30-Jan-17

Gospel MK 5:1-20
Jesus and his disciples came to the other side of the sea,
to the territory of the Gerasenes.
When he got out of the boat,
at once a man from the tombs who had an unclean spirit met him.
The man had been dwelling among the tombs,
and no one could restrain him any longer, even with a chain.
In fact, he had frequently been bound with shackles and chains,
but the chains had been pulled apart by him and the shackles smashed,
and no one was strong enough to subdue him.
Night and day among the tombs and on the hillsides
he was always crying out and bruising himself with stones.
Catching sight of Jesus from a distance,
he ran up and prostrated himself before him,
crying out in a loud voice,
"What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?
I adjure you by God, do not torment me!"
(He had been saying to him, "Unclean spirit, come out of the man!")
He asked him, "What is your name?"
He replied, "Legion is my name. There are many of us."
And he pleaded earnestly with him
not to drive them away from that territory.

Now a large herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside.
And they pleaded with him,
"Send us into the swine. Let us enter them."
And he let them, and the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine.
The herd of about two thousand rushed down a steep bank into the sea,
where they were drowned.
The swineherds ran away and reported the incident in the town
and throughout the countryside.
And people came out to see what had happened.
As they approached Jesus,
they caught sight of the man who had been possessed by Legion,
sitting there clothed and in his right mind.
And they were seized with fear.
Those who witnessed the incident explained to them what had happened
to the possessed man and to the swine.
Then they began to beg him to leave their district.
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,
"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.
Reflection:
"When he got out of the boat, at once a man from the tombs who had an unclean spirit met him."
For all things there is an opposite: up-down, over-under, in-out.
If we acknowledge that there is good in the world then we must also admit that evil exists.
We often choose not to confront the evil that we see, even in ourselves.
It can be easier to ignore or side-step evil, to pretend it isn't there.
Jesus never side-stepped evil.
The gospel stories of Jesus driving out demons were not written to prove the existence of evil. They were recorded to assure future followers of Jesus that the love of God is more powerful than evil.
(He had been saying to him, "Unclean spirit, come out of the man!")
He asked him, "What is your name?"
Before we can confront evil, we must identify it by name.
In today's world, evil takes on many names: prejudice, discrimination, greed, starving children, and the destruction of the earth; just to name the most obvious.
Do I change the channel when I see starving and emaciated children appear on the television screen?
What would we call a person who could stand by and ignore the needs of a starving child? Would their name be "Indifference?"
When I look in the mirror and ask, "Who is the person that I see?"
Do I see a follower of Jesus Christ, or do I also see someone whose name is "Indifference?"
Help me, Father, to have the courage of Christ so that I may confront the evil of my own indifference.
"The heaviest weight you will ever lift is the problem you refuse to confront." - - Unknown