A WORD OR TWO                                                                           January 22, 2012

                 FROM FATHER ALEX

     In next week’s Gospel Jesus is confronted by the deranged man in the synagogue. He does not walk away but patiently deals with the situation. He rebukes the unclean spirit and to the astonishment of all present heals the man. There is so much that is unclean about the world around us, troubles in families, tragedies in the world, corruption in high places. We are almost overwhelmed by the constant negativity that we find on TV, radio, and internet. It has reached saturation point. People cry out on every side for relief and justice—how can we possibly deal with all of this pain? When the Psalm next week says “Do not harden your hearts” to God’s voice, we wonder how not to harden our hearts, how to avoid getting “compassion fatigue.”

     How does Jesus deal with demands for help? When others walk away, Jesus approaches, and listens. Only after he lets evil speak does he confront it, and sets the person free. When Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez was asked, “How do you meet the needs of the poorest of the poor in Latin America?” he replied, “The first step is silence.” Silence allows us to look to see, to contemplate what is happening right in front of our eyes. Silence allows us to listen to God’s urgings. This is why, even when we are tired, troubled in spirit, and want to give up, it is important to keep our connection to God open.

    Jesus must have often been exhausted, sad, worn out by the effects of evil. But he nurtured his state of contemplation with God, always turning to God for strength and help. Then he could face the reality of sin and evil squarely, so that the person can be set free. It is the same for us. It is only after we have listened that we can usefully act. Look how the unclean spirits in the gospel next week want to hide. We know from our own sins; whatever is of darkness wants to hide from God. Evil does not want to be known, as Jesus wants to know it and heal it. Jesus’ way of dealing with evil is the opposite of silence and hiding—he requires evil to “Come out of him!” Be seen, be known, identify yourself—and then, “Begone, Satan!” Some of our greatest ministries operate just like that—by tearing the lid off of the pain and suffering, revealing it for what it is, so that it can be healed.

    For example, we may know an unhappy married couple who are heading for divorce. In the Retrouvaille program, those troubled couples listen to the stories told by the lead couples who have already healed their failing marriages. The Retrouvaille leaders do not hide their sad truth from the light—they reveal the unclean spirits of violence, cheating, abuse, addiction, and the misery of a disintegrating marriage. The new couples listen, and learn to face the unclean spirits in their own marriages honestly.

     Jesus knows the unhappiness in each suffering person’s heart. To be Christ to a suffering person, we first have to meet them where they are; and it will require “receiving” some of the unclean spirits which take the form of disease, rage, confusion, and ungratefulness. While we are listening, we are seeing Jesus’ body on the cross, being the magnet for all the world’s suffering. So, as the person’s anguish comes to us, we are empowered to hand everything over to Jesus for healing. Through grace and patience, we are a pathway for love and forgiveness to enter that person’s life, and for unclean spirits to “come out of him” or her.

                                                                    Peace to all.