There is darkness and suffering in the world and at times it can be overwhelming. We can experience this darkness far away while other times we experience it up close and personal. I could give some examples, but I will not. We do have to acknowledge the reality of the darkness, but we do not have to feed or sensationalize it. Our readings shed a little bit of light on how we can approach the darkness.
In the first reading, David, already suffering from the news that his son, Absalom, was wanting to overthrow him, chose to “take flight” rather than attack him with arms. As they are fleeing, they are not met by Absalom and his men, but a man named Shimei who begins to hurl curses, dirt, and stones at David.
David was by no means perfect, but he knew how to repent and turn back to God. Instead of crushing his son with the might of his own army or reacting violently toward Shimei, David not only endures Shimei’s tantrum, he accepts it as God’s will. When one of his military leaders, Abishai, offers to lop off his head, David responds, “What business is it of mine or of yours, sons of Zeruiah, that he curses? Suppose the LORD has told him to curse David; who then will dare to say, ‘Why are you doing this? (2 Samuel 16:10)’”
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus meets the Gerasene demoniac. This man was lost to his family and friends. No one could do anything to help him, and yet when Jesus came there was hope, he was a light in the darkness. Jesus called the unclean spirit out of the man from a distance. Could Jesus’ words been just the spark to ignite in this man who had all but lost hope? Was he able to then run to Jesus and prostrate himself before him as the unclean spirits sought to keep him bound and remain at a distance?
The unclean spirit made an attempt to mock Jesus, but Jesus showed his power and authority to free this man from the actual legion of spirits that possessed him. The heir of David exorcised the unclean spirits from this man. Sitting before Jesus freed and whole again, he asked to follow Jesus. Jesus instead sent him to go home to his family, to preach the good news of his freedom. What a witness he must have been!
Both David and Jesus reveal to us that meeting darkness with darkness is not the answer, reacting in kind only feeds the darkness. When we lose all hope, let us trust in Jesus, there is always a way. Let us allow Jesus to shine his light and fill us with the warmth of his love so that we may have the humility to see our weaknesses and surrender them to Jesus so that we can be forgiven, healed, and strengthened. If we don’t, we will remain vulnerable to the attack of the enemy.
The gift of the sacrament of Reconciliation helps us to do just that. When we find we are suffering with habits of sin and or recurring, unhealthy behaviors, we can bring them to the light by confessing them. Having the humility to bring them out into the open allows us to be released from the tendrils of their grip on us and we too can be forgiven, healed, and free.
Photo: Canonical retreat back in November, Bethany Retreat Center, Lutz, FL.
Spiritual Stepping Stones 