First Reading II Samuel 15:13-14,30; 16:5-13 Gospel Mark 5:1-20

David seems to have been a doting father. It seems that he did not control his own family. So when Absalom revolts, David still loved him. When a foreigner curses David, David accepts it as his lot from the Lord.
The gospel reading is a very strange story. There are some variations of it in the synoptic gospels. In one (today) the area is called that of the “Gerasenes..” In another, it is the “Gergesenes.” First of all, we moderns find it difficult to believe in the possession of a man by devils. The story is vivid in describing him as living among the tombs. And then Jesus puts the devils into the herd of pigs. Jewish Christians probably took great delight in the story. First of all, living among the tombs would make the man unclean. But to cleanse him, Jesus casts the devils into a herd of pigs. Pigs were unclean. And the pigs hurl themselves into the sea. Good riddance! What the reality of the story is, we’ll never know. But the meaning should be clear: Jesus has authority over unclean spirits. He casts them out. And even the unclean animals are drowned. This is one of those possible humorous parts of the gospel: The people want him to leave the place. Why? Their economy (pig herding) is being destroyed.