[stephenkhoo]

WARDING EVIL FROM OUR LIVES

SCRIPTURE READINGS: Tb 12:1. 5-15. 20; Can Tb 13:2,6-8; Mk 12:38-44

Some of us feel cursed in life.  We wonder why so many tragedies befall us.  Why are we always meeting failure in life?  Why do we fall sick so often?  Our family is fragmented.  There are many quarrels, bickering and misunderstandings. There is no trust and openness.  Our relationships are unfriendly and fraught with suspicion.   At times, we feel besieged by evil, even within us.  We feel our house is unclean.  We experience spiritual disturbances or even oppression.   Within ourselves, we feel un-free and under bondages of lust, anger, anxiety, fear, greed, etc.  Indeed, we have no peace in our hearts.  And if one has no peace within oneself, one cannot expect to find peace outside of oneself.

What could be the reasons for attracting evil in our lives?   Many of us are unhappy because we are not at peace within ourselves due to the kind of life we live.  When we live evil, selfish and dishonest lives, we attract evil to us and to where we live.   When we live a life of sin, we become obsessed eventually with what attracts us, whether it is sex, money, power or fame.    What we sow is what we reap.  St Paul warns us, “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption; but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” (Gal 6:7f)  Sin always makes us miserable.  As St Paul says, “Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness,  idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit,  envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Gal 5:19-21)

Of course, we must reckon also that there are times we face trials in our lives, whether sickness or adversities due to no fault of our own.  Such trials are permitted by the Lord to test us in faith, purify our love for Him and help us to grow in grace.  But these are often external factors and they need not affect us interiorly if our hearts are at peace.   This was the case of Job and of Tobit.  Both were struck by illness, whether it was through the work of the devil or by misfortunes.  Yet, such external sufferings cannot destroy the peace of the person.  Indeed, in the face of extreme physical sufferings, like them, we too would wish we were dead.   But within their hearts, they were very much at peace, knowing that they had tried to live a righteous life before God and man.

Hence, if we want to live a life of peace and joy, the angel Raphael gives us this simple advice.  He said, “Do what is good, and no evil can befall you.”  This is what St Paul wrote as well, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.  Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.  If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all.  Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it[ to the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”  No, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.”” (Rom 12:14-20This is what the wisdom psalm instructs us as well.  “By turns he punishes and pardons; he sends men down to the depths of the underworld and draws them up from supreme Destruction; no one can escape his hand. If you return to him with all your heart and all your soul, behaving honestly towards him, then he will return to you and hide his face from you no longer.  Sinners, return to him; let your conduct be upright before him; perhaps he will be gracious to you and take pity on you.”

Indeed, St Paul says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Rom 12:21) This was the case of Tobit.  He had always been a generous and compassionate man.  Raphael commended him, saying, “When you did not hesitate to get up and leave the table to go and bury a dead man, I was sent to test your faith.” Even though he became blind, he did not get angry with God or blame anyone.  He accepted God’s will graciously and humbly.  He remained honest even when he became poor.   More than just being honest, he was generous towards others.  He told his son to be generous with Raphael who helped him.  He instructed his son, “’My son, you ought to think about paying the amount due to your fellow traveller; give him more than the figure agreed on.’  So Tobias called his companion and said, ‘Take half of what you brought back, in payment for all you have done, and go in peace.’”

For this reason, almsgiving expressed in charity and generosity is the way to overcome evil in our lives.  All evils spring from self-centeredness and the desire for pleasures.  Rightly so, the angel advised us, “Better to practise almsgiving than to hoard up gold.  Almsgiving saves from death and purges every kind of sin.  Those who give alms have their fill of days; those who commit sin and do evil, bring harm on themselves.”  So the best way to overcome greed and self-centeredness is to focus on others and be set free from self.  Most of all, by giving to the poor and the needy, we also learn how to feel with them and for them.  When our hearts are open to the poor, they teach us the simplicity of life, and the joy of loving, sharing and caring.  When we see their sufferings, we forget about our own because most of us are much better off than others.

Indeed, when we read today’s gospel, we cannot but be put to shame.  Like the scribes and Pharisees, we teach people what to do.  We tell them they must be generous, forgiving, selfless.  We tell them to live virtuous life and a life of simplicity, but like the Jewish leaders, we do not practice what we teach.  In fact, sometimes we take advantage of the generosity of our poor people who sacrificed their hard earned savings to give to us.  The widow puts us all to disgrace indeed because she gave all that she had to live on.  That was why she was commended by Jesus. He said, “I tell you solemnly, this poor widow has put more in than all who have contributed to the treasury; for they have all put in money they had over, but she from the little she had has put in everything she possessed, all she had to live on.”  She gave from her scarcity and generosity which is everything she had but we all give from our abundance.  This is the incomparable difference.  If we could give all of ourselves, we will be the happiest people on this earth.  Nothing will hold us back, not even death.  We will feel liberated and feel that the whole earth belongs to us.  Instead, we are afraid to let go and let God take over our lives, unlike the poor widow who trusted in God to supply everything.

How, then, can we cultivate the heart of the poor widow so that we can enjoy true freedom?  Raphael tells us that it is through prayer and fasting.  He counseled, “Prayer with fasting and alms with right conduct are better than riches with iniquity.”   The truth is that if we were to have the heart of God which is exemplified in the poor widow, we will depend only on His grace.  It is not by our will and efforts that we can do it.  Unless we receive His grace, love and enlightenment, we will not have the courage to do likewise.  Prayer helps us to identify ourselves with the heart of God and be enlightened by His wisdom and be filled with His love.  Fasting helps us to yearn for God and for the fullness of life.  It also helps us to identify with the poor so that our hearts could be soften and be open to their suffering and pain.  The wisdom of the Church always teaches us that the three pillars must go together in our spiritual life, prayer, fasting and almsgiving.  One without the other will make the rest weak.  To grow in charity, we need to pray.  To pray well, we need to fast and practice mortification.   So we must give ourselves to prayer and fasting so that we could share the heart of God.  Indeed, let us take the words of St Paul to heart, “And let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart.  So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” (Gal 6:9f)

Written by The Most Rev William Goh