In the reading for June 30, in Mark chapter eight, Jesus, true God and true man, drives devils out of two possessed men. He hurls these resident devils into a herd of swine, which plunge into the sea and drown.

You’d think that the people in the nearby town would thank Jesus for expelling demons from the demoniacs. The devil-possessed men had been terrifying everyone and blocking a road.

True to form, however, the townsfolk “begged him to leave their district.” They preferred serious trouble with ranting, violent demoniacs to having to see the hideous devils of rage and violence hiding inside them.

The townspeople were also infected with the devil, the arch enemy of truth, who wants to hide within us, and who wants us to refuse the exorcism of Christ’s love.

DOCTOR’S ORDERS

Doctor devil sniffed my breath, declared
Your portion of forever must be pared,
You have been prophesying, you must cease
Or else reduce the truth of it, decrease,
Words of truth offend me with a stink
Of truthfulness, and therefore they must shrink

Try a smaller bore, a narrow gauge
More suitable to this anemic age, –
Here he showed a brush that I could use
To brush my teeth, my clothing and my shoes,
A multi-purpose brush for every need –
A dirty carpet or a dirty creed 

A brush to smooth the edges of your speech,
Your words have grown too long, reduce their reach