THE WORD
Heb 11,32-40 / 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 has 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 drowned. The swineherds ran away and reported the incident in the town and throughout the countryside. And people came out to see what 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 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 he 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.
IN OTHER WORDS
It is very ironical that many people in our present generation tend to deny the existence of God and even the belief in Jesus as the only begotten son of God, despite being raised in a Christian environment. Lots of reasons explain why people cease to believe in God, or even deny Jesus. What seems ironic is, as shown in today's gospel, is that the devil himself believes in God and even professes that Jesus is indeed the Son of the most high. Human beings who are born good refuse to believe in the absolute good who is God; on the contrary, the devils believe in the power of the most high.
Human beings' denial of God's existence is influenced by various factors including their choices and lifestyles. Others would simply deny their faith in God because they want to conceal and justify their wrong doings. From the standpoint of faith, this justification is the devil's strategy to lure humans away from God. This twisted mentality makes people believe that there is nothing wrong with what they are doing because accordingly, the ultimate measure of sinfulness or not (right or wrong), depends solely on how you feel about it. This self-centered justification process offers a very enticing desire to be in control and judge of everything, which will definitely distort our relationship with God.
In our modern secularized society, it is a continuous challenge to become witnesses of Jesus here on earth. Though we are surrounded with different challenges, it is our primary Christian responsibility to continue the mission that Jesus started thousands of years ago, to gather the lost souls and bring back to God those who go astray.
- Fr. Roger Solis, SVD (HNU, Bohol)
The Word in other words 2017
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
