What Jesus Did! 'On Strange Turf' — Mark 5:1-2

Jesus was taking his disciples to new places. The particular new place in this event they shared with Jesus was strange. The strangeness had to do with what they would experience - an encounter with a demon-possessed man. Adding to this strangeness was the place they encountered him - near a cemetery where the demon-afflicted man lived among the tombs. If we examine the story carefully, the disciples appear to have remained in the boat during the whole encounter between Jesus and the demonized man. They weren't quite ready to step out of the boat and take on this strange new world. Jesus was trying to teach them that he would go with them and empower them to do quite unbelievable things if they would follow his lead. The power of this experience was one of those indelible memories they carried with them as they faced horrible challenges of their own - challenges orchestrated by the dark lord of demons. As the Lord leads us, he reminds us that we are a pilgrim people - always on the move toward God and away from the familiar. Yet as he leads us to new places, new experiences, and new challenges, he also asks us to remember how he has been with us in the past and to be assured that he has already conquered the dark lord we so often fear.