20210201 TENSION BETWEEN FAITH AND FEAR
01 February, 2021, Monday, 4th Week, Ordinary Time
First reading |
Hebrews 11:32-40 © |
The example of the Old Testament saints
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.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 30(31):20-24 © |
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.
Gospel Acclamation | Jn17:17 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is truth, O Lord:
consecrate us in the truth.
Alleluia!
Or: | Lk7:16 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
A great prophet has appeared among us;
God has visited his people.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 5:1-20 © |
The Gadarene swine
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.
TENSION BETWEEN FAITH AND FEAR
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Heb 11:32-40; Ps 31:20-24; Mk 5:1-20 ]
We all live in fear each day. We fear we might not have enough for our family or for retirement. We fear that we will be out of job during this economic downturn. We fear for our health. We fear losing our loved ones someday. That is why we work hard, save lots of money, hoard our possessions, take all kinds of supplements and insurance to overcome our fear. Of course, the last insurance some of us take is to trust God in case our earthly endeavors and securities fail us. But God, for most people, is the last resort, or just a back-up plan.
The scripture readings today invite us to overcome our fear with faith. The examples of faith are given to us in the first reading from the letter to the Hebrews. The author presents to us the heroes of faith in the past, mostly from the Old Testament and the Inter-testament periods. Earlier on, he had elaborated in great detail the faith of Abel, Enoch, Noah, and culminating in Abraham, Sarah and Moses. Other models of faith were mentioned as well. “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.” Indeed, the bible is not just the story of God’s love for His people but also a testimony of those whose lives manifested faith in God. The author was also thinking of the inter-testament era when the Maccabees stood up for their faith which was being destroyed by Antiochus IV Epiphanes when he mentioned the atrocious cruelty committed against the Jews. He sought to suppress the Jewish religion by desecrating the Temple, forbade Jewish practices and forced them to sacrifice to idols. He wanted to Hellenize the Jews. But the Maccabees revolted and saved the Jewish faith.
Most of them died in faith and some suffered violent deaths, but they saved their people. By going through the history of Israel, the author demonstrated the power of faith in defying the fear of suffering, martyrdom and death. It was their faith that eventually saved themselves and their people. It was faith that gave them the strength to overcome their enemies in spite of the odds against them in terms of military power, soldiers and armory. Yet, faith shows that God’s arm was not shortened in any way and He was the commander of Israel’s army, seeing through their victory over their enemies. Yet, as he noted, “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.” A greater hope was promised to them and in faith, they believed even though they did not see it.
Indeed, faith overcomes fear. This, too, is the theme of the gospel as well. Today’s text must be read in continuity with the last pericope when the Lord calmed the storm. His disciples were in fear when a “great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.” (Mk 4:37) They cried out to the master to save them. When the storm was calmed by the Lord, He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mk 4:40) But it is significant that after removing human fear, another fear took its place, namely, reverential fear. Indeed, “they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?'” (Mk 4:41) This is an important lesson to learn because this is what today’s gospel seeks to illustrate.
Human fears can only be overcome by faith in God, which is the consequence of reverential fear of Him. This is considered a gift of wisdom, one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. “His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.” (Isa 11:3) The book of Sirach underscores that fear of the Lord is true wisdom and leads to wisdom. (Sir 1:11-20)
This message is illustrated in the healing of the man who had an unclean spirit, or rather a legion of 6000 thousand spirits in him. We read that this “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.” We can imagine the fear this possessed man put into the hearts of the villagers. He was living in the caves where the tombs were found. He was extraordinarily strong. It was good that he was left alone among the caves so that the villagers could have some peace. It was already dark when the disciples arrived at Gerasa, as they departed only in the evening. In such a situation, it made everything even more scary. They were in fear.
But it was not only the villagers and the disciples who were fearful of the possessed man. Ironically, the unclean spirits in the possessed man feared the Lord. “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!'” The unclean spirit recognized Jesus for who He was. Hence, he bowed down in submission and surrender before the power of God in Jesus. Most of all, he was afraid of being driven out with no place to go. Furthermore, his name was Legion, for there were many of them. “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 spirit begged him, ‘Send us to the pigs, let us go into them.’ So he gave them leave.”
This was followed by a momentary peace before fear set in again for those who did not have faith in our Lord when they saw how “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”. They had witnessed the enormous power of evil, but even greater still, the power of God. “The swineherds ran off and told their story in the town and in the country round about; and the people came to see what really happened.” It was something so spectacular that they could not imagine the power of God over the unclean spirit. The pigs would have had a long run of six to twenty miles to the sea before they were thrown off the cliff. No one could doubt the power of God, for they “saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his full senses – the very man who had had the legion in him before.”
But the evangelist noted, “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.” Ironically, this was such a twist, from fear to peace and back to fear. This happened simply because they had no faith in Jesus. Without faith in Jesus, human fears cannot be eliminated. They will come back to haunt us. The people were afraid for their livelihood as it was a great economic cost for them to restore the man back to sanity. Now they had an added fear because then, the fear was in one man who was localized at the caves. It was manageable. They could just isolate that fear from their lives by ignoring it. Isn’t that what we do? When we do not like to face our fears, we suppress them by distractions and preoccupations with other things. We do not want to deal with them directly because we do not want to face them.
But the man who was healed knew that Jesus was His Lord. “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.” The man, finding peace and restoration, became a messenger and an apostle of our Lord among the Gentiles, sowing the seeds of faith. He who lived in fear, now liberated from the oppression of the Evil One, joined Jesus in setting others free from fear by surrendering their fears to God.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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