More Powerful than Legion
February 3, 2025 - Monday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Mark 5:1-20
After the stormy night on the sea, Jesus safely crossed to the other side of the Lake of Galilee. It was a Gentile territory, and the only purpose of Jesus’ journey there was to liberate one man from the power of legion.
During the time of Jesus, both sides of the Lake of Galilee were part of the Roman Empire, brought under its control by the invincible Roman legions. A legion was a military unit of around five or six thousand soldiers. Today, many are fascinated by the glory and power of that Empire, and many nations have tried to emulate it. However, the subjugated populations both hated and feared the Romans. For them, the Romans were the plunderers of the world, a representation of Satan. We must remember that ancient peoples, including some biblical authors, saw behind an oppressive empire the hidden forces of evil.
The man was in the power of legion. He lived among the dead, was naked — stripped of his dignity — and although he possessed extraordinary strength, he actually tried to destroy himself. Without freedom, life has no meaning. The glory of God is a human person fully alive, not a slave who has lost all hope and only longs for death. But then, Jesus enters the scene, and suddenly, everything changes. The man becomes sound in mind, calmly sits in the company of Jesus, and his dignity is restored, symbolized by his wearing clothes. But that is not all. He receives a mission from Jesus and goes around sharing with others the incredible thing Jesus did for him. His testimony was so powerful that when Jesus would return to that region a second time, instead of asking Him to leave, everyone would come, bringing all the sick. What about the legion?
At the end of the Gospel, the Empire would crucify Jesus, thinking the story was over. But on the third day, by the empty tomb of Jesus, we meet another man sitting calmly, clothed in white, announcing the Good News of Christ’s resurrection. From that moment on, the message of Christ’s victory over death would be carried to all corners of the Roman Empire and beyond, and not even the hordes of legions would be able to stop it.
And why is the Gospel more powerful than the legion? Because it’s not a philosophy or a system of ideas, but a collection of never-ending stories of ordinary people telling what Christ has done for them. A blind man recalls how Jesus made him see; a possessed man tells how he was set free; a sick person shares how he was healed; and a dead man recounts how Jesus made him alive. Then, all of them add: “What Jesus did for me, He can also do for you.” No wonder then that everyone who hears their story is amazed, and more and more people join the community of the Church.