The time for their conversion was yet to come
The text about the expulsion of unclean spirits in pigs was chosen by Dostoyevsky as the motto for his novel “Demons”. In this way, the text of today's Gospel is for Dostoyevsky a prayer that the Lord Jesus would deign to cleanse our earth today from these various devils of nihilism, materialism and anarchy, which wander among us and try to control us, and sometimes really reign over us.
First, let us recall that both the sea and the pigs were carriers of negative symbolic content in contemporary culture. Of course, all God's creatures are good, and if we attribute negative symbols to some creatures, it does not change the fact that both the sea and the pigs are good creatures of God, and as such are good.
However, today's Gospel evokes this negative symbolism. Namely, pigs for the Jewish mentality are unclean animals, while the sea was for their mentality a symbol of the destructive forces of evil. Since the Hebrews were a shepherd and agricultural nation, they had contact with the sea only accidentally, hence the sea environment frightened them above all and terrified them. It is enough to remember that in the description of the new earth and new heaven, as found in the Apocalypse, it was clearly stated that "the sea is no more" (Rev 21: 1).
I emphasize once again that both the sea and the pigs are God's charming creatures, but symbolically pigs are unclean animals, and the sea was treated at that time as a habitat of chaos, disorder and destruction. Therefore, driving out the evil spirits in pigs and sending them to the sea, into the abyss of the sea, is a foreshadowing and a promise that the Lord Jesus wants and can purify us and our various environments in the same way.
He wants and can free us from various unclean spirits that sometimes rule us. He has the power to free us from the evil spirit of hatred, from the spirit of lies, the spirit of fornication, the spirit of greed, the spirit of selfishness, and various other unclean spirits that want to distance us from God. The question remains, however, whether we really care that He should free us from these various impurities.
It is also worth paying attention to the reaction of the local people to the miracle performed by Jesus: they asked him to leave their land. Were they terrified by the material loss they suffered? Certainly yes. It seems, however, that this was not the only reason for their attitude. It was still a pagan nation. Jesus' powerful miracles terrified these people. They were not ready yet. The time for their conversion was yet to come. Jesus' disciples will soon be preaching the Good News in these areas. He took the first step - he interfered very strongly and specifically. The essence is not the fact that He is not understood or accepted. The seed has been thrown. This is much better shown in the account of Mark, in which the liberated man received from Jesus the command to bear witness to his healing, which he also eagerly did. Luke says similarly. Matthew does not mention it, but it does not prevent us from believing in the meaning and purposefulness of Jesus' miracle.
We will announce what the Lord in his mercy has done for us (cf. Mk 5:19).
Until Tomorrow
fr. george