By Colleen O’Sullivan
The wicked said among themselves, thinking
not aright: “Let us beset the just one,
because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, reproaches
us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our
training. He professes to have knowledge
of God and styles himself a child of the Lord.
To us he is the censure of our thoughts: merely to see him is a hardship
for us, because his life is not like that of others, and different are his
ways. Let us condemn him to a shameful
death; for according to his own words, God will take care of him.” These were their thoughts, but they erred;
for their wickedness blinded them, and they knew not the hidden counsels of
God; neither did they count on a recompense of holiness nor discern the
innocent souls’ reward. (Wisdom 2:1a,
12-15, 21-22)
So Jesus cried out in the temple area as he
was teaching and said, “You know me and also know where I am from. Yet I did not come on my own, but the one who
sent me, whom you do not know, is true.
I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.” (John 7:28-29)
Piety
Many are the troubles of the just man, but out of
them all the Lord delivers him. (Psalm 34:20)
Study
There’s a great deal of truth in the old saying “The more things change, the more they remain the same.” Granted, 21st century Northern
Virginia is vastly different from Alexandria, Egypt, in the first century B.C.,
when the Book of Wisdom is believed to have been penned. The author’s head would spin if he could see
the changes time has wrought: many more people in the world, clothing styles he
could never have imagined, McMansions and high rises, cars, traffic on the
Beltway, etc. But after a while, I think
he would say there’s one thing that never changes and that’s the human heart.
Let’s face it; our hearts are often fickle. We profess our love for God, but our actions may
reveal greater love for things other than the Lord. The Scripture readings the first three
Fridays of Lent have led us to self-examination with regard to worship of false
gods, jealousy that can lead to bitterness and hatred, and the hypocrisy
inherent in performing pious acts while holding onto anger toward our brothers
and sisters.
Today we’re asked to consider our reaction to just and righteous
persons. You’d think we’d be drawn to
them and would want to emulate them. But
this is where the Evil Spirit comes in.
Liking nothing better than twisting good into evil, the Evil One worms
his way into our hearts and comes between us and what is good and of God. Suddenly, that desire to be close is usurped
by the fear that our own sins and failings will be magnified by contrast. The Evil Spirit then works a little
harder. Now it seems like the only way
to deal with the situation is to reject and put down what is good.
That’s exactly what we see going on in the Gospels. Jesus is the human face of God. Everything he does speaks of the mercy,
compassion and kindness of his Father.
But those who know their lives don’t reflect that sort of love feel
threatened. They begin by putting him
down, and they end by nailing him up on a Cross. He’s gone.
They can feel good about themselves again. At least for a few days, but that’s a story
for another liturgical season.
Action
We’ve never killed anyone, we say.
The writer of the Book of Wisdom exaggerates, we protest. But when you think about it, any time we
gossip about someone or demean them, we are killing them by degrees. When we trash someone on Facebook or
cyberbully them, we are responsible for a death of a sort.
The flip side of this is how people react to us when we are following in
Christ’s footsteps. They may well
despise us or think we are foolish. In
other parts of the world, they may literally kill us.
Take a few minutes to reflect on good and just people you know
today. What is your reaction to
them? What is the reaction of others?
How do your family, friends or strangers react when you witness to your
faith, whether through words or actions?
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