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	ABSURD EVIL

The Gospel

MATTHEW 27:27-31

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus inside the praetorium and gathered the whole cohort around him. They stripped off his clothes and threw a scarlet military cloak about him. Weaving a crown out of thorns, they placed it on his head, and a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him they mocked him, saying “Hail, King of the Jews!” They spat upon him and took the reed and kept striking him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of his cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him off to crucify him.

The Media

"The Pianist"

beginning session

The Holocaust or the ultimate solution to the Jewish problem as Nazi Germany understood it, has been described in various ways, none of which are capable of expressing the evil. Dorota, the Polish friend of Wladyslaw Szpilman in the movie “The Pianist,” calls it disgraceful and absurd. Indeed it was. It is totally absurd to think that six million people—human beings with dignity and self-respect—could be removed from the face of the earth, but it gradually became clear that such was the intention of Nazi Germany. It did not seem possible, but it was true. The Jews of the late 1930’s and early 1940’s had to deal with it. As disgraceful and absurd as it was, it could not be ignored.

It is an unfortunate fact of humanity that evil exists. Often, we do not recognize it. We may participate in it, we may even create it without knowing it. But, whether we recognize it or not, in light of what it does to a community, evil can always be labeled "absurd." It is absurd in that it destroys the possibility of a good and decent life for all.

The peaceful Jesus, also a Jew, some nineteen hundred years before, had to deal with the absurdity of evil as well. How could someone be punished for wanting to create good and harmony? How could a person who only wanted the Kingdom of God to enter our world be made a fool of and insulted by the very people he wanted to help? It was absurd, but it was real, and Jesus had to deal with it.

Evil is real. It may be absurd, bringing about nothing but destruction and chaos, but it is real and part of everyone’s life. We must deal with it. We may try to free ourselves of it especially if we discover that we play a part in it, but if we cannot do anything about it, we must find a way to cope. Wladyslaw Szpilman did it during the Holocaust; we have to in our own time and specific set of circumstances.

And so, we must live with the wars that ought not to be, pray for those who are involved in them, and pray for those who fight in them. We must live with the greed that makes the poor get poorer, and determine to help those who are poor as much as we are able. We must live in a world that is fearful of crime, and even as we protect ourselves, try to prevent as much of the crime as we can. Evil is indeed absurd, but if we can do something about it, we must.

THOUGHT

What is the greatest evil in the world right now? Given your resources, what can you do about it?

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, there is evil in this wonderful world that you created. Human beings are responsible for it, and because of our circumstances right now, we may not be able to do anything about it. Help us determine what we can do, and then give us the courage to carry it out. Be with us, we pray.

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike