Realistic, patient, charitable

WHEN Christ in that parable of the wheat and the weeds (cfr. Mt 13,24-43) advised that it would be better not to uproot the weeds at the moment since doing so may also uproot the wheat, we are practically told that we have to be realistic about our earthly condition where forms of evil would be unavoidable and that we learn to be patient and to remain charitable always.

In other words, we should be strong and tough and try our best not to be scandalized by any evil we encounter in life. Of course, the only way to do that is to have the very spirit of Christ. That is to say, to truly identify ourselves with Christ through his grace to which we have to correspond generously by developing the appropriate virtues.

We should try our best to be protected from being scandalized by evil all around us. With all the scandalous things popping everywhere, we should train ourselves to be strong and focused enough to do what we are supposed to do instead of being stalled by them. That is why we should aim at being scandal-proof.

We cannot deny that there are many scandals around that can rob us of our desire to do constructive things, often nipping it in the bud. Today’s scandals just do not come from the usual sources from which we may already have developed a good resistance.

Nowadays, the scandals can come from very unexpected causes, that is, from people whom we least expect to cause them. These people are supposed to be above suspicion.

Yet, we always have to remember that anything is possible under the sun. A saintly-looking person may be a demon in disguise. But the reverse can also be true. A devilish-looking person is, in fact, a saint. We should try not to be too surprised by this. In fact, it can be a healthy attitude to somehow expect this kind of phenomenon.

We should never forget that the weeds can try to look like the good seed itself. There’s a lot of pretensions and hypocrisy around, and the issues of lukewarmness, complacency, self-righteousness and the need for conversion are hardly acted upon these days.

Just the same, we need to be hopeful about everything and just learn to be scandal-proof. To be scandal-proof that is driven by true love would make us understand why God allows scandals to happen. These scandals actually have a reason for happening. They are actually meant to lead us to some good effects, like our purification, our strengthening in our faith and love, etc. As St. Paul again put it, they in the end will work out for the good. (cfr. Rom 8,28)

Thus, instead of responding to evil with evil, hatred with hatred, we should rather respond to evil with good, hatred with love. That way we turn things around, rather than plunge into the spiral of evil and hatred.

We should just live charity all the time. That way, we can turn evil things into something that is good for all. We should try our best not to be dominated and scandalized by evil. That’s how true love is, a love that is a clear sharing of the love that is in God as shown and lived by Christ himself. It’s a love that is not scandalized by anything.