In today’s first reading, Gen. 6: 5-8; 7: 1-5, 10, God regrets
having created humankind. “When the Lord saw how great was… [humankind’s]
wickedness on earth, and how no desire that his heart conceived was ever
anything but evil, he regretted that he had made… [humankind] on the earth, and
his heart was grieved.” However, Noah
and his household found favor with God and so was spared.
As we contemplate the evil in today’s world, we must wonder
whether God does not again regret having created humankind. Yet we also know
that amidst the evil around us there is also good. In the Gospel’s parable of
the darnel, the disciples wanted to pull the weeds out of the field and Jesus
said: “No, [do not do that], because when you weed out the darnel you might
pull up the wheat with it. Let them both grow till the harvest; and at harvest
time I shall say to the reapers: First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles
to be burnt, then gather the wheat into my barn” (Mt 13: 24-30).
It is difficult to watch the “darnel” grow along side the “wheat,”
yet we know that at the end of time, at the final judgment, God will separate
the good from the bad. Those committed to evil and unrepentant will be cast
into eternal fires while those committed to good, aware and repentant of the
evil they have done, will enter eternal glory.
Rather than ranting and raving about the evil in the world, it is our
responsibility to continue doing good and being honest with ourselves when we fall into Satan’s traps, repenting of
the evil we have done and returning to the Lord our God. As we
enter the holy season of Lent, let us do so aware of how evil in this world
grieves the heart of God and our own hearts.
No comments:
Post a Comment