After 10
minutes on social media this morning, I was drawn to reflect on the enormity
and complexity of the forces of evil in our lives and our world. It seems we don’t know how to cope with them,
we can’t deal with them on our own, and we can’t stop them—let alone destroy
them!
I came up
with a comparatively small list illustrating the work perpetrated by the forces
of evil and their effect on our lives and our world:
The human
neglect and exploitation of the earth’s ecology.
The increased
(or more accurately reports of) outbursts of racism in the world, especially in
the US.
The modern
form of slavery we call human trafficking, with its illegal smuggling and
trading of people for forced labor or sexual exploitation.
The
continued injustice meted out to immigrants looking to escape violence and
poverty in their own countries.
The neglect
by commercial businesses of their responsibility to work for economic justice
and equality and to avoid corruption.
The deep
enmity between the perpetrators of war and their adversaries, while the victims
of war are left to suffer and die.
Global
terrorism.
Overcoming
any one of the items in this partial list of evils appears overwhelming. Taken
together, they seem impossible to cope with, stop, and destroy.
St. Ignatius
of Loyola identified three roots of evil.
He called them the “Standards of Satan” which characterize the troops of
his army: greed, self-centered ambition,
and arrogant pride. Ignatius also
identified three counteracting Christian virtues: spiritual poverty, a readiness to suffer
insults and humiliation for the sake of God’s Kingdom, and humility. He described these as “Standards of Christ” –
or characteristics of those who follow Him.
Christ’s
exhortation in Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 10:24-33) is addressed to His
followers — a kind of “call to arms” for combat against Satan’s troops and the
forces of evil:
Do not be afraid of this battle. I am with you. I will protect you. Are not two sparrows sold for a small
coin? Yet not one of them falls to the
ground without your Father’s knowledge.
Even all the hairs of your head are counted.
Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body
but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both
soul and body in Gehenna. Satan’s army can kill the
body. Think of our Martyrs from the
early Church to the present. Think of
Christ confronting the clique of Pharisees who insulted Him, humiliated Him,
and had Him put to an ignominious death.
What I say to you in the darkness, speak
in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.
Think of Christ shining into the darkness with you, in you and through
you—publicly revealing truth and justice and showing the forces of evil for
what they are.
Nothing is concealed that will not be
revealed, nor secret that will not be known. Think of the
Lord’s inevitable destruction of the forces of evil, to be seen when time gives
way to eternity and Christ ascended returns to bring God’s Kingdom to its
fullness.
The bottom
line for of today's gospel message is this. You are worth more than
whole flocks of sparrows; the Father knows and cares about you in every detail
of your life, even as you face the temptations and dangers which may surround
you. We can expect attacks at all levels from Satan,
or the forces of evil. But we should remember
that the one we’re serving is stronger than the strongest opponent we’ll ever
meet. Follow me, and I
will enrich you with a poverty of spirit, steel you in the face of insult and
humiliation, and ground you in my own humility as you pursue God’s will to deal
with what the world thinks is impossible to achieve.
Remember,
nothing is impossible for God, and God assures us of success. We are God’s vanguard. We are God’s sons and daughters.
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