[The angel said to Joseph:] “It is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means 'God is with us.'" When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus.

The previous movie of the Batman trilogy from director Christopher Nolan closed with a choice that Bruce Wayne/Batman made. He chose to allow Batman to accept the blame for something he did not do, and therefore leave Gotham City completely. Commissioner Jim Gordon made the decision along with Batman so that the city could have a hero to admire. Now, in the movie "The Dark Knight Rises," another more severe threat is about to overtake Gotham City, a man by the name of Bane who described himself as "necessary evil." In the meantime, Bruce Wayne/Batman, feeling sorry for himself, had gone into seclusion. When young police officer John Blake and Commissioner Jim Gordon realized what was happening in the city, they made Bruce Wayne/Batman realize the problem as well. He finally understood that he was part of the problem because he was able to do something, and was not accepting the responsibility. But in making the decision to do something about the evil, he had to make some further choices that were not at all what he wanted.    

When people make choices that involve other people, there is always the possibility that the other people will not always agree. When Bruce Wayne decided to re-enter the law enforcement problems of Gotham City, Alfred his trusted assistance, his surrogate parent, could not approve because in Alfred's mind, it meant certain death. Bruce Wayne/Batman had to make his decision nonetheless because he knew he could do something about the evil.

Perhaps the most important part of Christian theology is the understanding that God will always be present in a special way with humanity. In fact there are theologians who say that God intended to be with man and woman as God-with-us--Emmanuel--from the very beginning of creation, whether we sinned or not. Obviously, however, we did sin, and at that very moment, God saw the need to do something about the evil that man had introduced. In the book of Genesis in the Bible, God said directly to the evil: "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers" (Genesis 3:15). In human terms, God saw the evil, and knew that something could be done. The result was what we have come to call the Incarnation: "She bore a son and named him Jesus" Savior, Emmanuel.

Studying the history of humankind in light of what God did for us through Jesus, we must stand in awe for such a wonderful God. But we also learn. We learn that if we can do something about some evil in our lives, we must do it. For us, it usually will not mean that we will have to address some international or national crisis. It will mean that we look at the evil in our own lives--the words that we say, the thoughts that we have--and address them. Or it will mean that we look at the small evils that are part of our world, whether we caused them or not--the evils of our workplace or community--and, if we can, do something about them.

If we can, we must do it. But it will cost. We know how the evil world treated our God-with-us. We see how evil works against the heroes of our world. But God still is with us. We can rise to the need with confidence.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, you prove your love for us by sending us your Son. Give us the courage that Jesus had to understand the evil that is around or within us, and the desire to do something about it. 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