Good morning!

This morning I reflect on the political subversiveness of sending demons into a herd of pigs.

But first, here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Friday, February 12, 2021
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REMINDER: Sunday is National Hallmark Profit Day, er, Valentine’s Day. You have been warned. ❤️ 

• If you have ever watched livestreams of the Texas Senate or House of Representatives proceedings, you might wonder who some of those faces are... and what they’re doing. Jeramy Kitchen explains who the various officers are in the chambers – elected and appointed – and their role in the legislative process.

• Nearly a third of the membership of the Texas House signed a letter to the commissioner overseeing the Texas Education Agency asking that students be allowed to skip state-mandated testing this year. Their reason? Concerns about the Chinese coronavirus.
   
• Of course.
   
• Tera Collum reports the lawmakers say 46 percent of students – nearly 2.5 million – are still “attending” via remote online instruction.
   
• In response, Education Commissioner Mike Morath announced that online-only students would be allowed to opt out of the exam.

• As Texans suffer the economic effects of government shutdowns and restrictions, Robert Montoya reports that a publication for local officials encouraged county governments to increase the debt-load on taxpayers.
   
• Texas County Progress, a publication of County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas (CJCAT), featured an article in late 2020 encouraging county officials to increase taxpayer debt to pay for “routine capital items” such as “Law Enforcement Vehicles,” road repair, and radios. CJCAT claims their membership includes every county judge and county commissioner in the state.
   
• Fiscal conservatives disagree with Texas County Progress’ recommendation.
   
• “Instead of using tax notes to finance routine capital items, counties should be setting aside adequate funds on an annual basis to cover the cost of future expenses.” – James Quintero, Texas Public Policy Foundation

• For most Texans, attending a local government meeting isn’t exactly at the top of their “fun things to do” list for 9:45 p.m. on a Friday, but that’s precisely when the Democrat-run Austin City Council will meet to discuss a city-altering decision. Jacob Asmussen reports the unusual meeting time has been dictated by the council’s rush to strengthen the mayoral post and add a council seat ahead of the May election.
     
• In other news, the City of Austin recently “decommissioned” a new website after years of work and spending over $3 million on its development. Adam Cahn notes that a similar project in Houston cost one-tenth that amount.

Friday Reflection

When reading the four New Testament accounts of Jesus, one occasionally comes across the phrase “the other side.” This isn’t some mystical reference; it turns out “the other side” is simply the other side of the Sea of Galilee. This is where one of the most subversive accounts of the New Testament takes place, but it is easy for modern eyes to miss.

The west side of the Sea of Galilee was what the ancients saw as Israel proper. The east... not so much. Yes, some Jews lived there. But it was less prestigious, especially if you were a first century Jew, because the land there was given to Roman soldiers as a reward for military service. In the Jewish perspective of the day, it just wasn’t the right neighborhood.

It was in that “wrong neighborhood” where I found myself and companions staring down the steep embankment of a cliff and into the waters of the sea. Because it is one of the few cliffs along the sea in the region, there is a high degree of certainty this is where that most subversive of New Testament accounts took place.

In the Gospel of Mark we read Jesus’ ministry took him to “the other side” where He and His disciples came across a demon-possessed man. The demon, speaking through the man, begged not to be “tormented” by Jesus. When Jesus asks the demon’s name, the response is “Legion, for we are many.” Jesus then allows the demons to leave the man and enter a herd of pigs – which then ran over the cliff to their death on the rocks below.

Too many modern pastors go straight for the spiritual aspects of this passage, skipping past the delicious, practical subversiveness of it.

You see the literal Roman Legion was set up not far away. This was Rome’s main military outpost in the region set in place to suppress Jewish dissidents. And don’t forget: pork was a mainstay of the Roman military’s diet.

So when word that Jesus sent demons named Legion out of a man and into a herd of unclean beasts, which in turn committed mass suicide, it would not have endeared Him to the occupying Romans or their sycophants in the ruling elite of Jerusalem.

Tyrannical regimes never have a sense of humor – but our loving God most clearly does. More importantly, God is always willing to come to the “other side” to save us where we are. We must never forget that Jesus came as a liberator, even if not exactly in the way people envisioned.

The subversiveness continues. As Israel was occupied by the Romans, all of us are held captive by sin. Through Jesus, the sins that enslave us – like the demon-infested pigs – will be dashed on the rocks and washed away.