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Gospel Reading for February 3, 2025 – Mark 5: 1-20
LEEWAY
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.
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“. . . 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.”
This is what happens when we allow the devil to take hold of us. The devil takes hold of us little by little, until the day comes that little becomes big, and then too big that we can no longer take control of ourselves, hence, the expression: “All hell broke loose!” Legion takes possession, and no one, except God can regain control. The only way to get rid of Legion or the devil, for that matter, is for us to “plead earnestly” with the Holy Spirit to give us the strength to seek God in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
When we become rebellious with God, thinking and feeling that his Laws curtail our freedom, we are instead, giving the devil a LEEWAY, until one day, we find ourselves helpless in his trap. We always have to remember that all good is on God’s side, and all bad is on the devil’s side. We always have to remember that good means we will be okay, and bad will destroy us. It is as simple as that. Let us not be like the people in the gospel of today, who instead of feeling secure with the power of Jesus against the devil, begged him to leave.
Lord Jesus, we want you to stay with us always, because you alone have power over all evil in this world!
