{"id":601,"date":"2014-09-07T14:22:07","date_gmt":"2014-09-07T19:22:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/?p=601"},"modified":"2014-09-07T14:22:07","modified_gmt":"2014-09-07T19:22:07","slug":"fighting-evil-in-todays-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/?p=601","title":{"rendered":"Fighting Evil in Today’s World"},"content":{"rendered":"

Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time<\/span><\/h2>\n

Ez 33: 7-9; Rom 13: 8-10; Matt 18: 15-20<\/span><\/h2>\n

Dc. Larry Brockman<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s certainly no lack of evil in today\u2019s world, is there?<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

While on a beach vacation, my wife\u2019s bike was stolen from the rental property even though the place had a locked gate.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>A few nights later, we watched an internet video of a lady dismantling a beach canopy.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Gone just a few minutes to get a cold drink, the owner walked up with his I-phone recording the scene and asked her what she was doing.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cTaking down my canopy\u201d was her response.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>This takes place in broad daylight, in full view of everyone on the beach.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The woman and her friend start cussing and threatening the owner, and even attacked him, knocking the i-phone out of his hand.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Everybody else just stood by and watched.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And then there is society as a whole.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>All you have to do is listen to the news for just one day, and you\u2019ll get a belly full of it- pornographic photos of starlets stolen and posted on the internet; evidence of Government lies and cover-ups in multiple areas; scam schemes to defraud thousands of Home Depot Customers.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Yes, and all of that in just a few days.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What can and should we do about such evil and the wicked?<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Our society has changed significantly over the last 100 years- and a lot of it is for the better.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>But when it comes to holding people accountable for evil, I\u2019m not so sure.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>There was a time when we could all expect that our neighbors had roughly the same moral values that we did.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>We were, after all, a Nation founded on Judeo-Christian Values.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>But political correctness of today preaches \u201ctolerance\u201d of alternate traditions such as Moslems, Buddhists, American Indian Spirituality, and other religions. <\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>And this also forces us to \u201ctolerate\u201d the values of people who claim to be Wickens, Atheists, and Devil Worshippers.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And to make matters worse, modern society has embraced \u201cRelativism\u201d.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Relativists say evil is not absolute, but rather, relative to the situation.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>But that is not what the Church Teaches.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Several times a year we hear the Gospel story about building houses on rock rather than sand.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The rock we are advised to build on is absolute- God\u2019s law.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>God\u2019s law is not relative- it is absolute.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Things are either morally right or wrong; culpability may vary with circumstances, but not the rightness or wrongness of an action.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Lastly, our affluent society seems perfectly content without God.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Church attendance in the US is under 50 %; in Europe it is 8 %.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Is there any wonder than that the youth of today don\u2019t know right from wrong- who is there to teach them?<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This tolerance and relativism and apathy towards God has caused the loss of a common set of values.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>And so we cannot be sure our neighbors see things as we do.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>In fact, more than likely they do not.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>That\u2019s why there are people next to us on the beach who see nothing wrong with stealing beach canopies and bikes.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The question for us this morning is this.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>After listening to Ezekiel\u2019s words in the first reading; and after hearing Jesus\u2019 words in the Gospel, just what is our responsibility to our brothers and sisters with regard to calling attention and doing something about evil?<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>In a society where we are discouraged, even prohibited, from imposing our set of values so that we \u201ctolerate\u201d the diversity of other values, just what is our responsibility?<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>How do we apply what we hear in this Church on the outside.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

First, let me quote you something from paragraph 450 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church:<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cFrom the beginning of Christian History, the assertion of Christ\u2019s lordship over the world and over history has implicitly recognized that man should not submit his personal freedom <\/span>in an absolute manner<\/span><\/strong> to any earthly power but only to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ\u201d.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>So, that means that we have an obligation to obey God\u2019s Law first, before we obey the Government.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What we are hearing this morning is that if we see evil going on around us- evil caused by our human brothers and sisters- we have an obligation to call them on it.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>We have an obligation to call them on it whether their actions are legal according to the Government or not; and we have an obligation to call them on it if it is going on around us but doesn\u2019t affect us personally because evil is evil; and because, as Ezekiel clearly says, we will be held responsible for our brother\u2019s actions if we do not warn them.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Yes, brothers and sisters, God may hold us accountable for the sins of others if we don\u2019t make an attempt to correct them.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Granted, our efforts to call out the wicked and their wickedness need to be done properly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>For individuals, that means that we go to them quietly first; and if that fails, then we go to them with one or two witnesses; and if that fails, we have the Church or the authorities take up the matter.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But what about society as a whole?<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>What can we, and should we, do about eroding moral values in our society as a whole?<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>There are lots of areas where we see our values being eroded- basic honesty, respect for property, the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman, and respect for life are examples.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

St. Paul recommends love in our second reading because love does no evil.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>But he expands on battling evil in Ephesians 7:11, when he says: <\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u201cPut on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil\u201d.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Then he defines that armor: Truth, Righteousness, Faith, the Hope of Salvation, and the Word of God.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But in order for these things to be armor, we have to put them into practice.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Father Rex has talked about being a disciple the last couple of weeks.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>And that is what I am saying too- \u201cBe a disciple of Christ\u201d.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>We have to proclaim the word, have faith and trust in God, hold to the truth no matter what, and live a righteous life.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>That\u2019s the way to defeat evil.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s called involvement; it\u2019s called being a dynamic Catholic.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>To be a dynamic Catholic you have to know your Faith; believe in what you know; and practice what you believe.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Sometimes that means speaking up; writing letters, calling someone out in public, and refusing to comply with an unjust law- it means all of those things and more.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Imagine how things would change<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>If all 6,000 families in this parish were dynamic Catholics!<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Ez 33: 7-9; Rom 13: 8-10; Matt 18: 15-20 Dc. Larry Brockman \u00a0 There\u2019s certainly no lack of evil in today\u2019s world, is there?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 While on a beach vacation, my wife\u2019s bike was stolen from the rental property even though the place had a locked gate.\u00a0 A few nights […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[301],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=601"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":603,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601\/revisions\/603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}