ExorciSe Your Fears
Jesus in the Gospel today goes to Gadara, a town east of the lake of Galilee and a pagan area. While the Gospel began with a story of triumph as we see Jesus exorcise two men possessed by evil spirits, it ends with a note of sadness as we read, “The upshot was that the entire town came out to meet Jesus. When they caught sight of him, they begged him to leave their neighborhood.”
Why did the people ask Jesus to leave their neighborhood?
Perhaps the people who took care of the swines got angry at Jesus as the spirits went into the swine and went rushing straight into the sea and drowned. Perhaps they feared that Jesus’ presence will all the more agitate the spirits roaming in the tombs. The Gospel did not make clear the reason for their inhospitality. But what is clear is this. They did not want the “trouble” Jesus will make in their territory — both communal and personal.
I doubt that Jesus visited Gadara just to expel demons. I believe Jesus visited this pagan territory to announce the same message of the Kingdom at hand. Could that have frightened this pagan area? Did they ask Jesus to leave because they do not want the status quo of their belief system disturbed or challenged?
A great deal of growth is put to waste simply because of our fear of facing challenges, of meeting them head-on. A lot of opportunities are left untapped because of our contentment with the status quo. I call this the Gadarene complex. Fr. Joel Jason
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: How do you meet the challenges in your life? What areas of your life are afflicted by the Gadarene complex?
Lord Jesus, help me to welcome every difficulty as an opportunity for growth. Except for clear occasions of sin, may I never run away from challenges feeling that I didn’t even try. Amen.
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