In relation to what going on in world and Russia and Ukraine
There is a situation in the Gospels where Jesus had just performed a miracle, restoring to a mute man his power of speech. Some of the people who saw it were amazed. Others, for some strange reason, were offended and said, "He is casting out devils by the power of the Devil". In other words, they were accusing him of doing a good thing by a wrong means. He had healed a mute man; they could not deny that. It was a good thing; this they would not dispute. But they concluded he had done it through the use of demonic power.
Their accusation gives us an insight into human nature, for this is the kind of thing that we try to do. We see it at work when two people try to break the heart and will of the other by means of bitter insults. We can now see it at work when two nations beat their ploughshares into swords and send their young men and others who volunteer, and they go off to war. It is the age-old superstition that somehow evil can be conquered by evil.
His accusers did not know it, but they were actually accusing Jesus of an impossibility. When a devilish circumstance is met with devilish forces nothing is resolved. All it does is set up a vicious cycle of devilish deeds. When two wrongs come together, they never give birth to a right. When hatred is met with hatred, it sows the seeds of continuing hatred. On and on the cycle will go on until someone somewhere decides to put an end to it.
The thing that the critics of Christ forgot, and that we forget, is that we can never reach the right destination by taking the wrong road. The road that we travel must be on a par with the goal that we seek else we will never get there. If our aim in life is to accomplish good, to cast out evil, to leave the world a little better than we found it then we are going to have to live as he lived. We must learn to turn the other cheek, to answer harsh words with soft words, to repay evil with good. This may sound insane, but it is the only thing that will ever work. Evil cannot conquer evil; only good can do this. Never in all the history of the world have two wrongs produced a right.
Ukraine is showing true Christian spirit. May we continue to pray for a softening of minds and hearts in all throughout this conflict and continue to keep the principles of openness, respect, understanding in the forefront of our desires for our whole world.
Fr. Tony Cox
College Chaplain