We Prefer Swine

Mark 5:1-20

15And they came to Jesus and looked intently and searchingly at the man who had been a demoniac, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, [the same man] who had had the legion [of demons]; and they were seized with alarm and struck with fear.

16And those who had seen it related in full what had happened to the man possessed by demons and to the hogs
.

17And they began to beg [Jesus] to leave their neighborhood.

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John Oxenham's poem: Gadara, A.D. 31

Rabbi, begone! Thy powers
Bring loss to us and ours.
Our ways are not as Thine.
Thou lovest men, we . . swine

Oh, get you hence, Omnipotence,
And take this fool of Thine!
His soul? What care we for his soul?
What good to us that Thou hast made him whole,
Since we have lost our swine?
And Christ went sadly.He had wrought for them a sign
Of Love, and Hope, and Tenderness divine;
They wanted . . swine.

Christ stands without your door and gently knocks;
But if your gold, or swine, the entrance blocks,
He forces no man's hold . . he will depart,
And leave you to the treasures of your heart.

No cumbered chamber will the Master share,
But one swept bare
By cleansing fires, then plenished fresh and fair
With meekness, and humility, and prayer.
There will He come, yet, coming, even there
He stands and waits, and will no entrance win
Until the latch be lifted from within.