It is said that, “the world is filled with people who, no matter what you do, no matter what you try, will simply not like you. At the same time, the world is filled with people who will appreciate you and love you for who you are. The ones that love you are your people. It follows then that don’t waste your time and heart to convince the people who are not your people that you have value. They will miss it completely and they will not appreciate you”.

Therefore, don’t try to be a hero. “Never try to convince them to walk your path with you because you will only waste your time and your emotional strength. As far as they are concerned, you are not for them and they are not for you. However, courtesy demands that you politely wave them along and move away as well. It is only reasonable that you seek to share your path with those who recognize your gifts and those that recognize you for who you are”.

In our 1st reading, we saw how the godless and evil people treat the upright and good, when they say: Let us test him with cruelty and torture, Let us explore his gentleness, Let us put his endurance to the test, Let us condemn him to a shameful death.

There is no reason for them to act otherwise (the contrary) but that is what evil and its agents are all about. We may ask why? The answer is almost one and the same: Tulemupesha, alechimona, acilamofye.

Similarly in the gospel, we saw the intentions of the Jews wishing to kill Jesus, even though He had done nothing wrong to warrant Him to pay with His life. Such is the irrationality of evil. For evil, there is no need for a reason to malign, slander, defame, or even harm and kill the innocent and the virtuous one.

When we are confronted with evil motives, we do become worried and anxious about what the evil people will do with us. As a result our hearts are weighed down with fear. However, the psalmist says: “fear not the Lord is close to the broken-hearted”.

As we participate in the devotion of the Way of the Cross this evening, let us ask Jesus to strengthen our faith and to stand firm against evil and malice. With the Lord, we will stand victorious over evil and malice.