Mk 5:1-20
1[Jesus and his disciples] came to the other side of the sea, to the territory of the Gerasenes. 2When he got out of the boat, at once a man from the tombs who had an unclean spirit met him. 3The man had been dwelling among the tombs, and no one could restrain him any longer, even with a chain. 4In fact, he had frequently been bound with shackles and chains, but the chains had been pulled apart by him and the shackles smashed, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. 5Night and day among the tombs and on the hillsides he was always crying out and bruising himself with stones. 6Catching sight of Jesus from a distance, he ran up and prostrated himself before him, 7crying out in a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me!” 8(He had been saying to him, “Unclean spirit, come out of the man!”) 9He asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “Legion is my name. There are many of us.” 10And he pleaded earnestly with him not to drive them away from that territory.
11Now a large herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside. 12And they pleaded with him, “Send us into the swine. Let us enter them.” 13And he let them, and the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine. The herd of about two thousand rushed down a steep bank into the sea, where they were drowned... 18As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed pleaded to remain with him. 19But he would not permit him but told him instead, “Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you.” 20Then the man went off and began to proclaim in the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him; and all were amazed.
Go home to your family: Blessings are never intended for the recipients alone. Our blessings are meant to be shared, to inspire others, and to be given in service to our people. Moreover, we should always recognize from whom the blessings come—the Lord God—and through whom they pass—the instruments who pave the way for the blessings to reach us.
Blessings are not meant to stop with us. Go home and tell your family, your neighbors, and your people how much the Lord loves and hopes in you. Share your blessings with them, and these become real blessings!
Swine: Swine is enumerated among the unclean animals because, while it cleaves the hoof, it does not chew the cud (Lv 11:7). Abstention from pork is one of the key symbols of Jewish observance. The territory of the Gerasenes was inhabited also by pagans who kept herds of swine. In Jesus’ exorcism, the demon (Legion) is “unclean” and dwells in an unclean animal, the swine. The presence of the Messiah rejects both the demon and the unclean animal. The sacred soil of the holy land cannot hold both of them, and so they perish in the sea.