Reflection - War

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/082718.cfm
II Thessalonians 1:1-5, 11-12
Matthew 23:13-22

Either hearing or just reading words of Jesus such as those we heard or read today always evokes a deep dissonance within me; but ultimately one has to admit that Jesus did not always have nice things to say to people, or about them. Such is the content we hear in this passage from Matthew’s gospel. It feels even more ominous coming, as it does, in the midst of the latest church scandal. You could almost modernize the passage with a change of two words: “Woe to you, you priests and bishops, you hypocrites.”

Now, continue your reading of the gospel from there and wonder if this heartache will ever end.

There is no question that something wrong has been happening. Nor is there any doubt that accountability must follow. The words of the Confiteor come to mind: “I have sinned through my own fault in my thoughts, in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do.” That seems to cover all the bases in our present circumstance; but such an acknowledgment of guilt is clearly inadequate for the victims or for those of us disgustedly standing on the sidelines as witnesses to such an horrific revelation. But there is more to the picture than predators and victims, more than a choice to protect either institution or individuals. It is a “more” that we smugly or fearfully or comfortably ignore.

The songs of Easter triumph are among those we sing the loudest and most enthusiastically.

The strife is o'er, the battle done;
Now is the Victor's triumph won;
Now be the song of praise begun.

The trouble is, no one has so informed the enemy. Like the Japanese soldiers who persisted in battle on scattered Pacific islands long after WW II was over, our enemy fights on; and he does so with an ever increasing ferocity, like the ferocity of the wounded predator. We recall Peter’s admonition to the early Christians: “Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) His warning is no less pertinent today than it was then. However, there is a difference: the people of Peter’s day were quite conscious of evil spirits, whereas we have, by in large, dismissed them as ancient myths.

Almost ninety years ago mankind witnessed the unmasking of evil in a drawn out physical spectacle which saw millions die. It concluded only with the unleashing of a fire so intense that the fundamental material of the physical world was split in two. Since then there have been similar convulsions within pockets of humanity, but the efforts of the true enemy of mankind have become largely surreptitious, with him working behind the scenes and drawing from a basket of duplicity, deception, misinformation and outright lies. Whereas Peter imaged our adversary as a roaring lion, the evil one today might more accurately be described today as a rabid kitten. It’s difficult to pinpoint when the tactics of subversion came to the fore as he waged his battles; but the explosion of media, electronic and otherwise, seems to be a major factor. In any case, the media offer clear examples of the manner in which society’s view of the ‘unacceptable’ and the ‘normal’ has undergone a dramatic change.

The shift in societal norms has been incremental. Gone With the Wind ran into trouble because, at the end, Rhett Butler shocked the audience with his statement ”Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” In the early days of television, a married couple’s bedroom always pictured twin beds. Contrast either of these with what is presented as ‘normal’ conversation or ‘authentic bedroom scenes’ available in the media today. It should also be noted that the two examples are offered, not because they are the most serious of society’s ‘moral evolution,’ but because, in them, the shift is so readily evident.

What evil has done and continues to do within the social matrix is also a stratagem used in evil’s attempts to subvert individuals. What a prize it must be to undermine a few of the clergy and thereby bring into disrepute the Church of Christ Himself. This is not to join with Flip Wilson in claiming: “The devil made me do it.” Nor is it an echoing of Saturday Night Live’s Church Lady who, tongue-in-cheek, questioned: “Could it be Satan?” We are, each of us, ultimately responsible for ourselves. But part of that responsibility is an acknowledgment of the reality of the demonic and its malicious use of, not just temptations, but of our own deficiencies, our own wounded-ness, our own propensity toward what is unholy. These personal issues are not ones that we can readily or easily resolve on our own.

Some Scribes and some Pharisees, some priests and some bishops were or are deserving of Jesus’ harsh words. Yet all the members of these groups, it is safe to say, have been challenged in their growth toward holiness and have been the prey of the evil one. So too are the rest of us.

Like it or not, we are at war; and it is a serious mistake to minimize our adversary. It is not a war that we can smugly or fearfully or comfortably ignore. While it is not true that “The devil made me do it.” It is quite probable that the devil encouraged me to do it.