THE EVIL WE DO
The Gospel MARK 15:6-15
Now on the occasion of the feast [Pilate] used to release to them one prisoner whom they requested. A man called Barabbas was then in prison along with the rebels who had committed murder in a rebellion. The crowd came forward and began to ask him to do for them as he was accustomed. Pilate answered, “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” For he knew it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed him over. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead. Pilate again said to them in reply, “Then what do you want me to do with the man you call King of the Jews?” They shouted again, “Crucify him.” Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?” They only shouted the louder, “Crucify him.” So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas to them, and after he had Jesus scourged, handed him over to be crucified.   
The Media                        "The Chronicles of Narnia:                beginning session 
                               The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"                                     
Based on C. S. Lewis’ children’s story, the movie “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe,” begins with two brothers and two sisters from the Pevensie family as they are evacuated from London. Their mother sends them to live in a country house where they will be safe from the nightly Nazi air raids. One day, playing a game in their new-found house, Lucy, one of the children, wanders into a wardrobe that begins an incredible journey for the young people. During the first session, they meet the White Witch who knows a secret about the children that the children do not even know yet. She selfishly takes advantage of Lucy and Edmund, the younger children, not caring at all what happens to them. Evil is not concerned about the people who are hurt, only that it gets what it wants.
The only evil that was evident on the day that would be remembered forever by Christianity was the evil of the Israelite crowd, the chief priests, and the Roman procurator, Pontius Pilate. Pilate understood that there was no evil in the man known as King of the Jews. He saw the envy and jealousy of the chief priests who wanted to kill Jesus. He saw that they cared little for anything else except what they wanted. Realizing that he was not strong enough to resist it, a fact that made him part of the evil, he allowed evil to have its day.
 
One of the unfortunate side-effects of human nature is our own desire to have what we want. When such a desire becomes dominant in our lives, it matters little who gets in our way. We become literally obsessed with what we want, and we simply will not pay any attention to others. Obviously, we are not going to kill or murder anyone to have our way, but we pay such little attention to people that we might as well say that they mean nothing to us. We are not evil, but we allow evil to control, and we hurt other people.

There is little consolation in knowing that the evil of the chief priests of the first century and the evil of the fictitious White Witch of Narnia is much worse than ours. We still must be aware of the hurt we are able to cause in our lives and the lives of others.                       
THOUGHT
What is the greatest evil present in today’s world? What is the greatest evil present around us?
 
PRAYER
Good and gracious God, there is evil present in the good world that you created. It is present on a global scale and unfortunately it is present in our own little worlds in which we live. Help us recognize and understand the evil that is within us. Be with us, we pray. 

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©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America