The first thing that occurs to me as I tackle this passage is to remind myself that I bring my own 'Legion' of personalities & inner conflicts to bear on it as I do so. God's own Oneness through the gift of Jesus' unifying Spirit may be the goal of my journey, but the Legion is still there inside me, marching onward inside me & each & every Christian soldier! Though that military imagery has passed its use-by date - or should have - for most of us. (One of my friends would sing that old hymn every Sunday, & as every hymn every Sunday, if he were allowed to choose. In reality, it's the tune he likes. I keep promising myself to write more appropriate words to the same tune for today's church, but I never do, do I? How many things in life do we all promise to 're-write', but never get round to?) Whereas Jesus is always into 're-writing' lives even as muddled & muddied as Legion's.

Jesus is in Gentile territory here. Despite his self-understanding he's sent primarily to the Jews, he still ventures into Gentile  territory on occasion, though none of these has a clearly defined purpose. Jesus is not a 'missionary'. But he does, wherever he goes, bring God's compassion to bear, even among the foreigners' pigs at which, the Hebrew Bible tells us, God turns up God's nose. How does our normal instinct to keep our hands & noses clean as we 'practise' our version of Christianity shape up against Jesus' willingness to get his hands dirty & his reputation sullied, as in the end, here?

Mental illness of any kind is a challenging business, especially so when there are violent outcomes (cf. MK 5). If this is so for those outside it, how much more so for those trapped inside a mind where not even the Legions function 'normally'? There's little public money for mental illness, because there are few votes there. Society & our politicians are not so compassionate! Institutional chaplaincies, where they exist, have their part to play, and, visiting those in care is important, if taxing, ministry for family & friends. But what about some role we could play for Christ, play as a little Christ, among the many mentally ill folk who live among us in the community? Ways we can help them become more 'clothed & in their right mind', whether or not they then choose to 'sit at Jesus' feet'? Is it too easy to just say, 'Leave that to the professionals'? Maybe there are some quite simple things we could do to make today's Legions at least feel more valued & less outcast? Help them come in from among their various 'tombs'? Hopefully, recognize that God cares.

Being 'despised & rejected' is something Jesus takes in his stride, but most of us find it pretty hard to take. We'll need to get more used to that as our churches fall further & further behind in the popularity stakes! Being told 'go away' leaves Jesus, at the end of our story, where Legion was at its beginning. There's a lot to take on board there, maybe unwillingly, as we take our discipleship seriously. The 'ins' ending up 'out' & vice versa, is one of those great Gospel paradoxes not for us to resolve, but, by grace, live with. Live out. As we cross the lakes of life & run into our various Legions, including our own inner ones, there.