Dealing with Injustice

Both readings for today’s liturgy are somewhat disturbing.  In the reading from the Book of Genesis, we hear the story of how jealousy prompted Sarah to ask Abraham to drive out Hagar and her son Ishmael lest he inherit part of what was rightfully Isaac’s.  In the Gospel, some might think it high-handed of Jesus to destroy a herd of swine and to take away the livelihood of the swineherds.  How do we reconcile these images with today’s sensibilities?

The truth is that we cannot.  Sarah’s treatment of Hagar and her son understandably brings up images of what it happening to so many people today as they are driven from their homeland and are victimized by forces beyond their control.  The question of the swine and the swine herders evokes images of men who are forced out of their jobs by profit-taking and businesses which victimize workers around the world. 

At the same time, if we look at the incidents from a different perspective we recognize that God did intervene in the plight of Hagar and Ishmael and did not let them perish even providing a secure future for them.  In the Gospel story, we also see Jesus caring for and curing the two men who were possessed of evil spirits. 

The two stories reflect the various difficulties we face in the human sphere of activity.  Our responsibility as followers of Jesus is to be mindful of how these difficulties impact the lives of people so that we can respond to their need.  As we are reminded almost daily, life is not fair.  When faced with the unfairness of life, we are asked to respond with faith and by reaching out to those in need. 

In Elizabeth of Portugal we have an example of one who did just that as befriended and helped pilgrims, strangers, the sick, the poor—in a word, all those whose need came to her notice.  She was also a peace maker who effected reconciliation between her husband and her son, and between the king of Spain and a cousin who had laid claim to the throne.  Even after her husband’s death and she retired to a monastery of Poor Clares, she made peace between her son, the king of Portugal and his son-in-law, the king of Castile.  

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld,  O.F.M., Administrator