The Battleground of Good and Evil Is in Our Hearts
INTRO
Good morning! Father Manny inspired me to preach standing right there rather than from the ambo. Being without power for the last 24 hours threw a wrench in my plan. My last practice this morning was at Whataburger and I decided I will be better stick to the ambo!
Today I will be very political - so brace yourself! I will talk about GOOD and EVIL in our society. I think we all recognize that there is good and evil in the United States and in the world.
Can you name where you see evil? Where do you see good? The government? The democrats? The republican? Russia, Ukraine ?
Certainly there is a battle of good and evil. But where is this battle?
Rather than following the news, I like what St. Ignatius of Loyola has to say about the battle of good and evil. He said:
The battleground of good and evil is in our heart. Inside each of our hearts this battle is fought every second.
Are you aware of this battle of good and evil in your heart?
Can you notice when good in your heart wins? And when the evil prevails?
If the battle of good and evil is in our heart - and we want good to prevail we have to become aware of what's going on in our heart.
GOD
Let’s take a look at the gospel.
What do you think is happening in the hearts of the Pharisees and scribes in this gospel passage?
Let's follow St Ignatius' suggestion and let’s use our imagination to see what’s happening in the main characters of this passage.
We can imagine that Jesus was coming back again to the temple from a place of prayer on Mt Olive. And even though it was early in the morning lots of people came to him. The gospel writer underlined “arrive again”, it tells us that people were used to seeking Jesus for his teaching, over and over again, - and it didn't matter if it was early in the morning. They came again and again to be nourished by Him.
How do you think was the heart of those people seeking Jesus that morning?
I imagine them to have an open heart, guided by the good, seeking clarity, wisdom, guidance and positive direction for their life. They knew they could find them in Jesus. And they all surrounded Him as he arrived from Mt Olive - in the early morning, possibly in a cold clear sky with a sunrise on the horizon.
As their hearts and minds were nourished by Jesus - the Pharisees and scribes abruptly broke through the crowds, stopped the teaching, and threw the adulterous woman in front of Jesus saying:
What do you say? Should we stone her according to the Law of Moses?
As you may know the law of Moses prescribes the death penalty for adultery.
What do you think is going on in the Pharisee’s heart? Is good or evil prevailing?
It is obvious that their heart is motivated by evil. Their intent is not to give justice to the unlawful action of adultery but to use the woman to catch Jesus in error. Because if Jesus said - not to stone the woman then he can be charged for blasphemy for breaking the law of Moses. If he said to stone the woman he would be charged by the Romans for giving a capital punishment that only the Romans could do.
As we mentioned, the battle of Good and Evil is happening in each person's heart. And in the Pharisee’s heart the evil is winning the battle. Evil is prevailing because the Pharisee are not aware of what's happening in their heart.
When Jesus started writing on the ground we can imagine how the Pharisees were anxious to get an answer - but Jesus is taking time and allowing them to reflect on what's going on in their hearts. Then he said:
“Let the one among you who is without sin be the first one to throw a stone to her.”
Now Jesus’s words sting deeply their heart, they become aware of their evil wanting to trap Jesus and starting from the oldest ones they all leave one by one.
Ignatius reminds us that when we are in sin, The Spirit of God sting our soul with a feeling of remorse to stimulate a change.
This change is a move away from evil and towards an increase of Faith, Hope and Love.
A heart that is well ordered always prioritizes Love, Mercy and Justice over personal agenda, and the use of other people for personal interest.
YOU
If you want to fight the battle of good and evil, start becoming aware of the battle in your heart.
Do you pay attention to what is happening in your heart during the day? Is gossip, envy, lust part of your first thoughts?
Are you helping your kids become aware of the battle of good and evil in their hearts?
WE
Serious Prayer cannot co-exist with serious sin.
When you find the first move of your heart be gossip, envy, lust immediately go in serious prayer. Like “Come Holy Spirit.” or Jesus help me right here.”
Remember, serious prayer cannot co-exist with Serious Sin. If you call upon Jesus right when those thoughts come to your mind and reject them you will win the battle in your heart.
With time, calling on this prayer, your heart will be transformed and you will find yourself that your first thought will not be anymore of gossip, envy, lust rather you will catch yourself by your first thoughts of Love, Mercy and Justice.
Then you will experience having a heart more like Jesus.
When that happens, savor that moment - because you will fall again but now it will be different because you will know that your heart can be healed.
As we line up to receive Jesus in the Eucharist, pray that you will be given the awareness of what is happening in your heart and the grace to reject evil and choose Love, Mercy and Justice.
