Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples. When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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By this point, Jesus has developed significant momentum in his ministry.
He’s proclaimed the kingdom of God and demonstrated its presence by casting out demons, healing the sick, stilling the stormy waters of Galilee, even raising a child from the dead.
But in today’s Gospel, this momentum comes to a screeching halt. What demons, disease, and stormy waters could not stop is blocked temporarily by the greatest obstacle of all: unbelief.
That’s the one area in this world God will not go.
While he’ll gladly cast out disease, demons, and famine from our lands Jesus will not enter where he’s not wanted. Faith is the Lord’s entrée into our lives. But he only enters with our permission.
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While it’s easy to criticize the locals in the Gospel for their lack of faith, Jesus grew up with these residents of Nazareth. To them, he was wildly ordinary. A poor carpenter’s son. A former refugee. A nobody.
How could God possibly make himself known through a man like this?
Jesus stretched their understanding of God too far, so they shut the door of their hearts in his face.
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How often can we do the same?
A particular temptation strikes us – maybe anger, lust, or greed – and instead of opening the door to grace, we close it.
Or maybe our faith has been clouded by doubt. We look at the world around us – we see all the suffering caused by COVID – and conclude our problems are too small for the Lord to answer, so we stop praying.
Or life doesn’t go our way. Instead of trusting that the Lord has a plan for us, we close the door and take control ourselves.
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Mighty things can happen in our lives through faith. But that’s a door that must be opened from within.
May we swing it wide open for Jesus, allowing his grace to guide us today.
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.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Today’s Gospel gives a graphic example of the dehumanizing effect of evil.
There is a man possessed by demons, who self-mutilates and lives in a graveyard, often by shackle and chain. His only company is a herd of swine.
When Jesus approaches this man, he says to the demons inside of the man, “What is your name?”
“Legion,” they say.
In the ancient world, legion was a Latin term for a regiment of six thousand men. If taken literally, this man is telling Jesus that he’s bound by 6,000 demons.
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Making the story even stranger, he runs up to Jesus, prostrates himself, and calls Jesus, “Son of the Most High God.” These are things a disciple would do, revealing just how conflicted this man is.
He’s under the constraint of evil and needs to be set free.
That’s what Jesus does best; he heals. He saves. He sets people free.
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This is among the most extreme stories told in the Gospels. But if Jesus can set this man free – a man bound by 6,000 demons – then think of what the Lord can do for us, who likely struggle with much less.
Perhaps we’re bound by fear; COVID has unearthed insecurities in all of us. Perhaps we’re afraid of the future; afraid of change; or we need to shake a harmful habit.
Whatever it is, the Lord has come to set us free.
Lent is only a few weeks away. It’s the perfect time to return to the Sacrament of Reconciliation; it’s a time to focus on those areas where we need spiritual growth the most.
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“If today you hear God’s voice,” the Psalmist says, “harden not your hearts.”
Then they came to Capernaum, and on the sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!” The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him. All were amazed and asked one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.” His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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When I think of a sacred space, I think of this church. This altar. This pulpit. The Saints and the Stations of the Cross that line our walls.
Sacred spaces are filled with holy things that point us to God.
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In today’s Gospel, there’s a man with an unclean spirit present in the synagogue. This was a holy place, so why is he there?
Surely, he doesn’t belong.
Or does he?
Maybe he went to the synagogue that day praying for a cure.
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Have you ever wondered who or what possessed him?
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The Gospel only tells us it was an, “unclean spirit.”
In the ancient world, many diseases and conditions which people could neither understand nor control were lumped together into the category of “unclean spirits.”
While this man could’ve been haunted by a demon, he also could’ve suffered from epilepsy; migraines; dementia; or simply an uncontrollable temper.
Perhaps he was a conflicted man, both a believer and a sinner; a man who knew he was under the influence of something stronger than himself.
Whatever it was, this “unclean spirit” tortured him, isolating him from others.
That’s the real evil here.
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This is the first miracle Jesus performs in Mark’s Gospel.
He inaugurates his ministry in the synagogue – in a holy place – casting the unclean spirit out of a tortured man.
Because that’s where the Kingdom of God always begins to grow, taking root within the hearts of people, who though imperfect, believe that God has the power to act in their lives.
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Sometimes unclean spirits take up residence within us, too.
Like this man, we carry them into sacred spaces – into church, into our marriage, into our families, into our friendships, and into our workplaces.
They isolate us, rob us of our freedom, and damage our relationships with others.
In his Letter to the Galatians, Paul cautions us against falling prey to some of these vices, such as: laziness, immorality, impurity, hatred, jealousy, selfishness, excessive drinking, and envy.
Things that can easily take root in any human heart.
Paul himself says, “What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but what I hate…So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.”
Even Paul wrestled with unclean spirits.
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What are some of the unclean spirits lodged in our hearts? What might Jesus seek to cast out from our lives? From our community? From the world around us?
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The last year has taken many down a road filled with heartbreak, suffering, and anxiety, leaving us in need of the Lord’s healing touch.
Consider the children who will need social and emotional healing after learning online for nearly a year. Or parents working from home, also staring at a screen, instead of engaging with their colleagues.
Or the toll taken on frontline medical workers and those quarantined, denied the comfort of human touch.
Or the soul of our nation, which has been ripped apart politically.
Or the needs of our own community, which has been scattered by this virus. When the coast clears, we’ll have lots of work to do in bringing our community back together.
Then there’s the healing we also may need on a personal level.
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So, how can Jesus heal us today?
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There are a variety of ways, but consider three examples.
First, the Lord heals us in the Eucharist, which is the Promised Presence of Christ. As Pope Francis says, “the Eucharist is not a prize for the perfect.”
It’s a healing balm for the soul.
Secondly, the Lord heals us with his Word. As it’s written in the Letter to the Hebrews, “The Word of God is living and effective.”
It’s powerful; it changes lives. It’s changed my life!
This is why Deacon McKenna and I are offering a six-week study of Mark’s Gospel starting on Ash Wednesday. Join us! Come and see how deeply the Lord’s Word can impact our lives.
Finally, the Lord heals us in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, removing guilt and burdens we no longer need to carry.
Lent is approaching – the healing grace of reconciliation is available. I’d encourage everyone to consider coming to our communal penance service on March 15th.
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“If today you hear his voice, harden not your heart,” the Psalmist says today.
Our hearts – and by extension, our lives – are sacred spaces. But like the man in the Gospel, sometimes “unclean spirits” take up residence within us. It’s part of our fallen nature.
But the Lord stands ready to drive those things out of us. “Behold, I stand and knock,” Jesus says. “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in.”
