Cast Out Unclean Spirits
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Gospel
Mk 5:1-20
They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Ger´asenes. And when he had come out of the boat, there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who lived among the tombs; and no one could bind him any more, even with a chain; for he had often been bound with fetters and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the fetters he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out, and bruising himself with stones. And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped him; and crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” For he had said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” And he begged him eagerly not to send them out of the country. Now a great herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside; and they begged him, “Send us to the swine, let us enter them.” So he gave them leave. And the unclean spirits came out, and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the sea.
The herdsmen fled, and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. And they came to Jesus, and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. And those who had seen it told what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine. And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their neighborhood. And as he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. But he refused, and said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decap´olis how much Jesus had done for him; and all men marveled.
Readings are from Dynamic Catholic’s New Testament Bible: RSV Catholic Edition
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Transcript
Cast Out Unclean Spirits
Welcome back to Radical and Relevant. Let's take a look at the genius of the gospel, the genius of Catholicism, the genius of the life and teachings of Jesus, and see what they have to share with us today. Today's reading is again from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 5 verses 1 through 20. Jesus and His disciples came to the other side of the sea, to the country of Gerasenes And when he had come out of the boat, there met him out of the tombs, a man with an unclean spirit, who lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, even with a chain.
For he had been bound with fetters and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart and the fetters he broke in pieces, and no one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains, he was always crying out and bruising himself with stones. And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped him. And crying out with a loud voice, he said, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of God, the Most High? I adore you, my God. Do not torment me.
For he had said to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit." And Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He replied, "My name is Legion, for we are many." And he begged him eagerly, "Do not send them out of the country." Now a great herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside. And the evil spirits begged him: "Send us to the swine. Let us enter there." So he gave them leave. And the unclean spirits came out, entered the swine, and the herd, numbering about 2,000, rushed down a steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the sea.
The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country, and people came to see what it was that had happened. And they came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the man who had had the legion and they were afraid of. And those who had seen it told what had happened to the demoniac and the swine. And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their neighborhood. And as he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him.
But Jesus refused and said to him, "Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you. And he went away and began to proclaim in Decopolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all men marveled. Again, there's so much in a reading like this, and that's why we're just looking for a word or a phrase or an idea. What strikes me here in this sort of a series of days we have this theme is Jesus is healing people and particularly Jesus is casting out spirits. What spirit do you need Jesus to cast out of you?
Do you need Him to cast out a spirit of impatience? Do you need Him to cast out a spirit of stinginess? Do you need Him to cast out some other sort of spirit? But we all have the tendency, I think, to read these readings and think, "Oh, yeah, those people are possessed by demons." And that's not me. And that isn't true. I think we do all have unclean spirits. We do need them cast out, and Jesus is the man for the job. So think about today. Reflect on that. What unclean spirit would you like Jesus to cast out of your life?
And then go to Him in prayer and ask Him, beg Him, like the demoniac did today, to cast that Spirit out of you, to cast that Spirit out of your life. God bless you. Have a great day. Remember, don't just be yourself. Be the very best version of yourself, all that God created you to be
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