By Colleen
O’Sullivan
The wicked
said among themselves, thinking not aright: “Let us beset the just one.” (Wisdom
2:1a, 12a)
When the
just cry out, the Lord hears them, and from all their distress he rescues them. (Psalm
34:18)
But when
his brothers had gone up to the feast, he himself also went up, not openly but
as it were in secret. Some of the
inhabitants of Jerusalem said, “Is he not the one they are trying to kill? (John 7: 10, 25)
Piety
Many are the troubles of the just man,
But out of them all the Lord delivers him. (Psalm 34:20)
Study
In the depths of the muddy cistern, the prophet Jeremiah knew it. Having barely escaped death at the hands of
his brothers and finding himself the captive of a group of Ishmaelite traders,
Joseph knew it. The just man referred to
in today’s reading from the Book of Wisdom knew it. Jesus, as he traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate
the Feast of Tabernacles with his disciples, knew it. If we are truly living lives of faith, you
and I know it as well. Leading a life
pleasing to God doesn’t guarantee the admiration or approval of family or
friends or anyone else, for that matter.
In fact, Jesus had warned the disciples that following in his footsteps
would likely result in persecution, suffering, and maybe even death.
There was never anyone more faithful to the Father than Jesus. He had many friends and followers, to be sure. But, ultimately, his preaching, teaching, and
healing won him a humiliating death on a cross, the same fate meted out to the
worst of criminals in Jesus’ day.
Why is it that the just man in the first reading is so despised? You’d think he’d be held in high esteem. But remember the evil spirit is always hard
at work. The evil one desires nothing
more than to destroy all that is good and of God.
So, the evil spirit whispers a sort of siren song in our ears: Stick
with me. I’ll keep you happy in this
life. Look into that pool of water. What do you see there? That’s right, it’s you, and you are the most
important person in the world. These so-called just and righteous people are a
pain. They don’t want your light to
shine. They disapprove of your lifestyle.
They call themselves children of God. How
arrogant! Their holiness is nauseating;
it makes you look bad, and no one should be allowed to do that. Those people are different from you. You should stick with your own kind and work
against these despicable do-gooders.
Stand your ground. Don’t give an
inch.
Jeremiah spoke the words God gave him, but no one wanted to hear that
they were courting disaster with their sinful ways. His words frightened them. People don’t like being afraid, so they
became angry instead and tried to kill him.
Joseph was a silly young boy, who probably didn’t have a mean bone in
his body. He naively related his dreams to his siblings. He was the apple of his father Jacob’s eye,
and his brothers resented him for that.
Jesus wanted only to capture people’s hearts for God. But the Pharisees’ hearts were full of fear
that they might be knocked off their lofty pedestals as the keepers of the
Law. They were willing to do anything to
protect their power, including seeing that this upstart from Nazareth was
executed.
Action
If we’re following in Jesus’ footsteps, the goal is to keep on keeping
on. It’s not always easy. I’m sure we all have friends and family
members who aren’t supportive of our journey in Christ. They think we’re Pollyanna’s when we persist
in believing the Light will overcome the darkness in our world. They tempt us to give up spiritual practices
such as abstinence from meat on Fridays in Lent. (Do you think a lightning bolt will strike
you if you eat a piece of meat?) They
come up with all sorts of weekend activities that would leave no time for
Mass. (Why do you have to go every
Sunday? Just pray at home.) Our society as a whole hasn’t got much time
for faith.
Where do you encounter resistance – in your family, among friends, at
work? Share the bumps in the road with
your Cursillo group. They’ll support
you. Spend some time sitting with Jesus
asking for perseverance when the journey becomes difficult.
As I read today’s Scripture readings, I thought, too, how easy it is for
any of us to demonize what we don’t understand and to find ourselves deriding
others. The unbelievers in the first reading had no idea what faithful living
was all about. They felt
threatened. The Pharisees in the Gospel
didn’t want things to change. They were
afraid that life would change and they wouldn’t be the powerful keepers of the
Law anymore. They never once allowed for the possibility that Jesus might
actually have Good News for them as well, something that would be much better
than anything else they knew. It’s good
to listen and learn before we criticize someone or dismiss their beliefs and
practices out of hand.
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