OUTCASTS ARE PEOPLE

June 30, Wednesday

THIRTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

 

      God fulfilled at least a bit of his promise to Abraham, that in him, the families of the earth would be blessed. Ishmael, the son of the slave girl, would not inherit the promises made to Abraham, but God took pity on this outcast and made him the ancestor of nomadic Bedouin tribes.

      Jesus takes pity on people considered possessed by the devil, outcasts of little value to their pagan fellow citizens, who are more concerned about the loss of their pigs than over the cure of these outcasts. This text is difficult to understand unless we pay attention to the underlying theme of impurity. The outcasts from whom Jesus will exorcise demons live in an impure place, a cemetery; the demons are driven out into pigs, unclean animals for the Jews. The pagans of the region do not yet recognize Jesus and this seems to indicate that the story is symbolic of times still to come: evil is still rampant. But in any case, the power of Jesus is already working.

 

First Reading: Genesis 21:5,8-20

Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born.

Sarah said,

God has blessed me with laughter
and all who get the news will laugh with me!

The baby grew and was weaned. Abraham threw a big party on the day Isaac was weaned.

One day Sarah saw the son that Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham, poking fun at her son Isaac. She told Abraham, “Get rid of this slave woman and her son. No child of this slave is going to share inheritance with my son Isaac!”

The matter gave great pain to Abraham—after all, Ishmael was his son. But God spoke to Abraham, “Don’t feel badly about the boy and your maid. Do whatever Sarah tells you. Your descendants will come through Isaac. Regarding your maid’s son, be assured that I’ll also develop a great nation from him—he’s your son, too.”

Abraham got up early the next morning, got some food together and a canteen of water for Hagar, put them on her back and sent her away with the child. She wandered off into the desert of Beersheba. When the water was gone, she left the child under a shrub and went off, fifty yards or so. She said, “I can’t watch my son die.” As she sat, she broke into sobs.

Meanwhile, God heard the boy crying. The angel of God called from Heaven to Hagar, “What’s wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid. God has heard the boy and knows the fix he’s in. Up now; go get the boy. Hold him tight. I’m going to make of him a great nation.”

¹⁹ Just then God opened her eyes. She looked. She saw a well of water. She went to it and filled her canteen and gave the boy a long, cool drink.

^20-21 God was on the boy’s side as he grew up. He lived out in the desert and became a skilled archer. He lived in the Paran wilderness. And his mother got him a wife from Egypt.

 

Gospel: Matthew 8:28-34

The Madmen and the Pigs

They landed in the country of the Gadarenes and were met by two madmen, victims of demons, coming out of the cemetery. The men had terrorized the region for so long that no one considered it safe to walk down that stretch of road anymore. Seeing Jesus, the madmen screamed out, “What business do you have giving us a hard time? You’re the Son of God! You weren’t supposed to show up here yet!” Off in the distance a herd of pigs was browsing and rooting. The evil spirits begged Jesus, “If you kick us out of these men, let us live in the pigs.”

Jesus said, “Go ahead, but get out of here!” Crazed, the pigs stampeded over a cliff into the sea and drowned. Scared to death, the swineherds bolted. They told everyone back in town what had happened to the madmen and the pigs. Those who heard about it were angry about the drowned pigs. A mob formed and demanded that Jesus get out and not come back.

 

Prayer

Lord our God,
Your Son, Jesus Christ, took pity
on people rejected by their society
and restored them as human beings.
Never allow us to judge anyone
and to reject people from our communities.
Make us leave the judgment to you
for you alone know what is going on
in the hearts of people.
Make us mild and compassionate
through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

 

Reflection:

The Cost of Freedom

The readings of these days in one way or another talk about the risks involved in going into unfamiliar places and situations. We prefer to stick to the known, to the environment in which we feel safe and secure. Jesus along with the disciples travel to a pagan territory of Gadara. There The incident happened in Gentile territory; and the presence of pigs and of tombs, both sources of uncleanness, confirmed that it was not a place preferred by the Jews. But why did Jesus go to this place of horror? There were no Jewish community; Jesus and his disciples had no acquaintance in the region; Moreover, the first entry of the Jesus and his disciples is into the place of those people who were possessed by the demons – the tombs.
The Gentile territory clearly identified the context as that of the Roman Empire, significantly, under the control of demons. Their fierceness was undisputed. Their naming of Jesus as man of God was a vain attempt to secure control over him.
The people of Gadara lived very quietly. They had the problem of the demoniacs, but they had them chained in the cemetery. Perhaps it was possible that the people of Gadara wanted to be free from the demon-possessed. But not at the cost of losing their wealth, their comfort, their security. When we read the entire incident, Matthew suggests that Jesus could not do anything in this region other than healing those two demoniacs. After this, he was forced to leave the region.
The pigs’ abrupt rush to the lake, and their dying in it, recalled the defeat of Israel’s former oppressor, Egypt, and the certainty of God’s liberating action. But What Jesus does is not appreciated by the gentiles. Matthew’s concern was to highlight that the Gentile inhabitants of the town did not want liberation. As happens so often with oppressive regimes, those who were oppressed colluded in their own oppression. The price of freedom could seem too much. They were still worried about the loss of their wealth. That’s why they kick him out of the country.
It would be interesting to examine in which areas of our life we do not want Jesus to enter because, although a bit demonised, we still prefer the securities and wealth that bring us social status, comforts and pleasures.

 

Video available on Youtube: The Cost of Freedom