Thursday
of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
(Malachi 3:13-20b; Luke
11:5-13)
Today’s first reading is reminiscent of the so-called “New
Atheists.” These writers not only
expressed their disbelief in God but also showed contempt for Him. One wrote a book entitled, “God Is Not Great.” Another blamed religion – often defined as “the
love of God” -- for most of the wars in history.
The reading from the prophet Malachi looks at the world
from God’s perspective. It expresses His
outrage that people would deny that they have defied God after commending
evil-doers and doubting the need to repent of one’s sins. God then promises justice. He says that those who fear Him will be duly
rewarded while those who flouted His authority will perish.
We must take care not to become too impressed with the arguments
of the “New Atheists.” Generally they
can be reduced to the questions people have asked for centuries. Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do bad people seem to prosper? It is good to keep in mind that Jesus, the
Son of God, suffered terribly before being raised to glory. Walking in his way is to often skirt trouble,
but completing the journey is to find true happiness.
Friday of the
Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
(Joel 1:13-15.2:1-2; Luke 11:15-26)
A local parish just had its first “Christ Renews His
Church” retreat. The men responded
well. Most who signed up for the event attended,
and most who came on Friday night stayed until Sunday. But the end of the retreat was not the end of
the process. As the retreat was closing,
the leaders scheduled a follow-up meeting where the men would share how they
felt returning to “the world.” Such follow-ups
are prevalent in popular movements from Cursillos to Marriage Encounters. Jesus hints at their necessity in today’s
gospel.
Jesus has just driven out a demon. The people wonder how he obtained such
power. He tries to convince them that it
comes from God not the devil because the devil would not work against
himself. Then Jesus teaches the people
that once cleaned of their impurities they must stay close to the Lord. He might say that trying to remain in virtue
without prayer and penitence is trying to stay clean without soap and water. As he puts it, the devil can return with evil
spirits more pernicious than what possessed the person before.
We do not use the terminology of spirits and demons even
of evil today. But this does not mean that they do not
exist. More sophisticated, we typically
call the moral problems people face vices, deviant behaviors, and the
like. In any case, once we emerge from a
bout with evil, we are wise to remain close to the Lord so that greater
problems do not overwhelm us.
