Sunday

Matthew 8:28 When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way. 29 And suddenly they cried out, saying, “What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” 30 Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding. 31 So the demons begged Him, saying, “If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine.” 32 And He said to them, “Go.” So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.

33 Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.

NOTES FROM FR THOMAS HOPKO…

Isn’t it an amazing thing that [it is] those upright citizens, you might call them, upright citizens of the city, leaders of the city, nicely dressed and nicely groomed. They come and say to Jesus, the Son of God: “Get out of here.” Jesus had said to the demons in that man, “Get out of here! Go in those pigs!” And he showed the violence of that power by the destruction of those pigs, but those people, that didn’t impress them. What they really wanted was what they wanted, and they wanted their life the way it was, and they didn’t want any Jesus Christ coming around and messing things up….What we see is a much more subtle form of demonic possession, one that we ourselves may be caught into, one that doesn’t appear to be evil like that crazy man in the tombs, but in a sense is even crazier, even more insane. How [much] more insane can you get than to say to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, “Get out of here. We don’t want you messing up our life. We don’t want you in our city. We don’t want you in our region. Please go away”? So we see two forms of demonic possession in this narrative.

Monday

St Theophylact on Mark continues

1:12-13. And immediately the Spirit driveth Him into the wilderness.

…The Holy Spirit is likened to a dove on account of the lender love which He has for us: when God has been rejected by men, He nonetheless again draws near to men with no less tenderness than before, out of His own goodness. Likewise the dove does not leave off its usual habits, even when men abuse it by snatching away its young. Or, the Holy Spirit is likened to a dove to show that the God of the Old Testament and of the New Testament is one and the same, and to recall to mind the flood in the time of Noah. Then a dove announced the deliverance from the flood by carrying in its beak a twig of olive. And here again the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove to declare the deliverance from sins. Or, the Holy Spirit is likened to a dove on account of the guifelcssncss and meekness of the dove, and its utmost cleanliness; for it will not stay where there is any stench. The evangelist says “the Spirit”, but this is not one of the ministering spirits, but He Who is one in essence with God. Through the witness of the Father and the descent of the Dove, the three Hypostases of the Holy Trinity are revealed. For the Father bore witness from above that while he who baptized was holy, He Who was baptized was God, lest anyone imagine that John was greater than Christ because he baptized Him. For the Jews held John in high regard, but did not consider Jesus so highly. So then, the One Who bore witness was the Father; the One of Whom testimony was given was the Son; and the Holy Spirit showed to Whom the testimony was given. “In Whom I am well pleased” means “in Whom I take My rest” and “He is pleasing to Me.”

Tuesday

1:17  And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto Him. The Lord went up onto the mountain to be templed, teaching us not to become despondent if we are assailed by temptations after our baptism. In fact, He did not go up, but was led up by the Holy Spirit to show that likewise we should not rush into temptations, but should patiently endure them when they come at us. Jesus ascends the mountain so that the devil might be emboldened by the desolation of the place to approach Him. For it is his custom to set upon us when he sees that we are alone. The place was so inaccessible that it was full of wild beasts.10 * 12 The angels ministered unto Him after He had vanquished the tempter.

Wednesday

1: 14–15. Now after John was handed over, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe in the Gospel. When He heard that John had been put into prison, Jesus departed into Galilee, to show that we too should not run to meet temptations but should flee them. But when we fall into temptations, we should endure them. It may appear that the Lord is preaching the same things as John, “Repent” and “The kingdom of God is at hand.” But it is not so. For John said, “Repent,” meaning “Turn away from sins.” But Christ says, “Repent,” meaning “flee from the letter of the law.” This is why He also added the words, “Believe in the Gospel, the Good Tidings.” * For he who is about to believe through the Gospel, has in fact finished the law. The Lord says that the very time of the law has been fulfilled. Up until now, He says, the law governed, but from now on there is the kingdom and rule of God, that is, a life governed by the Gospel, and such a life is rightly compared to the kingdom of heaven. For when you see one living a life governed by the Gospel, and fasting as if he were fieshless, would you not say that this one is already in the kingdom of heaven where there is neither food nor drink, even ihpugh lie a veil appears to be a long way off?

Note: The English word “Gospel” is a contraction of two Old English words, “good” and “spell”,together meaning, “Good Tidings”, as do also the two Greek words cv and angelion which form the word evangelism.

Thursday

1:16-20. Now as He walked by the sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed Him. And when He had gone a little farther thence, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. And straightway He called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him. Peter and Andrew were disciples of John the Forerunner; but when they saw John bear witness to Jesus, they went to Jesus. Then when John was put into prison, they became sorrowful and went back again to their own trade. Therefore Christ called them a second time and this second calling is the one here described.13 See how they supported themselves by honest toil, not by dishonesty; such were they who were worthy to become Christ’s first disciples. They immediately put down what was in their hands and followed Him. For one should not procrastinate, but follow at once. After Peter and Andrew, the Lord then draws James and John into His net. Although they too were poor, they nonetheless supported their father in his old age. But they left their father, not because it is good to leave one’s father, but because he was about to hinder them from following Christ. If you, O reader, are likewise hindered by your parents, leave them and run towards the good. It appears that Zebedee did not believe; but his wife, the mother of the apostles, believed and followed,  perhaps after Zebedee had died. Know this as well, that Christ first calls for action and deeds, and then for vision of the divine. For Peter signifies action because he is the most fervent and leaps out in front of the others. Such is the nature of action. But John signifies vision of the divine, for John is the most filled with theology.

Friday

Mark 1:21–22. And They went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day He entered into the synagogue, and taught. And they were astonished at His teaching: for He taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes. Where were they coming from when they entered into Capernaum? From Nazareth. On the sabbath day the Jews would gather in the synagogue to read the Scriptures, and it was then that Christ also entered the synagogue and taught. For indeed the law commanded rest on the sabbath for this very reason, that men would have time for reading of the Scriptures when they gathered together. The Lord would rebuke when He taught, and not flatter as did the Pharisees. For He exhorted them to do good, and warned them of the punishment awaiting the disobedient.

Saturday

23-28And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, Let us alone; what have wc to do with Thee, Thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art Thou come to destroy us? I know Thee Who Thou art, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? What new teaching is this? For with authority conimandeth He even the unclean spirits, and they do obey Him. And immediately His fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee. The evil spirits are called unclean because they wickedly take pleasure in every kind of shameful deed. Moreover, the demon considers his departure from the man to be his own destruction; for the demons are without pity and believe that they suffer ill if they are not permitted to do evil to men. Also, because they love the flesh and are accustomed to feeding upon carnal vapors, they are starved when they do not dwell within a body. This is why the Lord says that the demons come out of a man by fasting,15 The foul demon did not say, “Thou art holy,” for there were many prophets who were also holy. Instead he said, “The Holy One,” with the article; that is, He Who alone and by definition is Holy. But Christ shut his mouth in order to teach us that even if the demons speak