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Jesus
said, "When an unclean spirit goes out of a person it roams through
arid regions searching for rest but finds none. Then it says, 'I will
return to my home from which I came.' But upon returning, it finds it
empty, swept clean, and put in order. Then it goes and brings back with
itself seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they move in and
dwell there; and the last condition of that person is worse than the
first. Thus it will be with this evil generation."
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There is incredible evil activity at
the
beginning of the second part of the first “Star Wars
Trilogy,” “The Empire
Strikes Back.” Darth
Vader, the symbol
of evil, will not allow his forces to rest, until he finds young
Skywalker to
crush him. Luke
Skywalker, the follower
of Obi-Wan Kenobi and heir to the powers of a Jedi knight, understands
his call
to good. But even
as he leads the rebel
forces in a fierce battle, he is aware of the need for further
direction in the
power of The Force. With Obi-Wan’s help, he understands that
he must further
strengthen himself to face the evil of Darth Vader and the Imperial
forces.
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As
we struggle to be
good in our day-to-day living, we often conclude that it is an
impossible
task. It seems that our human
natures rebel
against “doing the right thing” all the time. Much of
the reason lies in
the fact that evil never rests. Jesus
speaks of it directly. The evil spirit, Jesus
says, “goes and brings back with itself seven other
spirits more evil than
itself, and they move in and dwell there." It is not an
easy task to remain good in the midst of such activity on the part of
the evil
one.
Too often, human beings give into evil. We not only do evil things, but we think with evil minds. We hurt others. We take advantage of others. We use things for our own benefit and profit. It seems that many times we are actually “inclined by our nature” toward evil. Whether or not this is true, there is no need to worry about it if we believe in Jesus Christ. Jesus, God, The Force of our lives, has told us more than once that with his help, we can conquer all evil. Our problem perhaps is laziness. We will not make the effort to open ourselves enough to follow the directives that Jesus gives. As a result, we often “drift” into evil. The good must always be on guard with Christian awareness because evil will take any advantage it can. |
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THOUGHT
What
are some examples that you can think of in which people have
“drifted” into evil?
PRAYER Good
and gracious God, there is often such a contrast between the
activity of evil in the world and our own laziness to bring about good. Evil wins so often because
we simply do not
fight it. Help us
recognize the evil in
our lives and give us the courage to attack 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 |
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