasn’t spotless, but I
eventually got it to the point where all of the previous owner’s dust, fuzz and
lint had been removed; and that’s all I was really looking for.
Over
time, the laundry room would again build up with dust, fuzz and lint; but it
was our dust, fuzz and lint that populated the laundry room and formed their
own little communities.
Today’s
lessons from Isaiah and Luke are similar to that cleaning of our laundry room.
In
Isaiah, the Lord speaks out against Israel for failing to recognize God’s call
to them and for walking in ways that have strayed from God. God cries out against them: “You follow your own devices, you sit in
tombs, you eat swine’s flesh with abominable broth and you say, ‘Keep away from
me for I am holy’.”
Israel
was given the Law. They were God’s
chosen, descended from Abraham and rescued from slavery in Egypt. They were given a clean place in which to
live and grow in the Torah. Over time,
however, that clean place became not a place of invitation and blessing, but a
place of exclusion and segregation. Over
time, the people didn’t notice the uncleanliness that crept in. This allowed them to maintain their own image
of holiness while failing to see their shortcomings.
In
today’s gospel, we find Jesus in Gentile territory. There he is confronted with a demoniac who
lives in the tombs. After an exchange
with the demon-possessed man, he commands them into a swine herd where they
proceed to drown themselves in the lake.
Jesus healed the man. He cleansed
him of that which caused him to live in an unclean place. And this act upset and frightened the people
of the town; so much so that they asked Jesus to leave them.
Why? Why be frightened of a man who heals and
cleanses? Why not be thankful that this
demon-possessed man who had to be separated from society and bound with chains
was no longer a threat to either the town or himself? I think there are two closely related reasons
why the people were frightened; or maybe a Part A and Part B.
The
first reason was because God was doing a new thing amongst them. This was a healing like they had never seen
before, performed by a prophet who spoke for God. And when God does a new thing, it can be a
frightening experience. How many of us have
been frightened when God decides to do a new thing? Think about Easter and the implications of
that resurrection event. That can be a
frightening thing – and they fled from the tomb in terror and amazement.
The
other reason they were afraid was because God, through Jesus, was not only
doing a new thing, but was messing with the status quo. Their sense of normal was being challenged
and turned upside down. I imagine that
at one point the town was clean from all abnormalities. Then the man became possessed. It probably didn’t happen overnight. It probably happened through a slow process,
allowing the people in town to get used to a different normal; allowing them to
learn how to deal with their new situation; allowing them to feel comfortable
taking more drastic steps. Then Jesus
comes and upsets their sense of an abnormal normal.
In
Isaiah, God is calling the Israelites to account. He is pointing out that they have allowed
holiness to be slowly eroded and supplanted with entitlement. It’s an entitlement that comes from being
God’s chosen, and it results in a special feeling of holiness even though we
don’t keep up our end of the bargain.
In
Luke, Jesus disrupted a way of life that people had come to accept. Abnormality became normal, and Jesus said,
“No, this isn’t right.” For in what time
and place is it ever normal to chain naked people to rocks or trees and abandon
them in a cemetery? The answer, of
course, is that it is never right. But
over time, probably very slowly, inappropriate acts of segregation and abuse
become normal.
I
am not that different from the Israelites Isaiah spoke to or the people of the Gerasenes. In my case, I cleaned the laundry room in my
new house because I couldn’t stand the thought of doing laundry with someone else’s
DNA-infused dust, fuzz and lint populating the washer and dryer. Over time, though, my own dust, fuzz and lint
began to accumulate and populate the laundry room – and I barely noticed
because it was my own dust, fuzz and lint.
In
these two lessons, this is exactly what is happening. The people started out with a clean
place. But over time, they got used to
and barely noticed the buildup of their own dirt. God and Jesus are asking the people to notice
and deal with that dirt. And we are now
asked to do the same.
What
aspects of your lives do you need to examine and clean? What minor abnormalities have you ignored,
allowing them to grow and become normal in your own life, while still seeing
yourself as completely clean and holy?
What dirt don’t you notice?
In
this season of Ordinary Time, may I suggest that you take a new look at your
life and find places that need to be tidied up for God. You might even consider this your Linten
discipline.
And
when cleaned, like the man in the gospel, go and share with others what God has
done for you.
Amen.
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