Word to the Wise
Monday, January 31, 2022 - Monday in the 4th Week in Ordinary Time
[2 Sam 15:13-14, 30; 16:5-13 and Mark 5:1-20]As he 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, "God 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. [Mark]
JANUARY 31 ST. JOHN BOSCO, SDB
The fascinating details of the story of the Gerasene demoniac in the Gospel According to Mark are dangerous because they can distract from the central point of the story and the reason why Mark the evangelist included it in his gospel portrait of Jesus. The demoniac is so strong that chains cannot hold him. He stays in a graveyard and wanders in that neighborhood yelling and using rocks to hurt himself! The demon (s?) inside him recognizes Jesus but doesn't want to be expelled. Jesus lets him/them go into a huge herd of pigs! It's quite a colorful scene. However, the point of the story is bigger than the details which don't add up geographically. There were probably two stories of the event that were melded into one by the time the evangelist got the material.
First of all, the story is about Jesus' power over even the strongest of demons. Second, the reaction of the people to Jesus' power is not belief but fear! This is in keeping with the overall theme of Mark that true faith comes only with acceptance of the cross and resurrection. Third, the man healed of the demon is not commanded to follow after Jesus but to go home and proclaim what has happened to him. Discipleship does not always mean immediate abandonment of everything to follow Jesus.
Questions we might ask of ourselves could concern how we view Jesus' power to help us with our own stubborn demons. Are we secretly (or not so secretly) afraid of such power? Can we recognize such a powerful person in the terrible powerless condition of the cross? We can't let the noise of the scene (2,000 pigs are pretty noisy) distract us! AMEN