Gospel: February 3, 2025
February 3, 2025 (Monday)
4th Week in Ordinary Time
Psalter: Week 4 (Green/White/Red)
St. Ansgar, bishop
St. Blase, bishop and martyr
Ps 31:20, 21, 22, 23, 24
Let your hearts take comfort, all who hope in the Lord.
1st Reading: Hebrews 11:32-40
Do I need to say more? There is not enough time to speak of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, as well as Samuel and the prophets. Through faith, they fought and conquered nations, established justice, saw the fulfillment of God’s promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the sword, were healed of their sicknesses; they were weak people, who were given strength, to be brave in battle and repulse foreign invaders.
Some women recovered their dead by resurrection, but there were others—persecuted and tortured believers—who, for the sake of a better resurrection, refused to do what would have saved them. Others suffered chains and prison. They were stoned, sawn in two, killed by the sword. They fled from place to place, with no other clothing than the skins of sheep and goats, lacking everything, afflicted, ill-treated. These people, of whom the world was not worthy, had to wander through wastelands and mountains, and take refuge in the dens of the land. However, although all of them were praised because of their faith, they did not enjoy the promise, because God had us in mind, and saw beyond. And he did not want them to reach perfection, except with us.
Gospel: Mark 5:1-20
They arrived at the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gerasenes. No sooner did Jesus leave the boat than he was met by a man with evil spirits, who had come from the tombs. The man lived among the tombs, and no one could restrain him, even with a chain. He had often been bound with fetters and chains; but he would pull the chains apart and smash the fetters; and no one had the strength to control him. Night and day he stayed among the tombs on the hillsides, and was continually screaming, and beating himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell at his feet, and cried with a loud voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? For God’s sake, I beg you, do not torment me!” He said this, because Jesus had commanded, “Evil spirit, come out of the man!” When Jesus asked the evil spirit, “What is your name?” it replied, “Legion is my name, for we are many.” And it kept begging Jesus, not to send them out of that region. Now a great herd of pigs was feeding on the hillside, and the evil spirits begged him, “Send us to the pigs, and let us go into them.” So, Jesus let them go. The evil spirits came out of the man and went into the pigs; and immediately, the herd rushed down the cliff; and all were drowned in the lake. The herdsmen fled, and reported this in the town and in the countryside. So, all the people came to see what had happened. They came to Jesus, and saw the man freed of the evil spirits, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind; the same man who had been possessed by the legion. They were afraid. And when those who had seen it, told what had happened to the man and to the pigs, the people begged Jesus to leave their neighborhood. When Jesus was getting into the boat, the man, who had been possessed, begged to stay with him. Jesus would not let him, and said, “Go home to your people, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” So, he went throughout the country of Decapolis, telling everyone how much Jesus had done for him; and all the people were astonished.
Reflection:
“In the dens of the land.”
The miracle in today’s Gospel excites fear in the crowd rather than praise because the people are focused on the wrong things. A man is freed from violent demons, but the people fail to rejoice. They are more concerned about the loss of the pigs than the recovery of the man. And so, the only one who has faith in Jesus is someone who himself has been rejected: the man who lives in the wasteland, among the tombs, “in the dens of the land”; the man who has been restored to health, and is now “sitting, clothed and in his right mind.” The rest of the people reject Jesus in fear and beg him to go away. Where are our priorities? Do we focus on God and on the well-being of our neighbor, especially those who are in most need, or are we wrapped up in our own concerns? May Christ free us from a spirit of materialism and selfishness.
