Notice in the gospel though, after Jesus delivered the two men of the demons and made them well, the entire town got upset and asked him to leave. Why did they ask him to leave? Were they upset over Christ’s supernatural powers and didn’t know how to handle the experience? Was their gut reaction to reject him because they did not understand what had happened? Were they afraid of him? Or was it a more selfish reason? Perhaps they became so upset with him because they lost their herd of swine. Was the loss of the herd of swine more important to them, than the two men’s deliverance from evil?
Many times in life it seems that our first reaction to a new situation is, “how will this affect me?” We sometimes see the world through the lens of self interest. What would I gain from this situation? Or, how much time, money or effort might this entail? We need to be careful about our initial reactions though, because if you noticed, that is the first thing the demons said to Jesus too. “What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?” When they saw Jesus, the first thing they did was to think of themselves and how his appearance would personally affect them. They instinctively knew their lives would never be the same again, after their encounter with Christ.
A genuine encounter with Christ is always like that though. Many adults enter the Catholic church and experience first hand, the knowledge that their encounter with Christ will change the direction of their lives. They will never be the same again. And they are right. They aren’t. None of us are. Especially when we get married, or have a new baby, or when a man takes the vows of holy orders, or a nun is consecrated to the religious life. Life is never the same again. It changed forever. And, in a similar manner to the herd of swine today, there is no going back.
However, we have chosen an unfailing stream of goodness, rather than drowning in our own self interests.
A thought for today might be to ask ourselves when we encounter a new situation in our lives, is our first reaction to think of ourselves? Our own comfort, convenience, resources, or what effort this new situation might require of us? Is an encounter with a new person or situation mainly an interruption in our lives, an interruption to our own plans? Or do we make an attempt to see other people’s needs too?
The second commandment Christ gave us is to love others as we love ourselves. May the good Lord help us today, to see the world through his heart, and not through the lens of our own self interests.
Daily Mass Readings:
Amos 5: 14-15, 21-24 / Psalm 50 / Matthew 8: 28-44
