Homily Third Thursday of Lent (Lk. 11:14-23) “Good and Evil are like Oil and Water”
Homily Third Thursday of Lent (Lk. 11:14-23) “Good and Evil are like Oil and Water”
When a country is divided it is easily conquered. When the civil war happened there was a real possibility that the union would disintegrate. It took a strong leader to hold things together. Of course, that was Abraham Lincoln. He tried to be just, but he would not waffle on the need to hold the country together. In the end his strength kept the United States on nation.
Jesus says that a kingdom divided cannot stand. The enemies of Jesus were accusing him of sorcery when he drove out demons. But he says evil will not drive out evil. Evil will join with evil to multiply it.
Right now, we have a lot of division in our country. What divides people is when facts and truth cannot be agreed upon. Somehow there must be objective truth.
There are foreign and domestic elements who are trying to sow lies on the internet as much as possible. Many a despot has said if you tell any lie long enough and loud enough eventually it will be believed. If we can agree what the facts are, we can have honest debate.
We also have forces in our church who are trying to divide the church. When any church is divided it is a scandal. When Christians are fighting one another, it is an incongruity. We say we are to turn the other cheek. We also say we are to be people who forgive. Unfortunately, sometimes religious people are slow to seek reconciliation.
If there can be agreed upon truth. If we can have parish communities that seek to move beyond disagreements and find consensus then those communities can be forces for good in society.
Reflection Questions:
- Do I check facts that are presented to me about controversial topics, or I just pass on what I receive? What is the danger of passing on misinformation?
- Can evil be a force for good? Does good sometimes result from sinful situations?
Dear Parishioners,
CDC guidelines are changing fast. If you have been paying attention the last few days, you probably have heard that small groups of people can gather who have had their COVID 19 inoculation. This would mean that if a parish group wanted to gather, say a Bible Study whose members had all been vaccinated, this could happen. There is even the possibility that the people involved would not have to wear masks. This is pretty specific guidance, but it does offer us some new opportunities to gather.
I was at a meeting of the presbyteral council a few days ago and the bishop is allowing pastors to make decisions at the local level about such things as church capacity and sanitizing the church. Masks and social distancing will be with us for the foreseeable future. It is doubtful that we will be checking each person as they arrive to see if they have had their COVID shot. Overall, safety is still our emphasis. We will go with the best advise health experts offer.
May Our Lady and All the Angels and Saints watch over you.
Fr. Mark