By: Fr. Bel R. San Luis, SVD
Several years ago a popular bumper sticker read, “Stop the world; I want to get off.” The slogan was in protest to all the violence and insanity going on in the world.
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Not too long ago a carjack incident happened when Teresa Teaño tried to stop the carjackers by trying to block the way of the car from being stolen when she was hit fatally. She was not only shot at but even run over.
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The grieving father described the merciless killing in a busy Kamuning street in Quezon City as “satanic and evil.”
Why did those carjackers just steal the car instead of mercilessly killing her!
Some people ask, “Why does God allow these evil people to do their wicked ways?”
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Add to this such crimes today as massacres, peddling dangerous drugs and pornographic videos, violence against women, grafts and briberies.
God’s forbearing patience puzzles us. But if there’s one plausible reason, it’s to test our faith when we see the enemies of God boldly flaunting the law, plying their trade and seeing that God doesn’t punish them immediately.
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Reminds of the guy whose weakness is impatience. He prayed earnestly to God to cure him of his weakness, saying: “God, give me patience – and I want it now!” (Wow, his sickness must be that serious!).
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Just why God doesn’t punish evil people immediately is discerned from Jesus’ parable of the Wheat and Weeds in this 16th Sunday in ordinary time. (Read Matthew 13, 24-43). “Let them – wheat and weeds – grow together,” the Lord says.
“But at harvest time, collect the weeds first and bundle them up to be burned!” He was referring obviously to the Day of Reckoning or Last Judgment.
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That God delays his final purification is an encouragement. However, it is also a fearful WARNING to evildoers. One day there will an end to further chances, and then punishment follows.
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WORK FOR JUSTICE. While we are on earth, we should do our share in building God’s kingdom characterized by peace, justice and love. This holds true especially for those who’re vested with the authority to uphold law and order.
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We should not only avoid evil but do something positive to counter it.
As the saying goes, “Tis better to light one little candle than to curse the darkness.”
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The British statesman Edmund Burke once said: “The only way by which evil men prosper in society is for the good to do nothing.”
Let’s ask ourselves, “Am I a good wheat or a bad grass (masamang damo)?” If it’s the latter, heed the Lord’s warning and reform NOW.
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LAFF WITH GOD. Father tells his son: “Son, you should never lie. One lie begets another lie, then another lie, and before you know it, you’re a lawyer.”
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Try Jesus. If you don’t like Him, the devil will always take you back.
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APPEAL. Please help the poor seminarians we’re supporting under our “Adopt a Seminarian” scholarship program. You may chip in an amount or sponsor a seminarian’s schooling for a year.
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For inquiries, e-mail me at: [email protected].