You are worth more than a "herd of swine" (Tuesday, Week 13, Year II)

-
Events of recent times have proven beyond reasonable doubt that humanity seems to have placed more value on other things than on the dignity of the human person. Every act of man’s inhumanity to man is premised on our propensity to sacrifice human dignity on the altar of material and selfish gains.  

When the prophet Amos cried that justice should roll down like waters, he was challenging and highlighting the hypocrisy of a people who trample upon the needy and then come to the temple to offer burnt and peace offerings of cereals and fatted beasts.

The miracle of the healing of the Gadarene demoniacs not only reveals the love and compassion of God but also exposes the hypocrisy and wickedness of human beings. Gadara was a Greek (Gentile) territory; and this may account for the breeding of swine in the area. Of course, Jews have nothing to do with swine because, according to their laws, pigs are unclean animals. Certainly, the herd of swine was being reared for material gains: rearing for sales and profit. In the presence of Jesus, demons left the two men they possessed and entered that herd of swine which rushed into the sea and perished. What was the immediate reaction of the people of Gadara? They came out and begged Jesus to leave. For them then, it is better to have the swine (their source of material gains) than to see their fellow human beings (the two demoniacs) well and sound. 

This event is enough to remind us that we live in a world where human lives are valued less than material gains. Sometimes, we hardly care or feel concerned about the welfare of others as long as our interests are intact. Often we pretend as if we love and care about others when we are trying to secure some vested material and selfish interest(s). In recent times, human dignity seems to have been more seriously degraded than ever before. 

Jesus came that we, human beings, may have life and have it to the full (cf. John 10:10). He came in our flesh in order to upgrade what has been degraded by sin and injustice. He came to place much higher value on what was devalued by selfishness and pursuit of pleasure. You and I are people of great value and worth, thanks to the intervention of Christ. In our thoughts, words and attitude towards ourselves and towards others, let us not forget that all of us are worth more than “a herd of swine”.    

       

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gifts versus the Giver (Monday, Week 20, Year II)

-
Image
A gift, by the virtue of what it is, is given. In other words, there must be a giver. Gift can come or be in the form of a good friendship or relationship, material thing, good job, personal talent, and so on. Every cherished gift is the delight of our eyes, the pride of our power and the desire of our souls. The gifts that we possess should then remind us of the giver. It smacks of arrogance and ingratitude when gifts are used without acknowledging or making reference to the giver. For the Jews, the Temple or Sanctuary was the delight of their eyes, the pride of their power and the desire of their souls. It was a precious gift which they jealously guarded. However, they adorned the Sanctuary but did not truly adore the One for whom the Sanctuary exists. They were too attached to the “gift” (sanctuary) but were completely detached from the Giver of the gift – from Yahweh. Ezekiel prophesied to them that this sanctuary which was their delight will be profaned and taken away from them. M
Read more

Persecution and Triumph, the Two Realities of Christian life (Saturday, Week 33, Year 2, The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary)

-
Image
The book of Revelation is full of symbols and imageries that need to be carefully interpreted for us to understand the message they communicate. In today’s first reading (cf. Rev. 11:4-12), John was told about two olive trees and two lamp stands serving as witnesses to the Holy One. Who or what do these two sets of witnesses (olive trees and lamp stand) stand for? When we read further in order to understand what happened to these two witnesses, it may be a bit clear to us that the “two witnesses” may be pointing to Moses and Elijah, judging from what they did on earth and what they stand for. Moses stands for the Law; and Elijah stands for the Prophet. Anyone who bears witness as Moses bore witness to the Law of God must be persecuted by the beast as the first reading (from the Book of Revelation) recounted. Anyone who bears witness to the messages of truth as Elijah and other prophets did must be persecuted just as the prophets were persecuted. Persecution is a fate that awaits every
Read more

Enkindle the Embers of Unity, Quench the Fire of Disunity (Wednesday, Week 22, Year A)

-
Image
For some time now, we have heard Paul talk about the spiritual and the unspiritual: what it means to live and operate on the level of the Spirit (the spiritual) and on the level of the flesh (the unspiritual). Paul was very emphatic about this topic possibly because he was addressing a group of people who were too intellectual and academic in their approach to the things of God and all of that. Remember that the Corinthians were Greek; and the ancient Greeks were known to be too particular and more interested in intellectualism, sophistry, philosophy and human wisdom. And we must not forget that Paul has been very suspicious of over-reliance on worldly/human wisdom in understanding and appreciating the things of the Spirit. To rely more on human/worldly wisdom is a sign that one may be operating on the level of the flesh; and to operate on the level of the flesh breeds a whole lot of vices such as division or sectionalism, hedonism, and so on. In today’s section of that letter to the C
Read more