Gospel in Art: The unclean spirits came out and went into the pigs

Healing of the demon-possessed in the Country of the Gerasenes, Ottheinrich Bible © Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 29 January 2024
Mark 5:1-20

Jesus and his disciples reached the country of the Gerasenes on the other side of the lake, and no sooner had Jesus left the boat than a man with an unclean spirit came out from the tombs towards him. The man lived in the tombs and no one could secure him any more, even with a chain; because he had often been secured with fetters and chains but had snapped the chains and broken the fetters, and no one had the strength to control him. All night and all day, among the tombs and in the mountains, he would howl and gash himself with stones. Catching sight of Jesus from a distance, he ran up and fell at his feet and shouted at the top of his voice, 'What do you want with me, Jesus, son of the Most High God? Swear by God you will not torture me!' - for Jesus had been saying to him, 'Come out of the man, unclean spirit.' 'What is your name?' Jesus asked. 'My name is legion,' he answered 'for there are many of us.' And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the district.

Now there was there on the mountainside a great herd of pigs feeding, and the unclean spirits begged him, 'Send us to the pigs, let us go into them.' So he gave them leave. With that, the unclean spirits came out and went into the pigs, and the herd of about two thousand pigs charged down the cliff into the lake, and there they were drowned. The swineherds ran off and told their story in the town and in the country round about; and the people came to see what had really happened. They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his full senses - the very man who had had the legion in him before - and they were afraid. And those who had witnessed it reported what had happened to the demoniac and what had become of the pigs. Then they began to implore Jesus to leave the neighbourhood. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed begged to be allowed to stay with him. Jesus would not let him but said to him, 'Go home to your people and tell them all that the Lord in his mercy has done for you.' So the man went off and proceeded to spread throughout the Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him. And everyone was amazed.

Reflection on the illuminated miniature

The work on the Ottheinrich Bible in which our illuminated miniature is featured began in 1425. It is a monumental parchment manuscript in eight volumes, probably made in Regensburg. It is named after a later owner, Count Palatine Ottheinrich (1502-1559), under whose supervision it was completed circa 1530, nearly 100 years after its original commission. The manuscript contains the New Testament in German. The 46 large miniatures are concentrated in the first few folios. Some of the further initials and stylised decorations were left to inferior workers. We see a bewildered looking, possessed man walking down the hill away from his village. He has been cast out. To the left we see Jesus and his disciples in prayerful poses. On the right are pigs jumping into the water. Note how the flowers and vegetation around Jesus are blossoming, in contrast to the village and the landscape on the right. If we look closely at the man walking down with torn clothes, we can see a demon crawling out of his mouth. He is being cleansed and exorcised as he walks closer to Jesus.

Today's reading follows directly on in Mark's gospel from the passage where Jesus calmed the storm at sea and the panic of his own disciples. As Jesus and his disciples now reach the land of the Gerasenes, they are met with another storm. This time the storm is in the form of the human spirit, a man who was so disturbed that people had him chained and outcast. The Lord's response to him was to release him from the spirit that left him so disturbed. We have a good image here of how the Lord works. He works to free people from all that diminishes and dehumanizes them. This is not only the Lord's work, but it is also the work of the church, the work all of us are asked to do. That work of helping people to live a freer and fuller life is part of our Christian calling.

If we are to engage in the work of the Lord, we need to open up our own lives to the Lord's healing and life-giving presence. When we identify first as broken people ourselves in need of healing, we can then truly engage in Jesus' work of helping to heal the other broken ones around us.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's Reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/mark-5-1-20-2024/