Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 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 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.
God sets you free
1) A man came out from the tombs, from a cemetery. This represents a person who lives in isolation, or even worse, one who lives in the past, clinging to his memories, which are lifeless. Please don’t get me wrong: I don’t want to touch a sore spot when I refer to the cemetery. I mean a person who is isolated and is constantly going back to the past, turning back to things that are no longer there and that cannot exist in the present or the future. Are you isolated and living amongst tombs? Living in a place where there is no future, no life, where you don’t want to generate things, generate life?
2) Unclean, impure. We must assume that we can be taken to certain places of filth, of garbage. The unclean spirits, Legion, are allowed to enter the swine, which are raised in places that are messy and mucky… Don’t fall low, as into a human pigsty – I mean, those places where everything said has a double sense or where gossip abounds, places where there is no growth, places where your soul gets dirty, where your head and your heart get soiled… If it’s necessary to cut loose from places like that, do so, don’t hesitate, because the only thing you will obtain is garbage, filth. And that can bring diseases like pornography, gossip, insecurity… That leads you to impurity, to get accustomed to living in sin or justifying sin.
3) That’s why we seek to be healthy again. The possessed man is cured, the Lord restores his health. He goes back to normality. God wants to heal you and He wants to lead you to live fully as part of a community, together with others. You’re part of the life of a community and you have your life, which is valuable. God cleanses you and reinserts you in society. Whoever has God always has an opportunity.
God bless you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Take care!
Don’t forget: Heaven is our goal!
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