The First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Genesis 21:5, 8-20a

 Abra­ham was a hundred years old 

When his son Isaac was born to him.  The child grew and on the day Isaac was weaned, Abraham held a great feast.   Sarah saw the child that Hagar, the Egyptian had borne to Abraham, mocking her son and she said to Abraham, “Send this slave girl and her son away; the child of this slave must not share the inheritance with my son, Isaac.”

 This matter distressed Abra­ham be­­cause it concerned his son, but God said to him, “Don’t be worried about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to Sarah and do whatever she says, because the race which is called by your name will spring from Isaac.   But from the son of your servant I will also form a nation, for he too is your offspring.”

 Abraham rose early next morning and gave bread and a skin bag of water to Hagar. He put the child on her back and sent her away. She went off and wandered in the desert of Beersheba.   When there was no more water in the skin, she pushed the boy under one of the bushes, and then went and sat down about a hundred yards away, for she thought, “I cannot bear to see my son die.”

But as she sat there, the child began to wail.  God heard him and the Angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said, “What is the matter, Hagar? Don’t be afraid. God has heard the boy crying.   Get up, pick the boy up and hold him safely, for I will make him into a great nation.”   God then opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy.

 

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

The Lord hears the cry of the poor.

 

     ＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊      

Matthew 8:28-34

 When Jesus reached Ga­dara on the other side, he was met by two demoniacs who came out from the tombs. They were so fierce that no one dared to pass that way.   Suddenly they shouted, “What do you want with us, you, Son of God? Have you come to torture us before the time?”

 At some distance away there was a large herd of pigs feeding.   So the demons begged him, “If you drive us out, send us into that herd of pigs.”   Jesus ordered them, “Go.” So they left and went into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the cliff into the lake and drowned.

 The men in charge of them ran off to the town, where they told the whole story, also what had happened to the men possessed with the demons.   Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

 

Gospel Reflection：

This gospel passage from Matthew 8:28-34 parallels that of Mark 5:1-20 and Luke 8:26-39. There are some variations to the story, for example in this passage, the place is Gadara while in Mark and Luke, it is in Gerasa. Secondly, in this passage Jesus is met by two demoniacs while in Mark and Luke, it is only one possessed person.

The geographical place can be reconciled easily since Gadara and Gerasa are near each other and they may have overlapping boundaries. As to the number of demoniacs, scholars have varying opinions regarding this. Whatever explanations there may be, we see that the sacred writers have particular slants in their gospel.

Understanding these slants means that we cnnot rely on our self-interpretation of the bible only. Let alone someone who does that a couple of centuries after the life of Jesus and the early followers. The traditions lived by the Church testifies to a lot of things missing in the Bible because they were not written but lived and practiced, and handed over from one generation to the next.