20170130 FREEING OURSELVES FROM OUR BONDAGES
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Hebrews 11:32-40
©
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Gideon, Barak,
Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets – these were men who
through faith conquered kingdoms, did what is right and earned the promises.
They could keep a lion’s mouth shut, put out blazing fires and emerge unscathed
from battle. They were weak people who were given strength, to be brave in war and
drive back foreign invaders. Some came back to their wives from the dead, by
resurrection; and others submitted to torture, refusing release so that they
would rise again to a better life. Some had to bear being pilloried and
flogged, or even chained up in prison. They were stoned, or sawn in half, or
beheaded; they were homeless, and dressed in the skins of sheep and goats; they
were penniless and were given nothing but ill-treatment. They were too good for
the world and they went out to live in deserts and mountains and in caves and
ravines. These are all heroes of faith, but they did not receive what was
promised, since God had made provision for us to have something better, and
they were not to reach perfection except with us.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
30(31):20-24 ©
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Let your heart
take courage, all who hope in the Lord.
How great is the
goodness, Lord,
that you
keep for those who fear you,
that you show to
those who trust you
in the
sight of men.
Let your heart
take courage, all who hope in the Lord.
You hide them in the
shelter of your presence
from the
plotting of men;
you keep them safe
within your tent
from
disputing tongues.
Let your heart
take courage, all who hope in the Lord.
Blessed be the Lord
who has shown me
the
wonders of his love
in a
fortified city.
Let your heart
take courage, all who hope in the Lord.
‘I am far removed
from your sight’
I said in
my alarm.
Yet you heard the
voice of my plea
when I
cried for help.
Let your heart
take courage, all who hope in the Lord.
Love the Lord, all
you saints.
He guards
his faithful
but the Lord will
repay to the full
those who
act with pride.
Let your heart
take courage, all who hope in the Lord.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Jn17:17
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is truth, O
Lord:
consecrate us in the
truth.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Lk7:16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
A great prophet has
appeared among us;
God has visited his
people.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 5:1-20 ©
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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.
FREEING
OURSELVES FROM OUR BONDAGES
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ Heb 11:32-40; Ps 30:20-24; Mk 5:1-20]
We are created in the image
and likeness of God. We are created in freedom and for
freedom. This explains why the desire for freedom is in the DNA of every
human person. Without freedom, we cannot be truly happy in life.
Even God respects our freedom so much so that He would not even stop us from
choosing Hell instead of choosing Him if we so desire. We know that
conscience is also paramount in making decisions and the person’s conscience
must be respected. Of course, the judgment of conscience presumes
that the person takes into account in his or her discernment process, the objective
norms.
Consequently, to be under
bondage in any way violates the dignity of the human person. We can feel
and identify with this man who was under the bondage of the Evil Spirit.
“The man lived in the tombs and no one could secure him anymore, 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.” If one of us or our loved
ones were possessed, we can imagine the trauma and the anxiety that we would
have to go through. Indeed, we do not have to go that far in speaking
about demonic possession. Some of us and our loved ones suffer from
various types of obsessions and compulsive disorders. Handling such
sufferers is never easy and can be extremely trying for the care
givers. But the sufferers too are going through extreme loneliness
of being misunderstood and often ridiculed and ostracized.
What are these
obsessions? The most common is pornography and lust. Some people
are not able to get over our obsession for lewd sex. They cannot live
without masturbating or watching pornography. Others suffer from
addiction to gambling, drinking and smoking. Such addictions cause much
harm not just to the person himself but to his or her loved ones who live in
fear that something untoward would happen to the person. Many are not
able to control their temper and would often easily take it out on innocent
victims. At times, they can even be violent, hitting out at their loved
ones. Of course, some of the obsessions are internal and these deal with
envy and greed. They are voices inside us, making us lose our peace and
happiness, yet we find ourselves powerless to silence these voices in our
hearts.
In truth, the greatest
bondage is fear! All sins originate from fear. The greatest irony
of today’s gospel story is that the real person under bondage was not the man
that Jesus delivered but the townsfolks who became fearful of the implications
of accepting Jesus into their lives. Instead of welcoming Jesus to stay,
they were fearful of further economic losses. “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.”
Indeed,
when we examine our obsessions and bondages, we will realize that they are
rooted in fear. All the sins we commit are due to our fear of pain and
suffering. Most of all, we fear death, which is our greatest enemy
because we think that with death, everything is finished. So long as we
fear suffering and death, we cannot live a life of freedom. This explains
why the richest and most powerful people in the world are the most insecure
people because they have everything to lose; their wealth, power and
glory. Whereas for the poor people, those who are suffering because of
illnesses or oppression and injustices, they have nothing to lose. They
can only hope for the fullness of life hereafter.
But with Christ all fears
are overcome. St Paul says, “But now that you have been set free
from sin and have become slaves of God, the return you get is sanctification
and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but
the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 6:22f) In his
letter to the Corinthians, we read of Christ’s total victory over the last
enemy of humanity. “As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be
made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his
coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the
kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and
power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The
last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (1 Cor 15:22-25)
So for those who fear, it
is because of their ignorance, like the swineherds. They thought that
with Jesus around, they would lose their livelihood and their business would be
affected. It is true as well for those of us who cling to sins. We
think that if we are chaste in our relationships, we will lose our loved
ones. What we lose is inauthentic and selfish love, not true love!
Those of us who gamble are afraid that if we stop gambling, we will not have
enough. On the contrary, their health will get better, there will be
peace of mind, less stress, less family squabbling and they will be able to work
better. Most of all they will have more money because no one can be a
winner in gambling except the gambling operators! Again, some
cannot give up drinking and smoking for fear that their lives will be more
stressful without alcohol and cigarettes. On the contrary, with less
dependence on them, life will become freer and they will enjoy better health
and be more sober to deal with life’s challenges.
Indeed, when we choose the
illusory security offered by the world, we will be the ultimate loser as we
could even lose our life, our health, our job and family, and even God!
In asking Jesus to leave, the villagers might have retained their herds, but
they lost a great opportunity to find the fullness of life. For the Jews,
a pig symbolizes contamination by uncleanness. So to choose the life of a
pig is to live in that manner, under bondage, no direction and a life without
happiness. Which is a better option? Do we want to choose the
fullness of life? For this, it means giving up something and everything
that is detrimental to our well-being and peace of mind. We cannot expect
to find peace and joy if we allow ourselves to be under the bondage of the Evil
One.
Today, the gospel invites
us to take care and make a decision for Christ, like the man who was delivered from
the Evil Spirit. “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.” He not only became a disciple of Jesus but an apostle
to his own people. If we are liberated, we too will have a change of
perspective towards life, like those who suffered from a near death experience
or remission from a terminal illness.
How do we overcome our
fears? Firstly, we must name it. This was what Jesus sought to do
when He asked, “What is your name?” And the Evil Spirit answered, “My
name is legion, for there are many of us.” So acknowledging the
fact that we are obsessed or under bondage is the primary step towards healing
and freedom. Unfortunately, the truth is that those of us who are addicted
or under some kind of bondage would deny the fact. Without the humility
to call a spade a spade, there can be no cure or effective liberation. Rather,
in all honesty, when we name the fear we have, the paralysis of shame is
immediately overcome. That is why when the name of the Evil Spirit was
revealed, they knew that they could no longer stay in the house of the
possessed man. Getting people to acknowledge their sins, their
wrong doings, their addictions and fear is the most challenging part because of
pride. We are all too proud to admit we need help or that we are
sinners. So if we want to be set free from our fear and bondages, name
your sin specifically and it will have lost its power.
Secondly, we must rely on
the strength that comes from Jesus alone. The name of Jesus on the other
hand puts fear into the hearts of the Evil Spirit. “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 from 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.’” We too cannot depend
on our own strength but on Jesus who is our mighty hero to defend us. He
is the Lord of hosts, the army commander of our almighty God. When
we have faith in the name and authority of Jesus over sin and evil, we no
longer have to live in fear. He is our strength and our stronghold.
We are called to imitate
the faith of our fathers. With the psalmist, we pray, “Let your heart
take courage, all who hope in the Lord. How great is the goodness, Lord,
that you keep for those who fear you, that you show to those who trust you in
the sight of men. You hide them in the shelter of your presence from the
plotting of men; you keep them safe within your tent from disputing
tongues.” With the heroes of faith in the Old Testament, we must be
strong in our faith and our battle against our enemies. “Gideon, Barak, Samson,
Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets – these were men who through faith
conquered kingdoms, did what is right and earned the promises. They could
keep a lion’s mouth shut, put out blazing fires and emerge unscathed from
battle. They were weak people who were given strength, to be brave in war
and drive back foreign invaders.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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