20190903
ELIMINATING
EVIL WITHOUT DESTROYING MAN
03 SEPTEMBER,
2019, Tuesday, 22nd Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
White.
These are the readings
for the feria
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First reading
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1 Thessalonians 5:1-6,9-11 ©
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Keep strengthening one another
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You will not be expecting us to write
anything to you, brothers, about ‘times and seasons’, since you know very well
that the Day of the Lord is going to come like a thief in the night. It is when
people are saying, ‘How quiet and peaceful it is’ that the worst suddenly
happens, as suddenly as labour pains come on a pregnant woman; and there will
be no way for anybody to evade it.
But
it is not as if you live in the dark, my brothers, for that Day to overtake you
like a thief. No, you are all sons of light and sons of the day: we do not
belong to the night or to darkness, so we should not go on sleeping, as
everyone else does, but stay wide awake and sober. God never meant us to
experience the Retribution, but to win salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who died for us so that, alive or dead, we should still live united to him. So
give encouragement to each other, and keep strengthening one another, as you do
already.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 26(27):1,4,13-14 ©
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I am sure I shall see
the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
The Lord is my light and my help;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
before whom shall I shrink?
I am sure I shall see
the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
There is one thing I ask of the Lord,
for this I long,
to live in the house of the Lord,
all the days of my life,
to savour the sweetness of the Lord,
to behold his temple.
I am sure I shall see
the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.
Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.
Hope in the Lord!
I am sure I shall see
the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Heb4:12
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and
active:
it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Lk7:16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
A great prophet has appeared among us;
God has visited his people.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 4:31-37 ©
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'I know who you are: the Holy One of God'
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Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town in
Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath. And his teaching made a deep
impression on them because he spoke with authority.
In
the synagogue there was a man who was possessed by the spirit of an unclean
devil, and it shouted at the top of its voice, ‘Ha! What do you want with us,
Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy
One of God.’ But Jesus said sharply, ‘Be quiet! Come out of him!’ And the
devil, throwing the man down in front of everyone, went out of him without
hurting him at all. Astonishment seized them and they were all saying to one
another, ‘What teaching! He gives orders to unclean spirits with authority and
power and they come out.’ And reports of him went all through the surrounding
countryside.
ELIMINATING EVIL
WITHOUT DESTROYING MAN
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 1 Th 5:1-6, 9-11; Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14; Lk 4:31-37 ]
It is very significant
in the today’s gospel episode that the devil in the possessed man asked Jesus,
“Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to
destroy us? I
know who you are, the Holy One of God.” What did the Devil mean when he
asked whether Jesus had come to destroy them? Who is this
“us?” Is it simply the devil and his underlings, or it is the devil
together with the possessed man?
In other words, can God
destroy evil without destroying man who is under the power of evil?
This seems to be belief of the devil, that Jesus could not get rid of Him
without at the same time harming the man. This was also the belief of many during
the time of Jesus as well. Then, there was the apocalyptic view of the
Old and the New Age. Many believed that the world had become so evil and
corrupt that nothing could save it except through divine intervention when the
whole world was burnt up. They believed that when the day of the Lord
came, all would be destroyed. Prophet Joel warned them thus, “Let all the
inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming,
it is near – a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness spread upon the mountains a great and powerful army comes; their
like has never been from of old, nor will be again after them in ages to come.
Fire devours in front of them, and behind them a flame burns. Before them the
land is like the Garden of Eden, but after them a desolate wilderness, and
nothing escapes them.” (Joel 2:2f) This was the same opinion
held by the Thessalonians. They thought that the Day of the Lord was
coming and everything would be destroyed. Hence, some became lazy and
complacent, refusing even to work since everything would be destroyed. (cf 1 Th 4:11)
Indeed, there are some
quarters today, both within the Church and among people of other faiths as
well, who believe that the world can be redeemed only if we destroy all evil
men and women and wipe them out from the face of this earth. Isn’t this the attitude the world takes of
those who make mistakes? Those who commit murder are sentenced to
death. Those rogue countries as perceived by so-called free countries are
invaded using force and violence to overthrow them so that a new order could be
established. Then there are terrorists who believe that those who do not
subscribe to their ideology should be punished, killed and destroyed completely
so that the world could be purified. The truth is, have those who
subscribe to such destructive actions succeeded in purifying the world, making
it a safer and happier place, or only brought it more misery?
Yet, the other truth
that cannot be denied is that evil has permeated the world and the rest of
humanity so much that it would be difficult to distinguish the weeds from the
wheat. What
is more, it comes in such a subtle way that no one noticed it. This is
what St Paul was warning the Thessalonians. “You will not be expecting us
to write anything to you, brothers, about ‘times and seasons’, since you know
very well that the Day of the Lord is going to come like a thief in the
night. It is when people are saying, ‘How quiet and peaceful it is’
that the worst suddenly happens, as suddenly as labour pains.” This is
the strategy of the Evil One today. Unlike during the time of Jesus, when
evil was manifested in an obvious manner as in possession, today, the devil
possesses the world through oppression and obsession, occult and
magic. And most of all, it does so by sowing the seeds of confusion
about our identity and our origin. This is seen in a godless world
where people believe only in themselves (humanism), live for themselves
(individualism), choose what they like to do without regard for truth
(relativism), taking the course of action that will benefit us here and now
without considering the implications of what we do for the rest of humanity in
future (pragmatism).
When God is removed from
the face of the earth, man supplants the place of God. He no longer knows
his identity and origin.
Since he denies God, he cannot explain how humanity and the world have come
into existence except that it is. Although he knows that he cannot create
life, but only mimics the creative powers of God, he no longer values life as
sacred and as coming from God. Since life does not come from God and is
no longer sacred, he can dispose of his life if he so chooses, through
euthanasia. When our life is no longer sacred, why should we respect the
lives of others, as is already happening in the killing of innocent
babies? We will end up killing others the way we slaughter animals
eventually, when we do not feel that they deserve to live.
Again in the name of
freedom, man has become relativistic and pragmatic. The freedom advocated by man today
is a freedom for self and not for others. It is about my needs, my
enjoyment, my pleasures, my will and my comforts. It is not about the
common good of our fellowmen. He has no foundation for morality, no basis
to say what is right or wrong, no measure of what is true or false but simply
depends on the consensus of the people, which is influenced by those who speak
loudly or manipulated by digital and social media. In destroying marriage
and the family, taking the sacredness out of these institutions, they become
mere human institutions. When the family, which is the bedrock of society,
is destroyed, the whole world will eventually destroy itself as there will be
no stability in family life and therefore the individual will lack holistic
upbringing.
It is for this reason
that St Paul urges us to be on the alert. The devil is working very subtly today under
the guise of humanism, secularism, relativism, individualism and an exaggerated
form of human rights to destroy the unity and peace of humanity. He
said, “But it is not as if you live in the dark, my brothers, for that Day to
overtake you like a thief. No, you are all sons of light and sons of the
day: we do not belong to the night or to darkness, so we should not go on
sleeping, as everyone else does, but stay wide awake and sober.” Indeed,
we cannot be complacent, lazy and allow evil to influence us undetected because
we are in slumber after drinking too much from the values of the world.
By not being alert, we allow the devil to influence the world to greater evil
and self-destruction.
For this reason, we must
join in this spiritual warfare of our Lord. His whole ministry was against the work of the
Evil One, exposing Him and restoring the world to order through His preaching
of the Good News, enlightening us with the Word of God, healing us of our
illnesses and freeing us from the oppression of the Evil One. We, too,
must do the same. But we do not destroy evil by destroying the
evil person or the sinner. This was not the way of our Lord.
Indeed, St Paul said, “God never meant us to experience the Retribution, but to
win salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that, alive or
dead, we should still live united to him.” We read in the gospel that the
people were amazed when “the devil throwing the man down in front of everyone,
went out of him without hurting him at all. Astonishment seized them and
they were all saying to one another, ‘What teaching! He gives orders to
unclean spirits with authority and power and they come out.” Jesus delivered
the man from evil but he was not destroyed in the process.
We, too, should not
destroy evil people regardless how incorrigible they are. We do not destroy the world
because it is evil. Rather we are called to overcome evil with
good. “Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is
noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on
you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave
room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will
repay, says the Lord.’ No, ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they
are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap
burning coals on their heads.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil
with good.” (Rom 12:17-21)
Instead, we rely on the power and authority of Christ. “The Lord is my
light and my help; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
before whom shall I shrink?” In His name, we will conquer the Evil One.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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