Gospel Reflection for The 2nd day of July in the year of Our Lord, 2025
Matthew 8:28-34
28 And when he was come on the other side of the water, into the country of the Gerasens, there met him two that were possessed with devils, coming out of the sepulchres, exceeding fierce, so that none could pass by that way. 29 And behold they cried out, saying: What have we to do with thee, Jesus Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? 30 And there was, not far from them, an herd of many swine feeding.
31 And the devils besought him, saying: If thou cast us out hence, send us into the herd of swine. 32 And he said to them: Go. But they going out went into the swine, and behold the whole herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea: and they perished in the waters. 33 And they that kept them fled: and coming into the city, told every thing, and concerning them that had been possessed by the devils. 34 And behold the whole city went out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart from their coasts.
Today's Gospel makes a very important point. The demons knew who Jesus was. Protestants say that the only thing necessary to be saved is to confess that Jesus is Lord, to believe and have faith in Him. The demons certainly believed in Jesus, and knowing that He is God had full faith in His divinity. But, they rejected Him. They refused to obey God. Faith alone, is not enough. Jesus said that those who love Him keep His commandments.
In the classic book, Radio Replies, two Catholic priests who had a radio show answer thousands of questions by Protestants, atheists and people of other religions. One questioner stated that it was incredibly unfair of Jesus to allow the demons to destroy the swine, as it caused a loss to their owners. In our time, likely, many would be far more upset about the fate of the pigs than their owners. The answer given by the priests brings us back to the message that one must obey the commandments of God. To love God with all of your heart and soul is to embrace and do His will. To love your neighbor as yourself entails doing nothing that would lead your neighbor astray.
For the Jews of this time, pork was forbidden under the Law of Moses. It was forbidden to even touch a pig. Yet, these Jews were raising pork for sale and consuming it. Thus, they separated themselves from Temple worship and the Jewish religion. To destroy their herd was a just punishment and a chastisement. If only we were so fortunate that Jesus would destroy all in our lives that separate us from Him!
As Christians, we are no longer, “slaves to the Law” as Saint Paul described, and for that I am extremely grateful. As a native North Carolinian, pork is a defining part of our culture. One colonial historian in Virginia accused North Carolinians of doing nothing but raising hogs in the woods, making whiskey and gorging themselves on pork barbecue. George Washington even wrote of a trip either to southeast Virginia or North Carolina, following which he had a deep need for repentance, due to his gluttony in enjoying barbecue and homemade liquor!
While no longer under the dietary laws of the Jews, as the New Testament makes clear, Christians are called to moderation. God made the world and everything in it and declared all of His creation to be “good.” There is nothing in the natural world that is bad. The only evil is sin. We sin by misusing the gifts God gave us. The early Church generally wrote that the prohibitions of the Jewish dietary laws were due the worship of certain animals by pagan peoples and the proclivity of the Hebrew people to follow their appetites, even when they led them into adopting pagan customs. Further, Saint Barnabas is attributed to the teaching that the Jews were prohibited from eating certain animals to teach them not to act like them... such as the violent and ravenous nature of pigs in regard to food and sex, or their laziness in laying about in the mud. In modern times, most folks may not know what the nature of a pig is, but we raised them on my family farm. It is very dangerous to get between a pig and its food or a boar and a sow. Most mature pigs have a very violent temperament unless they are trained. Even those kept as pets (though rarely), can turn on their owner and even kill and eat him.
If only Jesus would appear today and destroy pornography, abortion, drug abuse and all of the things that are ruinous to Christians! But, the freedom of the Christian from the Jewish Law brings with it responsibility. Simply put, God will not prevent us from being as evil as we may choose, because He will not violate our free will. It is up to each of us as individuals, to both believe in and to obey God. There is no corporate salvation, as the Jews believed when they stated they would be saved just for being descendants of Abraham. Neither faith alone, nor being born into a Catholic family will save us. We must follow the commandments of God, which are the teaching of the Catholic Church to whom He gave His authority exclusively. We must also do the good works to which He called us. Those good works include the Sacraments and acts of charity. We must also avoid sin and repent of it through the Sacrament of Reconciliation when we fall into sin... as all of us do. It is not a sin for a Christian to eat pork or to drink alcohol (etc.), but we must be moderate and use everything God created as God intended. If we do not, just like the Jews in today's Gospel, we will fall under the influence of demonic forces/evil.
By the way, George Washington converted to Catholicism on his death bed through the influence of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Contrary to popular historical myth, he was by no means a perfect person. He was flawed. But, he had the virtue of repentance and humility before God. If we embrace humility and repentance, we may also be saved.
Judson Carroll is the author of several books, including his newest, A Daily Catholic Devotional, Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings July-December, 2025 It is Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F5BHFZ7X
and
Confirmation, an Autobiography of Faith. It is also Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47Q1JNK
His podcast is The Uncensored Catholic https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-uncensored-catholic
Re “Country of the Gerasenes” (aka Gadarenes in Matthew’s account).
Historical Significance
Cultural Background:
The area was predominantly Gentile, with a culture more aligned with Greek traditions than Semitic ones, which explains the presence of pigs in the biblical narrative.