Youth for Christ Sto. Tomas Cluster

01302012, Monday

2 Samuel 15:13-14, 30; 16:5-13,  Psalm 3

Gospel: Mark 5:1-20

Jesus Heals A Man With Evil Spirits

Jesus and his disciples arrived on the other side of Lake Galilee, in the territory of Gerasa. As soon as Jesus got out of the boat, he was met by a man who came out of the burial caves there. This man had an evil spirit in him and lived among the tombs. Nobody could keep him tied with chains any more; many times his feet and his hands had been tied, but every time he broke the chains and smashed the irons on his feet. He was too strong for anyone to control him. Day and night he wandered among the tombs and through the hills, screaming and cutting himself with stones.

He was some distance away when he saw Jesus; so he ran, fell on his knees before him, and screamed in a loud voice, “Jesus, Son of the Most High God! What do you want with me? For God’s sake, I beg you, don’t punish me! (He said this because Jesus was saying, “Evil spirit, come out of this man!”

So Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” The man answered, “My name is Mob—there are so many of us!” And he kept begging Jesus not to send the evil spirits out of that region.

There was a large herd of pigs near by, feeding on a hillside. So the spirits begged Jesus, “Send us to the pigs, and let us go into them.”He let them go, and the evil spirits went out of the man and entered the pigs. The whole herd—about two thousand pigs in all—rushed down the side of the cliff into the lake and was drowned.

The men who had been taking care of the pigs ran away and spread the news in the town and among the farms. People went out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they saw the man who used to have the mob of demons in him. He was sitting there, clothed and in his right mind; and they were all afraid.Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the man with the demons, and about the pigs.

So they asked Jesus to leave their territory.

As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had had the demons begged him, “Let me go with you!”

But Jesus would not let him. Instead, he told him, “Go back home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how kind He has been to you.”

So the man left and went all through the Ten Towns, telling what Jesus had done for him. And all who heard it were amazed.

Photo by: Kathleen Carlos

Do you still remember your first confession? Do you still remember how you felt before, during and after you confessed to the priest?

I can still recall mine. Waiting for my turn felt like forever and there were crazy thoughts running inside my young mind. “What if the priest gets so mad and refuses to forgive me for having sinned? What if he shouts at me and tells me that I am a very big disappointment and I don’t deserve the absolution? What if my sins are unforgivable? What if there’s no chance for me?” God knows how anxious I was that day. Listing and acknowledging the sins I committed made me feel doomed, dirtied, hopeless, weak and, at a very young age, I felt so unworthy of God’s forgiveness. Like the possessed man in today’s reading, I, too, am enslaved/possessed/chained/trapped by my sins and I almost felt that no one can rule over the devil inside until my confession.

Confession meant Christ’s forgiveness, a clean slate. It signifies a new beginning and hope. Man, who wouldn’t want that? The only questions left for me were: Would I be given the chance? Do I deserve a chance? What will I do if I there’s another chance?

To answer my mind-boggling questions, let me tell you what happened next. I faced the Priest; sincerely asked for God’s forgiveness and told him all the sins I committed, bowed my head and prepared for his wrath. The priest, after listening to me, smiled warmly, gave me his absolution, asked me to pray three memorized prayer for my penance and allowed me to face the world again with a clean slate, a hopeful heart and as a living testimony of God’s mercy.

All of us are trapped and enslaved by sin and it makes us feel so weak, empty and hopeless. But no matter how grave our sins are, and even if we feel powerless over sin’s wicked control, Christ will always have authority over everything; including the sins that enslave us over and over again. But even though it feels great to stay in that state of freedom, we are still to return to our normal lives and continue writing in our clean slate. But hopefully, we write a different story this time: a story of love and mercy. In the same way that Christ intended for the man to remain and proclaim so is he intending for us to go back to our own places for our lives to be a living testimony of His greatness, grace, love and mercy.

Now, let me ask you, what is your testimony?

Writer: Angel Naval | Artist: Kathleen Carlos

via CFCYOUTHFORCHRIST.NET