17th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A
First Reading: 1 Kgs 3:5-12
Second Reading: Rom 8:28-30
Gospel Reading: Mt 13:44-52
The kingdom of heaven is a treasure worth everything else we have. However, in a world where good and evil are entwined, it is not always easy to recognize it. Accordingly, Solomon asked God for “an understanding mind” that could “discern between good and evil.”
We must shun all evil and all co-operation with it; but does shopping at a store where the employees are not paid fairly count as co-operating with evil? What about inviting a cohabiting, unmarried couple into our home? What if every option will bring evil as well as good?
“Sins give rise to social situations and institutions that are contrary to the divine goodness,” says the Catechism of the Catholic Church. These “structures of sin” make us “accomplices” of one another in doing evil. It takes the wisdom of Solomon, therefore, to decide the point at which we must stop co-operating with evil.
You may remember a legal case in which two pro-life teachers refused to join the BC Teachers’ Federation because of its pro-abortion stance, thereby risking their jobs, while other pro-life teachers were arguing that no one would think them pro-abortion just because they were BCTF members, and that the dismissal of pro-life teachers would leave public school children with no teachers except pro-abortionists.
St. Paul gives some helpful advice. “Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience,” he said. We do not have to examine the private life of the merchant to see whether he is using his profits for evil.
Similarly, “if an unbeliever invites you to a meal, and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience.” However, if someone tells you that the meat you are eating comes from an animal that has been sacrificed to an idol, then – ”out of consideration” for the conscience of the other person – you have an obligation to show your disapproval, to set a good example and avoid giving scandal.
Distinguishing between good and evil is complicated by the fact that out of evil, God always brings greater good, for “in everything God works for good for those who love him.”
May we, then, or should we, do evil to help bring about good? No, Jesus said. Speaking about his glorification and our redemption – which the Catechism calls “the greatest of all goods” – he said, “The Son of Man is going the way Scripture tells of him. Still, accursed be that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.” An evil never becomes a good, and it is never lawful to commit it so that good may come of it later.
However, in our fallen world, flooded by sin, it often happens that our actions have bad effects as well as good. How should we choose?
For example, I spend a good deal of time in my car, visiting shut-ins, hearing their confessions and giving them absolution, or taking them the Blessed Sacrament. However, my car contributes to global warming and I run the risk of a car accident. Should I drive?
The Church teaches that it is morally allowable to perform an act that has both a good effect and a bad one, provided all of the following conditions exist: 1) the act must not be bad in itself; 2) the bad effect must not be an essential factor in accomplishing the good, but only a by-product; 3) the bad effect must not be intentional; and 4) the reason for permitting the bad effect must be sufficiently serious.
Many decisions are difficult. All of them are important. Let us decide, then, according to the psalm: “My part, I have resolved, O Lord, is to obey your word. The law from your mouth means more to me than silver and gold.”
Father Hawkswell has now finished teaching The Catholic Faith in Plain English. However, the course will remain available, in both print and YouTube form, at beholdvancouver.org/catholic-faith-course, until next September. At that time, he will teach it again, with new insights, both online and in person, on Sundays from 2 to 4 p.m. at the John Paul II Pastoral Centre (4885 Saint John Paul II Way, 33rd Avenue and Willow Street, Vancouver) and on Mondays from 10 a.m. to noon in St. Anthony’s Church Hall, 2347 Inglewood Avenue, West Vancouver.
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