Working to Wholeness

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today remind us of our heritage of faith and highlight Jesus call to be freed from demons that separate us from being examples of Love to others.

Darker days

The Letter to the Hebrews recalls the Faith of the Ancients who worked in hope of fulfillment of the Promise.

 * [11:40] So that without us they should not be made perfect: the heroes of the Old Testament obtained their recompense only after the saving work of Christ had been accomplished. Thus they already enjoy what Christians who are still struggling do not yet possess in its fullness.1

In the Gospel from Mark, The Healing of the Gerasene Demoniac, extends Jesus miracles of exorcism to pagan peoples.

 * [5:2–6] The man was an outcast from society, dominated by unclean spirits (Mk 5:8, 13), living among the tombs. The prostration before Jesus (Mk 5:6) indicates Jesus’ power over evil spirits.2

Mariana Miller would like to highlight a few points from Jesus action in the Gospel.

 Which are the present day “Legions” that take over our lives and leave us not in control and “unfree” to love? Is it the desire to pursue of wealth and power at any cost? Is it consumerism, addiction, anger, impatience, …. If we have the courage to stand in front of Jesus just the way we are, with our shortcomings and weaknesses as well as with our talents and hopes, we will be liberated to live in the peace and joy that friendship with Jesus brings. Once healed by Jesus, the man in the story was missioned by him to go and tell his people how he had been freed. Let us be attentive to our mission of sharing with our lives, the good news of Jesus’ healing presence in our midst.Let us also be aware that we might be confronted by rejection. The people in the town, “… were seized with fear,” and they begged Jesus to leave, they probably did not want that man to stay either.3

Don Schwager quotes “The God-Man beheld,” by Gregory of Nazianzus (330 - 390 AD).

 "Yes, he is recognized by demons (Luke 4:33-34, Mark 1:23-24), drives out demons (Matthew 8:16, Mark 1:34), drowns deep a legion of spirits (Matthew 8:32; Mark 5:9,13; Luke 8:30,33) and sees the prince of demons falling like lightning (Luke 10:18). He is stoned, yet not hit (John 8:59; 10:31,39); he prays yet he hears prayer (Matthew 8:13; Mark 1:35). He weeps (John 11:35), yet he puts an end to weeping (Luke 7:13; 8:522; 23:28). He asks where Lazarus is (John 11:34) - he was man; yet he raises Lazarus (John 11:43-44) - he was God." (excerpt from ORATION 29, ON THE SON 20)4

The Word Among Us Meditation on Hebrews 11:32-40 asks “Have you heard of the Hall of Faith?”

 God sees you. He sees the work you’re doing. He sees your faithfulness. He sees your repentance when you fall. And he wants you to know that you can glorify the Lord just as the ancient ones did. Remember, he loves using little people, even anonymous people. In fact, the last portion of this Hall of Faith is devoted to unnamed heroes (Hebrews 11:35-38). Even the author of Hebrews is never named, and Bible scholars still aren’t sure who he might have been.
So take heart. Even if you feel insignificant, God has not forgotten about you. He knows your name, and he wants to make you his representative in the world.5

Friar Jude Winkler notes the passage from the Letter to the Hebrews reads like a roster of Old Testament heroes. Jesus miracles are in 3 types: nature, exorcism, healing. Friar Jude observes that Mark has three pagans recognize Jesus as “Son of God”.

 Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that anthropologically speaking, some words and assumptions reflect a magical or what he calls “transactional” way of thinking. By that he means that if we just believe the right thing, say the right prayer, or practice the right ritual, things will go right for us in the divine courtroom. In his experience, this way of thinking loses its power as people and cultures grow up and seek actual changes in their minds and hearts. Then, transformational thinking tends to supplant transactional thinking.

 Christianity’s vision of God was a radical departure from most ancient religions. Instead of having God “eat” humans, animals, or crops, which were sacrificed on altars, Christianity made the bold claim that God’s very body was given for us to eat! This turned everything around and undid the seeming logic of quid pro quo thinking. As long as we employ any retributive notion of God’s offended justice (required punishment for wrongdoing), we trade our distinctive Christian message for the cold, hard justice that has prevailed in many cultures throughout history. We offer no redemptive alternative, but actually sanctify the very “powers and principalities” that Paul says unduly control the world (Ephesians 3:9-10; 6:12). We stay inside the small “myth of redemptive violence”—which might just be the dominant story line of history. I think the punishment model is buried deep in most peoples’ brain stem.
It’s time for Christianity to rediscover the real biblical theme of restorative justice, which focuses on rehabilitation, healing, and reconciliation, not punishment. (Read Ezekiel 16, especially the revelatory verses 53-63, for a mind-blowing example of this.) We should call Jesus’ story the “myth of redemptive suffering”—not as in “paying a price” but as in offering the self for the other. “At-one-ment” instead of atonement!6

The path of transformation to wholeness will resonate with the experience of our ancestors and will involve our witness to the freedom we find along our journey.

References

1	(n.d.). Hebrews, chapter 11 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved February 4, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/hebrews/11
2	(n.d.). Mark, chapter 5 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved February 4, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/mark/5
3	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved February 4, 2019, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
4	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved February 4, 2019, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
5	(2019, February 4). Mass Readings and Catholic Daily .... Retrieved February 4, 2019, from https://wau.org/meditations/2019/02/04/
6	(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archives — Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved February 4, 2019, from https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/