Swine

My bible reading today was Mark Chapter 5: The Healing of a Demon-possessed Man. I like the story because it puzzles me, like I'm not quite getting the significance. It's preceded by a chapter of parables and we are told that "Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable" (Matthew 13:34). It has a flavour of the parable about it and yet it isn't. This man is a liability- even when chained he breaks free and hits himself with rocks. And yet Jesus talks to him. And negotiates with the demons? And what are the pigs doing in a place where pigs are felt to be unclean? I'd have been really annoyed had I been the pig farmer and I'd lost all my stock that day. In fact, Jesus is asked to leave. I wonder whether the villagers had base-ball bats?
Great story...