Wednesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
It is interesting to observe that in the contemporary age, there is often a sort of reluctance to acknowledge the reality of the demons, who as fallen angels have elected to separate themselves from God rather than serve Him. It is also interesting to observe that in many instances in the Gospel texts, the demons are much quicker to recognize the divinity of Christ than the people around Him.
The Gospel reading today is rich, complex, and mysterious on many levels and there are some subtle details that help to add layers of meaning to the narrative. According to certain scriptural commentaries, the town of Gadara was predominantly populated by Gentiles. This explains the presence of the pigs, which were considered unclean by Jews and thus were not consumed under the Mosaic Law.
The overarching theme of this passage is the impending, total, universal victory of Christ over the forces of evil. Jesus has come to a town that did not worship God and yet in His mercy He still liberated two people from the demons that tormented them. In spite of this miracle and the power that Jesus demonstrated on this occasion, however, the townspeople were unable to see past the destruction of the swine. They were unable to look beyond the superficial, sensational temporal circumstances at hand and recognize the presence of God in their midst. In the same way, it is often so easy for us to get caught up in the sensational happenings of our own times and lose focus on the reality of God in the course of our daily lives. Let us pray for the single-mindedness to remain attentive to Christ throughout each day and to respond to the individual invitation for relationship that He extends to each one of us in His loving Providence.