PEOPLE IN NEED
Introduction
The author of Hebrews gives praise to the faith of great men and women of the Old Testament: Kings and other leaders, prophets, martyrs. Even if they did not yet know Christ, they had great faith.
On his first journey to pagan territory, Jesus cures a possessed man. Biblical scholars generally accept the historical foundation of this strange incident, namely, that Jesus took pity on a sick man and revealed his divine power to the pagans. Much of the rest may be a midrash, a sort of free allegorical theological commentary in rabbinic style. For the Jews had a very low opinion of pagans. They were slaves of demons, living in impure places of death, like tombs, and not much better than pigs. In any case, Jesus is not limited by boundaries and goes to these most alienated people, but they do not accept him. Only the man who is healed shows faith in Jesus.
Heb 11:32-40
I could go on and on, but I’ve run out of time. There are so many more—Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets. . . . Through acts of faith, they toppled kingdoms, made justice work, took the promises for themselves. They were protected from lions, fires, and sword thrusts, turned disadvantage to advantage, won battles, routed alien armies. Women received their loved ones back from the dead. There were those who, under torture, refused to give in and go free, preferring something better: resurrection. Others braved abuse and whips, and, yes, chains and dungeons. We have stories of those who were stoned, sawed in two, murdered in cold blood; stories of vagrants wandering the earth in animal skins, homeless, friendless, powerless—the world didn’t deserve them!—making their way as best they could on the cruel edges of the world. Not one of these people, even though their lives of faith were exemplary, got their hands on what was promised. God had a better plan for us: that their faith and our faith would come together to make one completed whole, their lives of faith not complete apart from ours.
Mk 5:1-20
They arrived on the other side of the sea in the country of the Gerasenes. As Jesus got out of the boat, a madman from the cemetery came up to him. He lived there among the tombs and graves. No one could restrain him—he couldn’t be chained, couldn’t be tied down. He had been tied up many times with chains and ropes, but he broke the chains, snapped the ropes. No one was strong enough to tame him. Night and day he roamed through the graves and the hills, screaming out and slashing himself with sharp stones. When he saw Jesus a long way off, he ran and bowed in worship before him—then howled in protest, “What business do you have, Jesus, Son of the High God, messing with me? I swear to God, don’t give me a hard time!” (Jesus had just commanded the tormenting evil spirit, “Out! Get out of the man!”) Jesus asked him, “Tell me your name.” He replied, “My name is Mob. I’m a rioting mob.” Then he desperately begged Jesus not to banish them from the country. A large herd of pigs was grazing and rooting on a nearby hill. The demons begged him, “Send us to the pigs so we can live in them.” Jesus gave the order. But it was even worse for the pigs than for the man. Crazed, they stampeded over a cliff into the sea and drowned. Those tending the pigs, scared to death, bolted and told their story in town and country. Everyone wanted to see what had happened. They came up to Jesus and saw the madman sitting there wearing decent clothes and making sense, no longer a walking madhouse of a man. Those who had seen it told the others what had happened to the demon-possessed man and the pigs. At first they were in awe—and then they were upset, upset over the drowned pigs. They demanded that Jesus leave and not come back. As Jesus was getting into the boat, the demon-delivered man begged to go along, but he wouldn’t let him. Jesus said, “Go home to your own people. Tell them your story—what the Master did, how he had mercy on you.” The man went back and began to preach in the Ten Towns area about what Jesus had done for him. He was the talk of the town.
Prayer
Lord, our God,
through your Son, Jesus Christ,
you showed your concerned love
even to the most pitiable of people.
Inspire among us too people who care,
and may our own words and gestures
always reflect the love without boundaries
of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Reflection:
4th Week in Ordinary Time– Monday
30 January 2023
Mark 5:1-20
May lose not even one …
Gabriele Maria Allegra was born on 25 December 1907. He was ordained a priest in Rome on 20 July 1930. Surrounded by wide fame of Holiness, admired for his Franciscan simplicity and for his constant and endearing smile, he served the poor and the lepers of Coloane in Macau, and he died on 26 January, 1976 in Hong Kong. The translation of the entire Bible in Chinese, became the boldest “project” of his life. He was beatified on 29 September 2012 by pope Benedict XVI.
The herd of about 2000 swine could not stand the number of evil spirits that had possessed one man of the territory of Gerasenes. When Jesus drove out the legion from this possessed man, they went into the herd of swine, but those animals opted to die than be possessed by the legion. The herd of swine prefer death to a life of being possessed.
A person living in sin is under the possession of evil forces. And they are not even aware of how bad their condition is. But Jesus takes the initiative to search for this person to set him free. The only thing Jesus could do in this region was to heal this person from the legion, and then he was forced to leave their shores. It appeared as if his only purpose in crossing over the sea was to save this one man from the demons. We see here the image of a shepherd who searches for his one lost sheep, and once he finds it, he returns home!
After the Ascension of Jesus, the disciples travelled to far-off places, bringing the message of Jesus, fighting the forces of evil. The reaction of the townsfolks in today’s gospel represents the reaction of people to the Message of Jesus. People were furious at their financial loss and cared little about the healing of the possessed man.
Even today, for many people, even among our Catholic friends, it is not easy to choose between financial gains or personal benefits and matters of faith.
How often do we make excuses for failing to take care of our spiritual life because we have something more important to do? Are we any different from the people of Gerasenes?
Saving one lost sheep was good enough for the continuation of the mission. The man who got cured went around the whole region of the Ten Cities – the Decapolis – and proclaimed what Jesus had done for him. God has his ways of reaching his people because, after all, it is his Mission.
Do not look for excuses if you feel God is calling you for his mission! Do not be disheartened when faced with the absence of response or rejection from the people.
The efficacy of the Mission is not measured according to the number of baptisms! – go in search of the lost sheep, even if only one was lost. There are hundreds of sick people or homeless people around us. Do not be disheartened by the magnitude of the problem and your helplessness. Instead, let us show our attention to all of them.