She came and knelt at Jesus' feet begging him for help!

Mark 7:24-30

24 From there Jesus set out for the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house there where he didn't think he would be found, but he couldn't escape notice. 25 He was barely inside when a woman who had a disturbed daughter heard where he was. She came and knelt at his feet, 26 begging for help. The woman was Greek, Syro- Phoenician by birth. She asked him to cure her daughter. 27 He said, "Stand in line and take your turn. The children get fed first. If there's any left over, the dogs get it." 28 She said, "Of course, Master. But don't dogs under the table get scraps dropped by the children?" 29 Jesus was impressed. "You're right! On your way! Your daughter is no longer disturbed. The demonic affliction is gone." 30 She went home and found her daughter relaxed on the bed, the torment gone for good.

Food for thought!

Here is a woman who came to Jesus because she was concerned about her daughter. The woman was no longer in possession of her daughter, since the child was demon possessed. Both the mother and the child needed help in a desperate way. Fortunately, she had heard of Jesus. The Gospel says that she had "heard where Jesus was".

The woman had a problem, but also had a solution. Many of us, if not all of us, have problems, some serious ones, and we don't know where to find the solution; we don't know where to take them; we don't know where to turn to; we don't know whom to talk to about our problems. Because we don't know where to turn to, we end up going to the wrong people and wrong places.

How many of us can identify with this poor, anxious mother? Perhaps we are dealing with a child that is out of control, lost to drugs or to bad life. Perhaps you are at your wit's end over some situation in your life and you desperately need help. Perhaps you have exhausted every means at your disposal and do not know where to turn for help. Whatever the need in your life may be today, you should take a lesson from this woman: Get that need to Jesus! The woman came and knelt at the feet of Jesus begging him for help.

Regardless of what you face in your life today, the answer will be found in Him! He can move your mountain; meet your need; save your soul; forgive your sins; heal your loved ones; you name it, He can do it! But, you have to get it to Him! And in order to get your problem to Him, you have to come to Him; you have to talk to Him, and please don't take "no" for "no". If Jesus seem to take long to attend to you, remember what he said to the woman: "Stand in line and take your turn. The children get fed first." Wait for your turn. It will come; it always does.

In other words, your problem instead of leading you away from Jesus, SHOULD LEAD YOU TO JESUS. Like it did with the woman; and when it eventually leads to him, stay there; don't quit, your turn is coming. Mat 11:28

"Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy- laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest."

"And Understand What I Say"

Mark 7:14-23

14 Jesus called the crowd together again and said, "Listen now, all of you-- and understand what I say. 15 It's not what you swallow that pollutes your life; it's what you vomit-- that's the real pollution." 17 When he was back home after being with the crowd, his disciples said, "We don't get it. Put it in plain language." 18 Jesus said, "Are you being willfully stupid? Don't you see that what you swallow can't contaminate you? 19 It doesn't enter your heart but your stomach, works its way through the intestines, and is finally flushed." (That took care of dietary quibbling; Jesus was saying that all foods are fit to eat.) 20 He went on: "It's what comes out of a person that pollutes: 21 obscenities, lusts, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22 greed, depravity, deceptive dealings, carousing, mean looks, slander, arrogance, foolishness-- 23 all these are vomit from the heart. There is the source of your pollution."

Food for thought!

Although it may not seem so now, this passage, when it was first spoken, was like a bomb shell; it was the most revolutionary thing Jesus had ever said. If you followed well, in the last days Jesus has been arguing with the so called religious experts about different aspects of the religious traditions, rules and laws. He has shown how secondary are religious ceremonies; He has shown how rigid adherence to the religious traditions, rules and laws can sometimes mean disobedience to the law of God. But here he says something more startling yet. He declares that nothing that goes into a man can possibly defile him, for it is received only into his body which rids itself of it in the normal, physical way.

No wonder the disciples couldn't understand a word. The Gospel says that "When he was back home after being with the crowd, his disciples said, 'We don't get it. Put it in plain language.'" In effect Jesus was saying that things cannot be either unclean or clean in any real religious sense of the term. Only persons can be really defiled; and what defiles a person is his own actions, which are the product of his own heart.

This was new doctrine and shatteringly new doctrine. With one sweeping pronouncement Jesus declared that uncleanness has nothing to do with what a man takes into his body but everything to do with what comes out of his heart. All the things Jesus mentioned begin and happen in the human heart.

He begins with evil designs. Every outward act of sin is preceded by an inward act of choice; therefore Jesus begins with the evil thought from which the evil action comes: obscenities, lusts, thefts, murders, adulteries, greed, depravity, deceptive dealings, carousing, mean looks, slander, arrogance, foolishness-- all these are vomit from the heart. There, in the human heart, is the source of our pollution and evil. 

Commandments of God or Human Traditions?

Mark 7:1-13

The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered round Jesus, and they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with unclean hands, that is, without washing them. For the Pharisees, and the Jews in general, follow the tradition of the elders and never eat without washing their arms as far as the elbow; and on returning from the market place they never eat without first sprinkling themselves. There are also many other observances which have been handed down to them concerning the washing of cups and pots and bronze dishes. So these Pharisees and scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not respect the tradition of the elders but eat their food with unclean hands?’ He answered, ‘It was of you hypocrites that Isaiah so rightly prophesied in this passage of scripture:

This people honours me only with lip-service, while their hearts are far from me.

The worship they offer me is worthless,

the doctrines they teach are only human regulations.

You put aside the commandment of God to cling to human traditions.’ And he said to them, ‘How ingeniously you get round the commandment of God in order to preserve your own tradition! For Moses said: Do your duty to your father and your mother, and, Anyone who curses father or mother must be put to death. But you say, “If a man says to his father or mother: Anything I have that I might have used to help you is Corban (that is, dedicated to God), then he is forbidden from that moment to do anything for his father or mother.” In this way you make God’s word null and void for the sake of your tradition which you have handed down. And you do many other things like this.’

Food for thought!

You put aside the commandment of God to cling to human traditions.

This is a strong statement, especially when made by Jesus against you and me.  Is it possibly true that we do put aside the commandment of God to cling to human traditions? This is what Jesus is saying that we do. In order to understand Jesus' point, let us remember that the commandments of God are 10 (ten), which I assume you still remember. All the rest are human traditions. These include the traditions, the rules and laws of the church. Yes, these are not commandments of God.; they were made by the church to help us live better the ten commandments. They were meant to reinforce the commandments of God, not to substitute them. For instance, not eating meat on a Friday is a tradition of the church, not a commandment of God.

In the time of Jesus, the religious scholars (scribes and Pharisees) had transformed the religious rules and traditions into the essence of religion. To observe them was to please God; to break them was to sin. This was their idea of goodness and of the service of God. In the religious sense Jesus and these people spoke different languages. It was precisely because Jesus had no use for all these regulations that they considered him a bad man, just as we consider bad those who don't keep the laws, rules and discipline of our Catholic church.

There is no greater religious peril than that of identifying religion with human traditions and customs. There is no commoner religious mistake than to identify goodness with certain so-called religious traditions. Church-going, bible-reading, careful financial giving, even time-tabled prayers do not make a man a good man. The fundamental question is, how is a man's heart towards God and towards his fellow-men? And if in his heart there are enmity, bitterness, grudges, pride, not all the outward religious observances in the world will make him anything other than a hypocrite.

Be salt to your world!

Matthew 5:13-16

¹³"Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.

^14-16"Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
Food for thought!
In the Bible Jesus calls himself various names like, I am the Goodshepherd, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, I am the Vine, I am the Gate, and many others. But other times Jesus calls us names, like today he is referring to us as "salt" and "light". What is Jesus telling us about us?
Jesus calls us salt because of our preserving ability; we preserve society from going rotten; from going bad; from getting destroyed. Do you remember the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19? Those people could have been saved if there had been just 10 righteous men or Christians in Sodom and Gomorrah; but there were nobody, and the whole city was destroyed. So please don't go bad if and when everybody around you goes or does evil. If at your work place you see everybody cutting the corners, please, you don't follow suit; the presence and the prayers of "salty" Christians preserves and saves the rest from catastrophe.
Jesus call us salt because of our penetrating ability, just as salt will penetrate and infiltrate whatever it touches. It is an aggressive substance. We have been called by the Lord to be an active force in the world around us. However, it is possible for us to loose our saltiness as well. This happens to us when we come into too close contact with the world; when we get to be more like the world than we are like the Lord, then we have lost that thing that sets us apart and makes us valuable to the world. "If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage."
Jesus calls us salt because of our purifying ability. Salt is a cleaner. In the Bible, Elisha cleansed the waters at Jericho with salt (2 Kings 2:19-22). In ancient times, newborn babies were washed in salt to cleanse their bodies and to give firmness to their skin, (Ezekiel. 16:4). Salt when applied to the wound can clean it. Wherever salt is there is purity. Please, don't be offended if people stop talking (nonsense) when you come around. Just thank God that you are acting as a purifying force in the world around you. People should feel uncomfortable to say nonsense in your presence. If and when we show up we encourage people to gossip, to say and do immoral things, it is because we have lost the salt in us; we are good for nothing.
 Jesus calls salts because of our pleasing ability. Salt always blends and adds flavor to food. You know from experience that some food is just tasteless without salt; salt brings out the best out of food. So too, the Christian should flavor the world around him. As salt, we are to help other people be and do their best.
Jesus calls us salt because of our poisoning ability. Salt can kill. Ever poured salt on a slug or iron? Slugs and salt do not mix! Salt poured on a lawn will kill the grass. In the Old Testament Abimelech took a city and spread salt all over the place to prevent the ground from being used to grow crops again; he killed the fields with salt (Judges 9:45). By the same token, when Jesus comes into a life, drinking, fighting, hating, killing, drugging, loose living, gossiping, etc, are all supposed to end in the name of Jesus (2 Cor. 5:17.)
Jesus calls us salt because of our promoting ability. Salt creates a thirst for water in those who are exposed to it. As salt, the Christian has the wonderful opportunity to promote a thirst for Jesus in the world. Remember what the Lord told us? He said that out of our bellies would flow rivers of living water (John 7:37-38). When we live as Christ, when we take the call of Jesus seriously and live right, look right, act right, talk right, worship right, dress right, love right, etc. we able to create a thirst for Jesus in the hearts of those around us.
Ours is the business of purifying, preserving, penetrating, pleasing and promoting love, peace, kindness just Jesus did in his time. God help us to be salty Christians.

Btw. Salt was very valuable in the ancient world. So valuable, in fact, that the Roman soldiers were often paid their wages not in money but in salt. This payment was called "salarium," from which word comes our word "salary" (wage).

You MUST come away all by yourself!

Mark 6:30-34

The apostles rejoined Jesus and told him all they had done and taught. Then he said to them, ‘You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while’; for there were so many coming and going that the apostles had no time even to eat. So they went off in a boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves. But people saw them going, and many could guess where; and from every town they all hurried to the place on foot and reached it before them. So as he stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he set himself to teach them at some length.

Food for thought!

The day before yesterday, Jesus sent his disciples for a mission, for the first time; he sent them out. And they went, for the first time, ALONE. Every day, every week, every time, the Lord sends us to some mission, at our place of work, our home, our neighborhood. It is good to know that, whatever our job, wherever our job, we are all serving the Lord. The Lord sends us as he sent the twelve disciples, alone to different places and tasks to serve his people. Please, know that your job is a service to the Lord.

Jesus does not only send us off to work for him, he also receives us from work. Like the disciples, we do well to rejoin the Lord and to tell him all we did during the day, during the week. Yes, Jesus expects us to tell him about our job, our work, our endeavours; Jesus tells us what to do and he listens to what we do.

Something very enthusing: Jesus said to his disciples when they had come back from work: You MUST come away to some lonely place all by yourself and rest for a while. Notice the way Jesus puts it: MUST. Resting is not optional; it is compulsory, mandatory, obligatory and required; it is a must to rest.

Some times it is absolutely necessary to get away all by ourselves, and leave or abandon the people. This is what the disciples did, at the command of Jesus; they were being overwhelmed by so many people who were coming and going to the point of not having any time to even eat. How many times are we like these disciples? How many times are we overwhelmed by the demands of others that we forget our own demands, to eat and rest and take care of our life, our family, our dear ones?

May you and I learn to go away to some lonely place all by ourselves and rest for while; it is a must.

The death of a conscience!

Mar 6:14-29

14 King Herod heard of all this, for by this time the name of Jesus was on everyone's lips. He said, "This has to be John the Baptizer come back from the dead-- that's why he's able to work miracles!" 15 Others said, "No, it's Elijah." Others said, "He's a prophet, just like one of the old- time prophets." 16 But Herod wouldn't budge: "It's John, sure enough. I cut off his head, and now he's back, alive." 17 Herod was the one who had ordered the arrest of John, put him in chains, and sent him to prison at the nagging of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. 18 For John had provoked Herod by naming his relationship with Herodias "adultery." 19 Herodias, smoldering with hate, wanted to kill him, but didn't dare 20 because Herod admired John. Convinced that he was a holy man, he gave him special protection. Whenever he listened to him he was miserable with guilt-- and yet he couldn't stay away. Something in John kept pulling him back. 21 But a portentous day arrived when Herod threw a birthday party, inviting all the brass and bluebloods in Galilee. 22 Herodias's daughter entered the banquet hall and danced for the guests. She dazzled Herod and the guests. The king said to the girl, "Ask me anything. I'll give you anything you want." 23 Carried away, he kept on, "I swear, I'll split my kingdom with you if you say so!" 24 She went back to her mother and said, "What should I ask for?" "Ask for the head of John the Baptizer." 25 Excited, she ran back to the king and said, "I want the head of John the Baptizer served up on a platter. And I want it now!" 26 That sobered the king up fast. But unwilling to lose face with his guests, he caved in and let her have her wish. 27 The king sent the executioner off to the prison with orders to bring back John's head. He went, cut off John's head, 28 brought it back on a platter, and presented it to the girl, who gave it to her mother. 29 When John's disciples heard about this, they came and got the body and gave it a decent burial.

Food for thought!

This passage is one of the saddest in the entire Bible. It records the events surrounding the death of John the Baptist. He was a special man, chosen for a special mission. He was the “forerunner” of the Messiah. He was the fulfillment of several Old Testament prophecies. He was the last of the Old Testament prophets. He was the last martyr of the Old Testament period and the first of the New Testament period. He was a powerful preacher. He was a fearless prophet. He was a true man of God. As Jesus Christ Himself testified, “Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist,” Matt. 11:11.

As sad as John's death, as sad as the death of a holy man is the death of anyone's conscience. Our conscience is a kind of John implanted into our hearts to speak in the name of God, praising us when we do well and rebuking us when we sin. This is exactly what John was doing: "he had provoked Herod by naming his relationship with Herodias "adultery." Our conscience does the same: it denounces the sin we do. No wonder we try, and sometimes we succeed, to kill and eliminate it, like Herod did.

What we see in today's Gospel reading is a picture of how a person can sin against their conscience to the point that they are capable of anything. It is possible to ignore the warnings of your heart, your soul and your mind until those warnings cease to be heard. It is possible to so deaden the conscience that it no longer stands as a barrier between the individual and any sin they choose to commit, 1 Tim. 4:2. That is why some people can do the things they do without remorse or guilt. They have seared their conscience to the point where it feels nothing and no longer warns them about evil.

Verse 20 is the most amazing verse in this reading. It says, "Herod admired John. Convinced that he was a holy man, he gave him special protection. Whenever he listened to him he was miserable with guilt-- and yet he couldn't stay away. Something in John kept pulling him back."

Herod hated John for exposing his sin. However, he still wanted John around; he both hated and loved John; he liked the preacher but hated the preaching; he loved the messenger but hated the message. As a result, when Herod heard John, he was perplexed and confused. In other words, his conscience and guilt bothered him. The guilt over what he did was eating him alive. He knows he killed an innocent, decent and good man. His conscience is bothering him and he is sure that John the Baptist has come back to haunt him. He kept saying:

"King Herod heard of all this, for by this time the name of Jesus was on everyone's lips. He said, "This has to be John the Baptizer come back from the dead-- that's why he's able to work miracles!" Others said, "No, it's Elijah." Others said, "He's a prophet, just like one of the old- time prophets." But Herod wouldn't budge: "It's John, sure enough. I cut off his head, and now he's back, alive."

 That is the power of guilt! It will eat you alive. You can’t run from it. You can’t hide from it. You can’t escape its words. It shows up when you are alone. Guilt comes calling in the dead of night. It gnaws at the soul and eats away at the mind.The only solution for guilt over past sins is to bring those sins to Jesus. When they are brought to Him, Jesus forgives the sin and removes the guilt. He can set us free from the monster of guilt! Jesus is the lamb of God that takes away our sins, John the Baptist told us.

Jn 1:29
The next day John saw Jesus coming to him and said, Look! There is the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world!

Familiarity Breeds Contempt!

Mark 6:1-6

1 He left there and returned to his hometown. His disciples came along. 2 On the Sabbath, he gave a lecture in the meeting place. He made a real hit, impressing everyone. "We had no idea he was this good!" they said. "How did he get so wise all of a sudden, get such ability?" 3 But in the next breath they were cutting him down: "He's just a carpenter-- Mary's boy. We've known him since he was a kid. We know his brothers, James, Justus, Jude, and Simon, and his sisters. Who does he think he is?" They tripped over what little they knew about him and fell, sprawling. And they never got any further. 4 Jesus told them, "A prophet has little honor in his hometown, among his relatives, on the streets he played in as a child." 5 Jesus wasn't able to do much of anything there-- he laid hands on a few sick people and healed them, that's all. 6 He couldn't get over their stubbornness. He left and made a circuit of the other villages, teaching.

Food for thought!

YOU CAN’T GO HOME AGAIN

Thomas Wolfe wrote a novel entitled “You Can’t Go Home Again”. The book is about a man named George Webber. He is an author who has written a successful book about his hometown. When he returns home, he expects to receive a hero’s welcome. Instead, he is driven out of town by his own friends and family. They feel betrayed by what he has written about them in his book. Webber is shaken by their reaction to his work and leaves his hometown behind to go find himself. George Webber discovered that those who know you best tend to respect you the least.        

Our text finds Jesus returning to Nazareth. He is going home again. Our Lord’s return to His hometown does not go the way one might expect. After all, Jesus is something of a celebrity by this time. He has been going around the countryside preaching, teaching, healing the sick, casting out demons, raising the dead and controlling the forces of nature. He has proven that there is something very special and very different about Him.

As the people of Nazareth heard the message Jesus was preaching, they rejected His message because they thought they knew everything there was to know about Him. He had grown up among them and was one of their own. Then, they started to ridicule Jesus: "He's just a carpenter-- Mary's boy. We've known him since he was a kid. We know his brothers, James, Justus, Jude, and Simon, and his sisters. Who does he think he is?"

These people did what all people do when they cannot understand someone. They resorted to ridicule! Ridicule is the final refuge of a small mind! They called Him “the son of Mary”. This was never done in that society! A male was always referred to as the son of his father, even if his father was dead. To call a boy the son of his mother was to imply that is mother had played the harlot. The people were calling the birth of Jesus into question. 

When you don't like or disagree with someone, don't resort to ridicule or character assassination. No one likes it. Not even Jesus did, not even you would. Jesus left his critics on their own and went to other towns, doing his mission.

Verse 5 tells us that because of their ridicule, Jesus was unable to perform many miracles there. Only a few sick folks were healed. However,let’s get one thing clear: their unbelief did not hinder His power. Jesus was and is absolutely sovereign. He could have done anything there that He wanted to do. He possessed the power, but He refused to demonstrate His power in the face of blatant unbelief, as He later told us in Matthew 7:6

Do not give that which is holy (the sacred thing) to the dogs, and do not throw your pearls before hogs, lest they trample upon them with their feet and turn and tear you in pieces.

Help of the helpless, O abide with me!

Mark 5:21-43

21 After Jesus crossed over by boat, a large crowd met him at the seaside. 22 One of the meeting- place leaders named Jairus came. When he saw Jesus, he fell to his knees, 23 beside himself as he begged, "My dear daughter is at death's door. Come and lay hands on her so she will get well and live." 24 Jesus went with him, the whole crowd tagging along, pushing and jostling him.25 A woman who had suffered a condition of hemorrhaging for twelve years-- 26 a long succession of physicians had treated her, and treated her badly, taking all her money and leaving her worse off than before-- 27 had heard about Jesus. She slipped in from behind and touched his robe. 28 She was thinking to herself, "If I can put a finger on his robe, I can get well." 29 The moment she did it, the flow of blood dried up. She could feel the change and knew her plague was over and done with. 30 At the same moment, Jesus felt energy discharging from him. He turned around to the crowd and asked, "Who touched my robe?" 31 His disciples said, "What are you talking about? With this crowd pushing and jostling you, you're asking, 'Who touched me?' Dozens have touched you!" 32 But he went on asking, looking around to see who had done it. 33 The woman, knowing what had happened, knowing she was the one, stepped up in fear and trembling, knelt before him, and gave him the whole story.

34 Jesus said to her, "Daughter, you took a risk of faith, and now you're healed and whole. Live well, live blessed! Be healed of your plague." 35 While he was still talking, some people came from the leader's house and told him, "Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher any more?" 36 Jesus overheard what they were talking about and said to the leader, "Don't listen to them; ONLY have faith." 37 He permitted no one to go in with him except Peter, James, and John. 38 They entered the leader's house and pushed their way through the gossips looking for a story and neighbors bringing in casseroles. 39 Jesus was abrupt: "Why all this busybody grief and gossip? This child isn't dead; she's sleeping." 40

Provoked to sarcasm, they told him he didn't know what he was talking about. But when he had sent them all out, he took the child's father and mother, along with his companions, and entered the child's room. 41 He clasped the girl's hand and said, "Talitha koum," which means, "Little girl, get up." 42 At that, she was up and walking around! This girl was twelve years of age. They, of course, were all beside themselves with joy. 43 He gave them strict orders that no one was to know what had taken place in that room. Then he said, "Give her something to eat."

Food for thought!

Yesterday, Jesus showed us what he can do with our hopelessness and helplessness; he turned a madman into a mademan. Today, he continues. If yesterday's situation was spiritual (mad man), today's is physical. Someone is dead. Another one is dying. Today, Jesus shows us that he is the solution to both to our spiritual and physical desperate situations.

A desperate father, named Jairus came to Jesus and fell to his knees, beside himself as he begged, "My dear daughter is at death's door. Come and lay hands on her so she will get well and live." This man was helpless and he came to Jesus for help. And got it. Jesus agreed to go with him. But even as he was going with Jesus, tragedy struck; his daughter died. Lesson: tragedy hits everybody including those walking and working with Jesus. So don't ever think that because you pray every day, because you go to Mass every Sunday or even everyday, that tragedies will not come your way. Even followers of Jesus get tragedies.

Jesus told this man what he tells all those people in hopeless situations: DO NOT BE AFRAID. ONLY HAVE FAITH! This is the only thing Jesus asks of us, only one, just this one: only have faith. The rest is his.

Another hopeless situation was of a woman who came to Jesus, as Jesus was on his way to a hopeless situation. She came to Jesus in a helpless situation; everything else had failed. The gospel says that "a long succession of physicians had treated her, and treated her badly, taking all her money and leaving her worse off than before." As we said yesterday, there are situations in life that nobody can handle except Jesus. 

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Psalm 34:4

I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.

Psalm 18:6 

In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.

Nobody but Jesus!

Mark 5:1-20

Jesus and his disciples reached the country of the Gerasenes on the other side of the lake, and no sooner had Jesus left the boat than a man with an unclean spirit came out from the tombs towards him. The man lived in the tombs and no one could secure him any more, even with a chain; because he had often been secured with fetters and chains but had snapped the chains and broken the fetters, and no one had the strength to control him. All night and all day, among the tombs and in the mountains, he would howl and gash himself with stones. Catching sight of Jesus from a distance, he ran up and fell at his feet and shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What do you want with me, Jesus, son of the Most High God? Swear by God you will not torture me!’ – For Jesus had been saying to him, ‘Come out of the man, unclean spirit.’ ‘What is your name?’ Jesus asked. ‘My name is legion,’ he answered ‘for there are many of us.’ And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the district.

Now there was there on the mountainside a great herd of pigs feeding, and the unclean spirits begged him, ‘Send us to the pigs, let us go into them.’ So he gave them leave. With that, the unclean spirits came out and went into the pigs, and the herd of about two thousand pigs charged down the cliff into the lake, and there they were drowned. The swineherds ran off and told their story in the town and in the country round about; and the people came to see what had really happened. They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his full senses – the very man who had had the legion in him before – and they were afraid. And those who had witnessed it reported what had happened to the demoniac and what had become of the pigs. Then they began to implore Jesus to leave the neighbourhood. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed begged to be allowed to stay with him. Jesus would not let him but said to him, ‘Go home to your people and tell them all that the Lord in his mercy has done for you.’ So the man went off and proceeded to spread throughout the Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him. And everyone was amazed.

Food for thought!

"No one could secure him any more, even with a chain!"

There are things in our life that nobody can do except Jesus. There are issues, problems, situations and even peoples that nobody can handle but the Lord. This is what today's gospel reading is teaching us. The gospel says, "No one could secure him any more, even with a chain... No one had the strength to control him." The man was so desperate, but also were his people; he was helpless, but also was everybody else. That's why this man lived in the tombs, among the dead. He was as good as dead.

Did you notice that "Catching sight of Jesus from a distance, the man ran up and fell at his feet"? In other words, the man that nobody could tame threw himself at the feet of Jesus. I don't know if you are in a similar situation like this man and these people, or you have given up on yourself, on your spouse, your child, your love, your business, your hope, your dream. Today's gospel was written for people like you and me. If you believe in Jesus as you do, why give in to despair? Take your situation to Jesus. Be like this man, throw yourself or your problem, your situation at the feet of Jesus. However ugly it maybe, however complicated it maybe, Jesus will not run away from you. He will transform your hopelessness and helplessness into hopefulness and helpfulness.

The once hopeless and helpless man, became all of a sudden a hopeful and helpful man; he started going around the ten towns restoring hope in others; the man became a helpful man. The gospel says, "the man went off and proceeded to spread throughout the Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him. And everyone was amazed." 

Very naturally the men who had been in charge of the pigs went to the town and to the farms with news of this astounding happening. When the curious people arrived on the spot they found the man who had once been so mad sitting fully clothed and in full possession of his faculties. The wild and naked madman had become a sane and sensible mademan. Jesus changed a madman to a mademan!

And then comes the surprise, the paradox, the thing that no one would really expect. One would have thought that they would have regarded the whole matter with joy; but they regarded it with contempt. And one would have thought that they would have urged Jesus to stay with them and exercise still further his amazing power; but they urged him to get out of their district as quickly as possible. Why? A man had been healed but their pigs had been destroyed, and therefore they wanted no more of this. The routine of life had been unsettled, and they wanted the disturbing element removed as quickly as possible. 

Simeon was right. In yesterday's gospel he said: "You see this child: he is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is rejected."

He wills and knows about our storms!

Mark 4: 35-41

With the coming of evening, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Let us cross over to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind they took him, just as he was, in the boat; and there were other boats with him. Then it began to blow a gale and the waves were breaking into the boat so that it was almost swamped. But he was in the stern, his head on the cushion, asleep. They woke him and said to him, ‘Master, do you not care? We are going down!’ And he woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Quiet now! Be calm!’ And the wind dropped, and all was calm again. Then he said to them, ‘Why are you so frightened? How is it that you have no faith?’ They were filled with awe and said to one another, ‘Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey him.’

Food for thought!

Jesus teaches us in  many ways. Sometimes he teaches us by words, other times by works. In today's gospel, Jesus teaches us by both; he speaks and he acts. Hill Cherie wrote a book on today's gospel reading, and said, "We may not be able to grasp even the slightest understanding of “why” we’re going through what we’re going through, but we can trust God anyway." God says, 

“My thoughts are completely different form yours. And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth , so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55: 8-9)

As Hill said, "Our memory fails us: God did not promise us a perfect life. In fact, He promised just the opposite." I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. (John 16: 33)

Did you notice that it was Jesus that deliberately drove his disciples into the storm? He said to them: "Let us cross over to the other side." And after getting into the boat he slept! What Jesus teaches us here is that it is him who leads us into storms or problems of our life; that those our problems are not only known by the Lord, they are also permitted by him. 

The storm on the Sea of Galilee was a test. Jesus knew there would be a storm. He knows about every storm in your life, too. As you know, God doesn't tempt us but he tests us, in order to grow us. You see, sometimes we bring storms on ourselves through sin, poor judgment, or just a lack of experience; some storms may come by the wrongdoing of other people. No matter how the storm is brought about, God will use it for good. Remember Romans 8:28, "God uses everything for good for those who love him!"  

It is in and through our storms that He desires to do something awesome in and through us. He uses the storms to get our attention, like He did with the disciples. At the end of today's gospel reading the disciples were thoughtful of of Jesus: "They were filled with awe and said to one another, 'Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey him.'" Yes, In every storm and problem of our life there is something good that we get. So, let us praise the Lord in everything and for everything in our life.