Page 18 - Michael 2024 January

u out Him, ‘they became futile in their thinking’ so is the promise of His coming? For ever since the
that ‘their senseless minds were darkened’ (1:21); fathers fell asleep, all things have continued as they
‘claiming to be wise, they became fools’ (1:22).” were from the beginning of creation’ (2 Pt 3: 3-4).
These people do not want the Commandments; “There is the disheartened attitude of those
they want the freedom to be able to commit all the who renounce every effort regarding history and
sins that they desire. How foolish they are! God has its transformation. They are convinced that noth-
put into the heart of man a desire for the infinite that ing can change, that every effort is bound to be
only He, God, and no other useless, that God is absent
creature can fulfill. There- and in no way interested
fore, the man who lives in in this minuscule point in
sin may seek happiness, the universe which is the
but he will never find it. St. earth... If, in fact, nothing
Augustine who, early on, can change, what is the
led a very immoral life, after sense of hoping? One can
his conversion wrote in his only sit on the sidelines
Confessions: “You have of life, letting the repeti-
created us for You, Lord, tive movement of human
and our heart is happy only events complete its peren-
when it rests in You.” nial cycle.
People claim to free “With this attitude,
themselves from God and many men and women have
His Commandments, but already fallen on the fringes
they become slaves to their of history, without confi-
sins. For them, the mere dence, indifferent to every-
presence of practicing thing, unable to struggle or
Christians is a reproach. hope. But the Christian vi-
Christians and Catholics sion is clearly explained by
are a threat to today’s way Jesus when, asked by the
of life, and as a result, they Pharisees when the king-
are persecuted for not go- dom of God was coming, He
ing along, so to speak, with answered them: “The king-
the trend of the world. But “I am the Way; I am Truth and Life”(John 14:6) dom of God is not coming
Jesus said: “The servant is with signs to be observed;
not greater than the mas- “Cut off from Me you can do nothing (John 15:5) nor will they say, ‘Lo, here it
ter. If they have persecuted Me, they will also per- is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in
secute you” (John 15:20). the midst of you!” (Lk 17: 20-21).
Things can and will change “The temptation of those who imagine apoca-

Faced with these situations where injustice and lyptic scenes of the in-breaking of God’s kingdom
evil seem to prosper, many are tempted to become and who close their eyes, weighed down with the
sleep of indifference, is opposed by Christ in the
discouraged and to doubt. If you happen to talk to quiet coming of the new heavens and the new
them about the need to correct the financial sys- earth. This coming is similar to the hidden but
tem, they will tell you: “We know you are right, but vigorous growth of the seed sprouting from the
there is nothing you can do; people are too cor- ground (cf. Mk 4:26-29).
rupt, the Bankers are too powerful, etc.” But we, as
Christians, know that there is no place for discour- “God therefore entered the world and human
agement because we are certain that the final vic- history and proceeds silently, waiting patiently for
tory belongs to God; that good will triumph over humanity with its delays and conditioning. He re-
evil. With God’s help, along with our human efforts, spects its freedom, supports it when it is gripped
everything is possible. In his Wednesday weekly by desperation, leads it step by step and invites it to
audience of January 31, 2001, Pope John Paul II ex- collaborate on the project of truth, justice and peace
plained that we must never lose hope: of the kingdom. Divine action and human effort
“The Second Letter of Peter mentioned above must therefore be intertwined. ‘There is no ques-
tion, then, of the Christian message inhibiting men
had already considered this, reflecting the objec- from building up the world or making them disinter-
tions of those who are suspicious or skeptical or ested in the good of their fellows: on the contrary,
even ‘scoffers’, and who ask themselves: ‘Where

18 MICHAEL January/February 2024 www.michaeljournal.org