In today’s Gospel reading we hear the story about Christ’s expulsion of savage demons from two men. After some reflection, I believe this story highlights the compassion and confidence of Christ. He did not fear the savage demons even though most people, according to the story, were afraid to travel down the road where they were. He only thought about the two men who were being ravaged by the demons.

According to the story He also showed an abundance of understanding when the swineherds asked Him to leave their territory because His good act ruined their business. He accepted their actions without question. I would have thought that the villagers would have been thankful. Jesus cured men from their village and removed a threat to their safety. Jesus, however, didn’t berate them or judge them. He knew in His own heart that He had done something kind and that His intentions were good. That was the only thing that mattered.

This story helps us understand the WAY of Jesus and His attitudes towards others. He was always accepting and thoughtful of others while, at the same time, truthful. His actions were always dictated by the attitudes that He had about others. When we have genuine attitudes about the goodness of other people, we can always respond in a loving way, regardless of how others treat us.

Also consider the fact that, according to the story, Jesus even positively responded to the requests of the savage demons. They asked to go into the swine. He granted their request. He did not, by the way, cause them to rush down the bluff into the sea and drown. That was just    something the demons brought on themselves.

I realize that some may question Jesus’ actions   towards the demons and even think that He, after He cast them out, caused them to drown. The story doesn’t say that at all.  Jesus didn’t punish the    demons for just being themselves. His main focus was to extend compassion to the two men who were possessed.

As I look around our world today I find that compassion is sorely missing in our society. This, I believe, comes from the self-centeredness that seems to be prevalent in the world. As followers of Jesus Christ we have to honestly assess our attitudes about others and judge whether these attitudes are in concert with those of Jesus.

While self-assessment is not an easy task, it is, I believe, an important one. If we are to grow spiritually, we have to look closely at our attitudes and then work to bring them into unity with Jesus, the Christ.