In our Gospel today, Mark 5:1-20, Jesus encounters a possessed man full of a legion of evil spirits. The man was so wild that he could not be restrained even by chains. He runs up to Jesus and falls prostrate at his feet.
The evil spirits in the man do not try to attack Jesus, they plead with Jesus to let them to enter a nearby herd of swine, and Jesus allows it. They enter the swine, who run off a cliff and are drowned.
Jesus didn’t have to force these evil spirits; they recognized his authority and cowed down to him in fear. This is the power Jesus has over evil.
It is easy these days to fall off the cliff into despair from the evil that is going on around us in society, if we let it. It is a choice. We can allow ourselves to be caught up into the whirlwind of negativity and anti-Christian agendas that are pushed by a lot of our media and leaders, or we can turn away and turn it off, and focus on Jesus. When we start to feel that our world is becoming hopeless, we simply need to reflect on this Gospel and the power of Jesus. We know that he is way more powerful than all of this, and that he assured us that his Church will prevail! It is then, that we have hope!
De Colores, Deacon Kevin
