Another short gospel today during the liturgy. Short gospels are sometimes like a small stick of dynamite, they pack a punch.
Before we get to the gospel here is a little snippet of Pope Benedict's homily on the inauguration of the Pauline year.
Benedict speaks about the burden of faith as being the freedom to love. He states, "Faith is not a theory, it is not an option about God or just another way of seeing the world; Faith is the impact of the love of God on our hearts."
Faith is the love of Jesus impacting us on a daily basis. This love that makes demands, that keeps us from turning in on ourself, pushing us outward. It is this love that trains us how to love. This is the faith that drove St. Paul to the ends of the nations proclaiming Christ.
Now back to the gospel.
Jesus in today's gospel makes his way through the Gadarenes district. A district located int he Jordan river valley.
There he encounters two persons possessed by demons. The demons recognize him as the son of God and ask Him to cast them out in the herd of Swine.
The people of the town, all of them, come out to meet Jesus after the incident, and in meeting Christ the ask him to leave.
The demons recognize Jesus but the people reject him. They reject the burden of faith; they refuse the freedom of love that Jesus demands.
In the eyes of Matthew, the question for us is to ask, 'who is the possessed one in the gospel?'
Is it the ones possessed by the demons or is it the whole town who rejects the offer of love of Christ?
Are we not possessed at times? Do we not reject the burden of faith and the freedom to love that impacts our lives daily? Think about the times we grow impatient, or gossip, or act out aggressively, refuse charity to others, we hate our enemies, curse others, these are the moments we are possessed in need of Jesus to cast out of us that which hinders us from being trained in love.
Let the love of Christ impact you today. This is the burden of faith, the freedom to let Jesus love through you.
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