NON-VIOLENT SYMBOLS - B: 25th Sun in OrdTime

First Reading: Wis 2:12, 17-20 (19 September 2021)

“Let us lie in wait for the virtuous man, since he annoys us and opposes our way of life, reproaches us for our breaches of the law and accuses us of playing false to our upbringing” (Wis 2:12).

These are the words of the godless. They demonstrate their resolve to punish the good, not because of what they have done or failed to do, but because they stand as a daily reminder of how it is to be holy. Since the unjust fall short of this expectation, the righteous turn to be a source of abomination: becoming living mirrors to the evil ones, confronting the latter of their misgivings to the standard of holiness, and torturing them mentally with the knowledge that one can still run a happy life without succumbing to the pleasures of the world. To flush out this self-hate, the unjust consequently force the holy ones to imitate their wicked ways. Thus, they plan sinister schemes to achieve this goal, uttering: “Let us test him with cruelty and with torture, and thus explore this gentleness of his and put his endurance to the proof. Let us condemn him to a shameful death since he will be looked after – we have his word for it” (vv. 19-20).

There are two scenarios that can come out from their mischievous objective. On the one hand, the good ones will surrender to the pressure and join the bandwagon of the bad ones, yielding their ideals to salvage their own lives as well as their loved ones. On the other hand, they can be resilient all throughout, refusing to give in to the lures of comfort despite the suffering they are to endure. While both outcomes affect badly the just ones, it is only the latter that confronts head-on the evil ones, making them powerless despite their artificial show of might and control. While this response is seemingly weak, it is actually an effective means of fighting corruption and tyranny.

A non-violent way of resistance is in reality a potent weapon that strikes the vampire right to its chest, making the oppressors powerless for the generations to come.

We know in history how a non-violent revolution can be a catalyst of a long-lasting societal change. Take, for example, Mahatma Gandhi, whose birthday on October 2 (1869) becomes the International Day of Non-Violence. His advocacy of civil disobedience against British rule in 1920s to 1930s led to the independence of India. We are enamored by one of his famous quotes that declares that “[n]on-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.”

Many communities around the world take inspiration from his wisdom, and, true enough, many societies were radically transformed also through unbloody means, like, among many, the so-called People Power Revolution in the Philippines in 1986 that ousted the two-decade dictatorship of the Marcos regime; the Singing Revolution in the Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia) in 1991 leading to the dismantling of the USSR; the Rose Revolution in 2003 that completely removed Soviet rule for good in Georgia; and the Movement for Freedom and Democracy led by the Aung San Suu Kyi (a Nobel Peace Prize recipient in 1991) in Burma/Myanmar that brought a critical governmental change in her election in 2015.

Many such movements are ongoing: some are nearing success, but many are receiving more repressions from the state and the military. Despite these failures, it goes on to say that to remain righteous and just has the true potentials of confronting wicked people in authority. It makes them uneasy and uncertain of their hold of power. Nonetheless, we take comfort at the assuring message of the Sage:

“But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them…. and having been disciplined a little, they will be greatly benefited, because God tested them and found them worthy of himself; as gold in the furnace, he tested them, and as a sacrificial whole burnt offering, he accepted them” (Wis 3:1, 5-6).

- Rex Fortes, CM