WORD ALIVE
FR. BEL SAN LUIS, SVD
Not too long ago a carjack incident happened when a lady tried to stop the carjackers by blocking the way of her brand-new car from being stolen. But the carjackers were determined. They did not only shoot her but even bumped her as they fled away with the car.
The grieving father described the merciless killing as “satanic and evil.” “Why didn't those carjackers just steal the car instead of killing her!” he moaned.
Some people get to asking, “Why does God allow these evil people do their wicked ways?”
Add to this such crimes today as extra-judicial killings, peddling dangerous drugs, human trafficking, violence against women, corrupt practices like bribery, overpricing in government projects.
God’s forbearing patience puzzles us. But even when evil (which comes from the Devil) seems to have the upper hand, perfect justice will triumph in due time. Another reason for God’s apparent “inaction” and “weakness” is due to his desire to give new chances of repentance to those who do evil.
Just why God doesn’t punish evil people IMMEDIATELY is discerned from Jesus’ parable of the Wheat and Weeds in this 16th Sunday in ordinary time (Read Matthew 13, 24-43). “Let the wheat and weeds grow together,” the Lord says. “But at harvest time, collect the weeds first and bundle them up to be burned!” He was referring to the Day of Reckoning or Last Judgment
That God delays His final purification is an encouragement. However, it is also a fearful WARNING to evildoers. One day there will be an end to further chances, and then punishment follows.
OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD. While we are still on earth, we should do our share in building God’s kingdom that is characterized by peace, justice, and love.
We should not only avoid evil but counteract it by doing as much good as we can. As St. Paul says, “Let us overcome evil with good” (Rom 12:21).
Let me cite inspiring examples on how some good “wheat” countered the “bad weeds.” At the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in the country, the poor medical frontliners were victims of discrimination by transport drivers and passengers. They were shunned like outcasts when known to be medical workers for fear of contamination.
Thank God, when some bus owners and operators learned about their predicament, they offered their buses to service the spurned workers.
A TV news showed how barangay officials were caught in the act of opening amelioration cash envelops and hiding thousand-peso bills as they distributed to the constituents. Seeing what was happening, a courageous young man nearby took video shots clandestinely from his cell phone. He reported the unfair officials to the police showing the cellphone shots as proofs and they were apprehended.
The act of the whistle-blower is not easy but it’s an effective way of fighting evil in society.
As the British statesman Edmund Burke puts it neatly: “The only way by which evil men prosper in society is for the good to do nothing.”
Let’s ask ourselves, “Am I a good wheat or a bad grass? If it’s the latter, better heed the Lord’s warning and reform before it’s too late.
LAUGH WITH GOD. A Filipino politician died and went to Heaven. As he stood in front of St. Peter at the Pearly Gates, he saw a huge wall of clocks behind him. He asked, “What are those clocks?”
St. Peter answered, “Those are LIE CLOCKS. Everyone on Earth has a Lie Clock. Every time you tell a lie, the hands on your clock will move.”
“Oh,” said the man, “whose clock is that?” “That’s Mother Teresa’s. The hands have never moved, indicating that she never told a lie.”
“Incredible,” said the man, “and whose clock is that?” St. Peter replied, “That’s Abraham Lincoln’s clock. The hands have moved twice. Lincoln told only two lies in his life.”
“Where’s our Filipino politician’s clock?” asked the man. “It’s in my office. I use it as a ceiling fan,” replied St. Peter.
APPEAL. It’s enrollment time again in the seminary. May we appeal help for the seminarians we’re supporting under our “Adopt a Seminarian”
cholarship program. You may chip in an amount or sponsor a seminarian’s schooling for a year.
For inquiries, e-mail me at: [email protected].