The readings for the third Sunday after Pentecost are:
1 Kings, chapter 19, verses 1 to 4, then 8 to 15. (Elijah and the still small voice)
Psalm 42, verses 1 to 7. (Longing for God)
Galatians chapter 3, verses 10 to14, then 23 to 29 (The curse of the Law, the freedom of faith)
Luke, chapter 8, verses 26 to 39 (The Gerasene Demoniac - or the story of the Gadarene Swine)

As I was looking through the readings for today, I was struck by the violence in them.

The story of Elijah is one of murder, vengeance and fear. There is violence in nature, in the storm, the earthquake and the fire.

The Gospel is about madness, chains and shackles, spiritual warfare, fear and rejection, imprisonment and release.

Paul's letter to the Galatians speaks of the curse of the law, the curse of hanging on a tree and the blessing we have through Christ.

Even the psalm, which has that lovely image of a deer longing for flowing streams of water, even the psalm has overtones of grief and loneliness. I began to wonder where the good news is hidden in these passages.

Then I remembered the prophecy Matthew's gospel made by John the Baptist, as, "Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

"I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

I remembered, too, Jesus' words in Matthew 10:34 "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword."

From these words, and the readings we have today, it seems that the Kingdom of Heaven is more than sight to the blind, healing for the sick and good news for the poor. Close contact with God is often frightening, violent and demanding.

In the Gospel for today, Jesus and his disciples leave the safety of Jewish Galilee, for the unknown territory of the Gentiles, the country of the Gerasenes. The Gentiles were supposed to be outside God's promise, so anything might happen in their country. It is no surprise, perhaps, that Jesus is met by a naked and raving man, possessed by demons, living, not in a house, but among the tombs of the dead. This man is totally accursed. Firstly, he is a gentile, secondly he has demons, and thirdly he lives among the dead.

Then this accursed man is confronted by Jesus, Son of the Most High God. Jesus' words are not reported directly, but, in contrast to Jesus' quietness, the man shouts at the top of his voice. We might compare this encounter to the encounter between Elijah and God - God was not in the storm, nor in the earthquake or the fire or in the madman's shouting. God's voice could only be heard in the sound of sheer silence which followed. The still small voice of calm. As Jesus confronts the demons, he gives them permission to go into the pigs, and the pigs rush violently down the cliff to be drowned. The scene ends, as it has begun, with violence. In the struggle between God and the forces of evil, God is victorious.

But there is more. The local people realize that something great and powerful has happened - the man who was possessed is now sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. But instead of rejoicing, they are afraid, and beg Jesus to leave.

The scripture says that they were seized with great fear. Why? Were they wondering where the demons might turn up next? Or was it something else? Perhaps it was that they had learned to cope with the man and his demons. They had seized him many times, he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, and even though he had escaped they knew that he would be among the tombs and they could find him again. Perhaps they saw in Jesus the power of God revealed, and here was a greater power than the demons. What would God do next? What would God do in their own lives? The Gerasenes, like most people, did not want to change their lives, and the power of God confronted them and made demands on them which they did not want to meet. No wonder they wanted Jesus to leave! I guess that this same worry was going through Elijah's mind. At the command of God he has been struggling to re-establish worship of the Lord in Israel. Queen Jezebel, who supported worship of Baal, is after his blood. Elijah has fled for his life, and now he has had enough. The Israelites have forsaken the covenant with God, thrown down God's altars and killed all God's prophets but Elijah, and now he has almost given up his prophetic ministry. He has hidden in a cave, alone and depressed, hiding from Jezebel and hiding from God.

But you cannot hide from God.

An angel of the Lord comes with a challenge. God is about to pass by the mountain. First comes in a great wind, a mighty earthquake and a raging fire, heralding the approach of the Most High God. Then there is silence - the old translation of the Bible calls it a "still, small voice," - and Elijah did what the Gerasene people were afraid to do, he came out of his cave, in fear, with his face wrapped in his mantle and, in the quiet after the power of God had passed by, he listened.

In the story of the Gerasenes, the power of God passed by also. Jesus got into the boat and returned, but there was a voice left behind to speak to the Gerasenes - the man from whom the demons had gone out, and he went throughout the city, proclaiming how much Jesus had done for him.

Today, we Christians live in a very different world from that of Elijah or the Gerasenes. Our world is much more complicated and busy, it is full of noise and action. The noise we hear comes from our streets and our homes, our televisions, mobile phones, traffic on the road and in the air, rather than from winds, earthquakes and fires. Our world is also full of violence which is not the power of God at work, but the human violence directed against other humans. This makes it all the more important for us to see where God is at work in a world where so much is happening, and to hear the voice of God against a very noisy background.

This is hard for us to do. We are all busy, very busy, and our ancestors would be astonished at the amount we are trying to fit into our lives. This makes it all the more important for us to stop and listen for the words of God and to act upon them. If we do not, we will be like Elijah in his cave, hidden away from the world and taking no part in it. Worse still, we may be like the Gerasenes, who saw the power of God at work, but wanted nothing to do with it, because it upset and frightened them. At least Elijah eventually listened and was obedient to God, and he is remembered and respected by three great world religions. And there was one Gerasene who was grateful for what God had done for him, and he is remembered in the gospel. As for the Gerasenes who wanted Jesus to go away and not bother them - they have vanished from history, and nobody knows what happened to them - even the site of their city has disappeared.

Let us pray that we may have the wisdom to listen to God, may we have the courage to do what God asks of us, may we be hearers and doers of the word of God, for of such people Jesus said, … "My mother and my brothers and sisters are those who hear the word of God and do it."