可5:1-20 格拉森的人

1 They arrived on the other side of the sea in the country of the Gerasenes.

2 As Jesus got out of the boat, a madman from the cemetery came up to him. 

3 He lived there among the tombs and graves. No one could restrain him - he couldn't be chained, couldn't be tied down. 

4 He had been tied up many times with chains and ropes, but he broke the chains, snapped the ropes. No one was strong enough to tame him. 

5 Night and day he roamed through the graves and the hills, screaming out and slashing himself with sharp stones. 

6 When he saw Jesus a long way off, he ran and bowed in worship before him - 

7 then bellowed in protest, "What business do you have, Jesus, Son of the High God, messing with me? I swear to God, don't give me a hard time!" 

8 (Jesus had just commanded the tormenting evil spirit, "Out! Get out of the man!") 

9 Jesus asked him, "Tell me your name."

10 Then he desperately begged Jesus not to banish them from the country.

11 A large herd of pigs was browsing and rooting on a nearby hill. 

12 The demons begged him, "Send us to the pigs so we can live in them." 

13Jesus gave the order. But it was even worse for the pigs than for the man. Crazed, they stampeded over a cliff into the sea and drowned. 

14 Those tending the pigs, scared to death, bolted and told their story in town and country. Everyone wanted to see what had happened. 

15 They came up to Jesus and saw the madman sitting there wearing decent clothes and making sense, no longer a walking madhouse of a man. 

16 Those who had seen it told the others what had happened to the demon-possessed man and the pigs. 

17 At first they were in awe - and then they were upset, upset over the drowned pigs. They demanded that Jesus leave and not come back. 

18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the demon-delivered man begged to go along, 

19 but he wouldn't let him. Jesus said, "Go home to your own people. Tell them your story - what the Master did, how he had mercy on you." 

20 The man went back and began to preach in the Ten Towns area about what Jesus had done for him. He was the talk of the town. 

        自神學院畢業後，羊媽好久都沒有查聖經的背景資料了。最近聽羊爸給小羊講故事，發現原來他平常的閱讀不單幫助他對研經課的講解更加的深入，原來對小孩講故事時也用得上。在網上搜了一下有關格拉森的資料，看到原來在現今的格拉森有很多古老的教堂遺址，看著這裡些教堂遺址的圖片，想起了那個人⋯⋯羊爸叫他『墓園怪魔』（嗚⋯⋯嗚⋯⋯）

 

     在陰森恐怖的鬼叫聲中，諾諾立刻把家裡所有的燈都關上，情情拉上房間的𥦬廉，再和咚咚一起縮坐在沙發上，羊爸今天要講「鬼」故事⋯⋯風雨過後，耶穌和門徒上岸，來到了格拉森。相傳格拉森有個可怕的森林，林中有埋了很多死人的墓圖，那裡陰森鬼氣，大霧迷曚，沒有人敢靠近，因為裡面住了一個可怕的－－『墓園怪魔』！！ 淒慘的哭聲，呻吟聲，墓園的烏鴉聲（羊媽扮），羊爸邊說邊扮演這隻『墓園怪魔』，只差沒有把鎖鏈拴在腳上（如果有他肯定會拴上），差點把三隻小羊嚇半死⋯⋯（此段加了很多想像，年幼孩子的家長請注意，我們家小孩是自小和羊爸玩「黑暗國王」練膽的。註：黑暗國王是羊爸自創的瘋狂遊戲，其實就是他扮成黑暗國王躲在全黑的房間，突然彈出來和孩子對砍，容許孩子自備武器，羊爸說可以幫助孩子練勇氣，孩子們都喜歡，不過羊媽對這種遊戲的正面果效一直存疑）。

       為免孩子過渡興奮，羊爸開了燈，用回人聲繼續講⋯⋯原來這個『墓園怪魔』並非什麼鬼怪，而是一個可憐人。沒有人知道他的過去經歷了什麼，不過一定是很淒慘，才會被人鎖在墓園，也許是他自己選擇留在死人的地方，因為那裡只少有沒有人用石頭打他⋯⋯耶穌憐憫了這個可憐人，把他身上的一堆鬼趕到豬群，人正常了，那群豬卻發瘋沖下山崖。然而，接下來故事中我們很看不見與父母相認、朋友擁愛的溫馨場面，格拉森人群似乎對那人很冷漠，更加沒有人關心如何幫他重返社會，人關心的竟然是那些跳了崖的豬，甚至因為那群死豬氣得把耶穌趕走。一個曾被社會隔離、被丟棄，清醒後發現一無所有，在旁人眼中連豬都不如的人，要重新振作談何容易，然而，耶穌並沒有「收留」他，讓他跟著走，卻給了他一個使命，叫他回去他的城裡作見証，用了另一種很棒的方式來跟從主，影響了格拉森這地方。
     對小朋友來說，他們很少會遇見那麼慘的人，羊爸問：你們身邊有沒有遇見一些沒有人喜歡的人？有沒有一些小朋友常常孤令令一個，沒有朋友和他一起玩？對妹妹來說，有媽媽就夠了，不過，上小學的哥哥們開始體會到同學間被接納是多重要了。死黨老友記之間的暗語、口號、秘密基地是多麼的美好，但是一旦遭朋友冷落，多麼的令人傷心。趁機羊媽也讓哥哥們分享了一下他們在學校時一些不如意的經歷，大哥說，當他說俄語用錯字時，小朋友會笑他（好可憐噢），不過他說後來小朋友一起幫他改正，他也不太難過了；二哥想到了曾因一個小朋友上體育課時常常擠他而不想去上體育課，後來，那個常常擠他弄他的那個小朋友卻成為了他的最好的朋友，天天手牽手。
   主耶穌從來不放棄任何一個人，他給予故事中那個人一個新的人生任務，給了他重新走近人群的勇氣。 我們家的小羊，什麼時候明白到主耶穌給他們的任務呢？可知每個孩子在上帝和爸爸媽媽的心中都是多麼的特別、多麼可愛呀！但願他們能樂觀面對人生中的不如意，能因愛而堅強、能承擔上帝給予的使命、能愛己愛人。