HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE THIRTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR II. 01.07.2020.
ASKING CHRIST TO LEAVE
After Christ
rebuked the storm, “He came to the other
side of the sea, to the country of Gadarenes, where two men with demonic spirit
met him, coming out of the tomb, so fierce that no one could pass that way.”
At the sight of Christ, they observed a superior power over them and they cried
out, “What have you to do with us oh Son
of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” The demons
tormenting these poor men wanted to be left alone. They did not want Christ to
interfere with their horrible work. Their cry was a way to tell Christ to ‘Mind
your business! Do not interfere with our trade! Leave us alone, and go
elsewhere!’ How often do we ask Christ to leave us alone and go elsewhere?
It is interesting
to note that, even if the demons have nothing to do with Christ, He has something
to do with them. Recognizing the person of Christ as, ‘Son of God’, they pleaded
to be thrown into swine when they said, “If
you cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.” They knew their immediate
destiny (to be cast out) and their ultimate destiny (to suffer everlasting
torment), that is why they asked, “Have
you come to torment us before the time?” They wanted the freedom to do as
much damage as they could before the time, their destiny of torment. They also
understood that they had limited time, and therefore worked as hard as they
could until they could not work anymore. If the demons could be determined to
achieve their plans within a short space of time, what about we that share in
the sonship of Christ, how determined are we to carry out the project of
Christ?
It is striking
that after bringing the demoniacs to a greater fullness of life, the people of
the region implored Christ to leave the neighbourhood. Ordinarily, one will
expect that they will request for his presence in the city, to help them cleans
the city from all demonic attacks, but the reverse was the case. This particular
act left me in deep contemplation. Why will they prefer darkness to light? Perhaps
the people were nervous of such power for good, fearing that it might make
demands on them.
While contemplating
on the act of the people, demanding Christ to leave the neighbourhood, I
realize we too can be tempted to ask Christ to leave our neighbourhood and
leave us alone. We can be tempted to ask Him like the demons to ‘Stay your lane
let me stay my lane.’ We sometimes want to keep him at a distance. We sense
that His nearness might be very demanding. He might call us to go out towards
those who live on the edge of the community, as he himself went out towards the
two demoniacs who lived among the tombs. The demand could be mission to rural
communities or undesired places, the demand could be perseverance in marriage; it
could be tolerance, of which one would like to retaliate, the demand could be
on faithfulness or fidelity, of which, if Christ is present with us, He curbs will
our infidelity or whatever sin we derive pleasure in doing. Yet, if we welcome
the Lord into our lives, rather than keeping him at a distance, we will
discover that he gives us the strength to respond to the challenging call of
his presence and in responding to that call, we too will find a greater
fullness of life. May we not ask Him to leave by our way of life, rather invite
Him to dwell with us all the days of our lives through Christ our Lord. Amen! Peace
be with you!
Fr. Ken Dogbo, OSJ
May Christ never leave us even when we say so for we do not know what we say or do without Him . May He continue to be by our side to guide and guard us. Amen. Thank you Fr. Do have a pleasant day ahead.
ReplyDeleteHappy new month Father. Thank you
ReplyDelete