Readings: Galatians 3:23-29; Luke 8:26-39
`There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.` (Gal 3:28). This statement by Paul upset the orthodox Jews but more importantly it was a radical challenge to the Roman Empire. It threatened to undermine their economic and social structure, for 30 to 40% of the population were slaves and women were second class citizens. The pyramid of Roman society was being turned upside down through the small Christian communities being established through Paul`s missionary work. To be `In Christ Jesus` was to be a member of a Christian share community where everybody accepted and supported each other irrespective of race, sex, age or social standing. These communities attracted the poor, orphans, slaves, widows as well as wealthier people. These small communities increased rapidly. Within 300 years Christianity was challenging Roman Paganism as the dominant religion and was adopted officially by Emperor Constantine. For the new ideas about the way to live that Jesus taught took 300 years to be widely accepted.

Down through the ages the hopes and expectations of the Jewish people was that `The earth is the Lord`s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; (Ps 24:1). That is - the resources of the earth are to be fairly distributed as a world for all God`s people. In contrast the Roman Domination System believed that `They owned the earth and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;` and that their gods validated this Imperial Vision by their constant victories in Wars that brought the whole known world of 60 million people under their control. They adapted the mythologies of Homer and Virgil to prove that the Romans were destined by the gods to rule `an empire without end` and to `manifest the gods` will and blessings.` This became enshrined in Temple rituals and animal sacrifices and spectacular displays of Roman power in Coliseums where they tortured and killed their enemies for entertainment. All subsequent Empires have followed a similar model - of the few dominating the many - even in England where in the days of the British Empire, the study of the Classics of Homer and Virgil at Oxford and Cambridge Universities was used to prepare people for employment in the British Foreign Service. My Latin was so abysmal that I turned to science.

To expose the demonic impact of Roman Imperialism on ordinary people, Luke in our reading today tells a parable about Jesus and an impoverished man from the gentile country of the Gerasenes across the sea in Galilee. The story tells of a man who:

`For a long time...had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs.` `He cried for release from his torment`for `he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds`.
Asking the name of his oppressive demons Jesus is told, `Legion`, a reference to the 2600 strong cohorts of the Roman Military that enforced the domination system through chronic violence, torture and crucifixion.

Predicting such violence would self destruct –the demons go into to a large herd of swine, (unclean to the Jews), which rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.

Their ability to recognise these events was not easy for `the people of Gerasene came out to see what had happened ... they were afraid` but could see that `the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed` - But they could not overcome their fear of a different way of being `So all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave; ... So he got into the boat and returned to the other side of the Lake`.

Even today we are fearful of confronting the domination systems of our world that are destroying the earth and climate before our own eyes.

But the man who was set free of his demons did not resile: `he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him`- using his new found freedom to create a better world for others - and that is our Mission as Christians.

Many people who have to flee their country and are feared by us, turn into brilliant citizens when given freedom and education. Springing to mind is Hieu Nguyen the Vietnamese orphan turned brilliant surgeon that Margaret and I owe our good health. Also Akram Azimi, a Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, voted Young Australian of the Year for his compassionate work with children in Northern Australia and Africa.

Sadly Domination Systems continue as a reality of our World. Wherever there is competition for finite resources there will be winners and losers. To narrow the gap, nature has blessed us with the God given gift of compassion so that war and violence is not the outcome.

This is Good News for our Times

Dr Jim Doty a Neuroscientist who I met at the Parliament of World Religions in Melbourne in 2009, asks `Why, in a country that consumes 25% of the world`s resources (the U.S.), is there an epidemic of loneliness, depression, and anxiety? Why do so many in the West who have all of their basic needs met still feel impoverished? While some politicians might answer, `It`s the economy, stupid,` based on scientific evidence, a better answer is, `It`s the lack of compassion, stupid.`

His Holiness the Dalai Lama said: `If we say, oh, the practice of compassion is something holy, nobody will listen. If we say, warm-heartedness really reduces your blood pressure, your anxiety, your stress and improves your health, then people pay attention.`

What exactly is compassion? Compassion is the recognition of another`s suffering and a desire to alleviate that suffering. Often brushed off as a hippy dippy religious term irrelevant in modern society, rigorous empirical data supports the view of all major world religions: compassion is good. In animal studies the term is empathy - but it is the same characteristic that has been documented in many species including humans.

Jim Doty says `Our poverty in the West is not that of the wallet but rather that of social connectedness. In this modern world where often times both parents work, we are spending less time as a family. People are living farther away from extended families and perhaps more disconnected than ever before. We thrive under conditions of social connection but that trust and levels of community engagement are on the decline. Loneliness is on the rise and is one of the leading reasons people are seeking counselling.`

The Challenge of spreading the religion of Compassion remains even greater today and the Church is a vital catalyst in this task.