Monday of the
Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
(Hebrews 11:32-40; Mark 5:1-20)
In the final scene of George Bernard Shaw’s play Saint Joan, the protagonist appears in a
dream. She has been convicted of heresy,
executed, but then exonerated and made a saint.
She now proposes that she work a miracle and return to her people. But no one in the dream thinks it a good
idea. They say that the world is not
ready for saints like her. The gospel
passage today has a similar conclusion.
Jesus has just resolved one of the Gerasene territory’s
biggest problems. The man who was possessed
by demons and terrorizing the people now sits as graciously as a
butterfly. You would think that the
people should thank Jesus and invite him to dinner. But they ask him to leave their area. True, the taming of the strongman did result
in the loss of a herd of pigs. However,
the reason for the people’s desire that Jesus distance himself lies
deeper. His evident holiness makes them
painfully aware of their own sinfulness.
Rather than seek his mercy, they beg that he move on.
We may not directly ask Jesus to leave, but our response
to Jesus’ presence may be little better.
We often refuse to acknowledge him.
We neither ask his help nor follow his example. Instead, we often choose to worry about our
problems and curse our luck if not rivals.
But he is there to cast out the demons that get us worked up. We only have to open ourselves to him.
