Word to the Wise
Monday, February 1, 2010 - Monday in the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
[2 Samuel 15:13-14, 30; 16:5-13 and Mark 5:1-20]As [Jesus] was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed pleaded to remain with him. But Jesus would not permit him but told him instead, "Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you." Then the man went off and began to proclaim in the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him; and all were amazed.
The man in this incident is the one known as the "Gerasene Demoniac." The story is dramatic because of the description of the man, the power of the demon, and Jesus dialog with it and subsequent exorcism by allowing it (or them) to go into a herd of pigs who promptly drown themselves. No matter how dramatic the story, the evangelist, Mark, has used it for a purpose. No doubt this was one of the stories about Jesus that was circulating at the time the gospels were being written down. Both Luke and Matthew repeat the story with minor variations. It is unusual in that Jesus goes into Gentile territory bordering the Dead Sea. We have already seen in the Gospel of Mark that Jesus has power over demons, This power is now demonstrated to non-Jewish people who become afraid of him and beg him to leave. Jesus does not even permit the formerly possessed man to follow him as a disciple but simply tells the man to announce to his family what had happened. Of course, the guy tells everybody! In any case, Jesus probably felt the man was not yet ready for discipleship. This is not the only time that Jesus takes pity on a non-Jewish person. The Syro-Phoenician (Canaanite) woman with the sick daughter comes to mind. The story teaches us that Jesus' power can even go beyond the boundaries of faith. This should give us pause when we are inclined to consider God's working in those who do not share the Judaeo-Christian heritage that we have. AMEN
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