They came to Jerusalem and, on entering the temple area Jesus began to drive out those selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. He did not permit anyone to carry anything through the temple area. Then he taught them saying, “It is written: my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples, but you have made it a den of thieves.” The chief priests and the scribes came to hear of it and were seeking a way to put him to death, yet they feared him because the whole crowd was astonished at his teaching.   

Evil is portrayed in various ways in the movies of our day. Sometimes the evil is scary and makes audiences cringe; sometimes evil comes in the form of what looks to be harmless people or innocent creatures. The evil in the movie "The Spiderwick Chronicles" is Mulgarath who comes in any form that he wants which makes him all the more dangerous, of course. In the movie, he wanted the secrets of Arthur Spiderwick's book that had fallen into the hands of his grandson. It would seem that the task would be simple for such a monster, but he was conquered by a boy and an unlikely creature. Evil is to be feared, but it can always be overcome by people committed to the good.

There was evil in Jesus' day, not in the form of any creature like Mulgarath in the movie "The Spiderwick Chronicles," but in the form of religious leaders who had lost sight of what religion really was. One time in Jesus' life, when he saw his Father's house being desecrated by evil that the religious leaders sponsored, he had to confront it. He knew what his action would cause, but he felt strongly that conquering such an evil meant that he had to do something, no matter what the consequences.

With the same type of courage, Jared Grace in the movie faces the evil before him. Observing his action, one concludes that we have to fight the evil no matter what the odds are. If we see that something is wrong, we have to do something about it. The book he had containing the secrets of his grandfather had to be destroyed, and he knew that somehow he had to do it.

As in Jesus' day, there is evil in our world. Most of the time, we see it on a global scale, and we can do little about it. But sometimes evil has crept into our own little circles. Someone is being ridiculed, some words are being spoken that should not be said, some actions are being done which clearly should not happen. We think in terms of "Someone should 'do' something, someone should 'say' something." People committed to better living realize that they are the "someone." They have to do it. Evil can be overcome; but we have to convince ourselves that we can do it.  

THOUGHT
 
PRAYER

Good and gracious God, your Son had the courage to address the evil in his day. He could not stand by and simply watch it happen. Help us be able to discern the evil that is around us, and give us the courage to want to do something about it. Be with us, we pray. 

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

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