The Lord will not allow the evil spirit to have their way

2 Sam. 15:13-14.30.16:5-13, Mk 5:1-20. Sometimes our deepest sorrows come from disappointment from friends and family who should understand us the most. Today's first reading presents us with the account of the misery of David. One of his sons, Absalom rebelled against him and attempted to seize the kingdom for himself. Absalom was a cunning and proud man, as he likely saw himself as the one who was to succeed his father as king of Israel and he began to plot his rise to power. He gained significant support and eventually began his rebellion, forcing his father, David, the rightful king to flee Jerusalem with some of his trusted advisors and servants. While on his journey away from his royal city, David encounters Shimei, a kinsman of the former king, Saul. The kinsman curses David and blames him for Saul’s death. When one of David’s companions wants to kill the man who cursed the king, David responds by saying, “If my own son who came forth from my loins is seeking my life, how much more might this Benjaminite do so. Let him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to.”

David did not waver in his commitment and dedication to the Lord, despite the challenges and hardships he endured. In the end, he remained true and committed to God. David believed that there is nothing impossible for God, as long as he is faithful to the Lord, he has nothing to fear about. God shall be by his side just as He had always done. With God on our side, we shall be able to cast out evils of our time like Jesus. In today's Gospel, Jesus cast our many evil spirits and demons from a possessed man in the wilderness in the region of the Gerasenes, which was the region beyond the Jordan River on the other side from Jerusalem and Judea. That man had suffered for a long time and had been ostracised from the community due to his affliction and condition. He wandered off in the wilderness until that time when the Lord Jesus passed by with His disciples. The evil spirits, aptly named Legion for their great numbers, who tormented the man, recognised the Lord and asked Him what He wanted to do with them. Certainly the Lord would not have let those wicked spirits have their way. He ordered them to go out from the man and freed him from their dominion and power. The man was healed and was completely restored, while the local populace was terrified of what they witnessed. After this encounter, the man believed in God and wanted to follow Him. The Lord told the man to go back to his community and tell everyone all that he had experienced.

May the Lord continue to be our shield and help, so that the works of our hands may always display His goodness! Amen!! Good morning and have a productive week!!!