“In our world today, there are many people who don’t have a voice. Many of them are vulnerable, overlooked and regarded as unimportant.” Fr Dean reflects on today’s readings from Mass.
Readings for Tuesday of week 14 of Ordinary Time can be found here
Listening to today’s gospel reading, we may describe sickness in quite different way, as we look at the world through a scientific lens. And yet the word “demon” is still on our lips and used in the public domain to describe a number of moral standpoints. Whether someone describes the “demon drink” or someone is colourfully described as being “like a man possessed.”
In the gospel, Jesus encounters a man possessed by a demon who has made him mute. The man is unable to communicate and express himself in typical ways. Jesus casts out the demon and immediately the man speaks which causes all kinds of comments from the witnesses, some even claiming that Jesus is somehow colluding with the Prince of demons.
In our world today, there are many people who don’t have a voice. Many of them are vulnerable, overlooked and regarded as unimportant. They may be silenced by the powerful or simply by mainstream society. Their stories are not told or, if they are, they are told by another voice in a different way. One of the things that Black History Month and other similar initiatives have achieved, is allowing the story and experiences of people of colour to emerge which often gives a rather different perspective to the ones we have been taught. As Jesus enabled the man to speak, so we too can value the stories of others, creating a space where all have a voice and all can be heard. As the saying goes, “if you don’t have a seat at the table, then you’re probably on the menu.”
Mass today is in St Mary’s at 630pm
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