Tuesday, February 1, 2005
The Venerable Bridget of Ireland
3rd Three Hierarchs: Wisdom 3:1-9 Epistle: 2 Corinthians 8:7-15 Gospel: St. Mark 3:6-12
St. Mark 3:6-12, especially vs. 10: "For He healed many, so that as many as had
afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him." This short passage from St. Mark's Gospel depicts our Lord Jesus Christ at a
time fairly early in His public ministry as He was responding to a great whirl of excitement and activity surrounding Him -
serious enemies plotting to destroy Him, thronging crowds wanting to see and touch Him, disciples following Him, and, in
the spiritual dimension, demons cringing before Him and screaming. Historically speaking, all this bustle was a long time
ago, but, in fact, the pattern is quite contemporary. The Body of Christ today has enemies plotting its destruction. Great
multitudes are coming into the Church seeking healing, and, as ever, the Church's leadership is taking care to preserve the
integrity of the Faith. Meanwhile, only the godless fail to perceive the noise and opposition of the demons. We do well to
pay attention to the Lord's responses to these actions.
For the first time, the Orthodox Church finds itself upon the stage and in the whirl of world events and history. In the ebb
and flow of peoples and nations, Orthodoxy has suffered terribly in the last one hundred years from malignant enemies who
were and are committed to destroying it. Incalculable numbers of Christians have been killed following the Master in the
way of the Cross. Others of the Faithful went underground and some emigrated to avoid blatant persecution. Yet, the Faith
of the Apostles has been spread world-wide in a manner unknown in previous centuries. Withdrawal is not always the
choice of weakness and fear, as the Lord's choice to leave when His enemies in Capernaum plotted to kill Him reveals
(vss. 6-7).
What of the crowds that followed Him? When genuine Life makes Himself available, multitudes always will flock to the
Lord Jesus for healing, though, perhaps, some will come merely to satisfy curiosity - to see if the reports of miracles are
really true. All the crowds that came wanted to be near enough to Jesus that they might touch Him physically (vss. 7-10), a
phenomenon that the glamorous, media superstars of our day endure as part of their notoriety. But observe how the Lord
responded, having an eye to prevent untimely accidents either to Himself or to others who might be crushed by the crowd:
"He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him" (vs. 9). Yet, ever compassionate, "He healed many,
so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him" (vs. 10).
In the midst of the social storm circulating around the Lord Jesus, there were those sad ones who were captured by demons.
Notice that the evil spirits, though in possession of the souls of various tortured human beings, knew Him well even
through the veil of the humanity He assumed; for, we are told, "the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down
before Him and cried out, saying, 'You are the Son of God'" (vs.11). Thus, the God-Man rebuked these evil spirits despite
the fact that they forced their human victims to fall "down before Him" (vs. 11). As St. Augustine notes: "For the devils
also believe and tremble, but do they love? If they had not believed, they would not have said...'You are the Son of God.'
But if they had loved, they would not have said: 'What have we to do with You?' (Mk. 5:7).
It is important to recognize what the Lord said to these demon-possessed men cringing before Him: in the original "polla
epitimao," that is, He "sternly warned" or "ordered sternly," a term men ought to use only when they had judicial, fatherly,
or brotherly authority. Here, as the God-Man, Jesus speaks with authority to repress and cast out the demons (vs. 12).
O our Savior, rebuke all unclean spirits, exerting Thy trenchant might against every foul demon, that having obtained Thy
mercy, we may be made worthy of Thy Heavenly Mysteries.
