Matthew 8:28-34

Genesis 21:5, 8-20a

Psalm 34:7-8, 10-11, 12-13

Matthew 8:28-34

When Jesus came to the territory of the Gadarenes,

two demoniacs who were coming from the tombs met him.

They were so savage that no one could travel by that road.

They cried out, “What have you to do with us, Son of God?

Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?”

Some distance away a herd of many swine was feeding.

The demons pleaded with him,

“If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine.”

And he said to them, “Go then!”

They came out and entered the swine,

and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea

where they drowned.

The swineherds ran away,

and when they came to the town they reported everything,

including what had happened to the demoniacs.

Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus,

and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I thank you for sending your Son to conquer evil and dismantle the Kingdom of the devil. Where there is death, your Son brings life. Where there is sin, your Son brings reconciliation. Where there are wounds, your Son brings healing. Where there is darkness, your Son brings light and grace.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Cleansing Power of the Kingdom: In the Gospel of Matthew, each of the five major discourses of Jesus is preceded by a narrative that anticipates the theme of the discourse that follows. Chapters 8 and 9 prepare us for the “Missionary Sermon” in Matthew 10:5-42. The twelve apostles will be sent out to preach about the coming of the Kingdom, to heal the sick, to raise the dead, to cleanse lepers, and to cast out demons (Matthew 10:7). These are the same things that Jesus has done. He preached about the Kingdom, especially in the Sermon on the Mount. He healed the sick in Galilee (Matthew 4:23) and in Capernaum (Matthew 8:5-17). He raised a girl from the dead (Matthew 9:23-26). He cleansed a leper (Matthew 8:1-4). And, in today’s Gospel, he casts out demons. Jesus has the power to cleanse what is unclean, and it is a power he will grant to his Apostles. It is a power he has granted to the bishops and priests of the Church, who in the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Anointing, and the Rite of Exorcism, continue to cast out demons, evil, and sin.

2. Isaac, the Son of the Promise: In the First Reading, we see Sarah react very forcefully to Ishmael, the teenage son of Hagar, playing, laughing at, and mocking her son, Isaac, who is just a toddler. She didn’t want Ishmael to share any of the inheritance and pressed Abraham to disinherit Ishmael and expel him from their camp. This distressed Abraham, now over a hundred years old, but he acquiesced to Sarah’s demands and received God’s word that Ishmael would also be the beginning of a great nation. But God also reassures Abraham that Isaac will be the son through whom Abraham’s descendants will bear his name. This has a twofold fulfillment. On the one hand, the nation of Israel will descend from Abraham through Isaac and his son, Jacob. On the other hand, we are all through faith in Jesus Christ, spiritual descendants of Abraham. Our God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Isaac is the son promised to Abraham, from whom Jesus Christ, the son of Abraham (Matthew 1:1), will also descend.

3. The Effects of Sin: The story of the banishment of Hagar and Ishmael is a sad story. It highlights the effects of sin in our lives. Abraham should not have listened to his wife’s solution to their problem of no heirs and children. Sin often presents itself as an apparent good in the moment, but it leaves lasting scars and engenders strife. We might think that our sins done in secret are secret, but they always wound our relationship to God and wound the Body of Christ. Abraham’s sin with Hagar, even though it was proposed by Sarah herself, deeply wounded the spousal relationship with his wife. It drove Sarah to propose abandoning her maidservant and Ishmael, her son, in the wilderness to die. What effects of sin have I observed in my life?

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, Son of Abraham, take pity on me and heal my wounds. Enlighten my mind to know where evil still lurks in my heart. Strengthen my will to combat the evil one and live as a child of the light.

Living the Word of God: Have I recently thanked God for the power of the Sacraments? Do I see how Jesus’ work is continued in the Church through the Sacraments?