When was the last time we stopped to reflect on ourselves, our occupations, and what our relationships are like? Perhaps we are people who ask ourselves questions and are accustomed to looking within. But it may also be that the hustle and bustle of daily life makes us a little “alienated,” meaning that we are “outside” ourselves and do not pay much attention to what happens in our inner home. Now, whatever our starting condition, we want to reflect on something that involves us all: the evil we receive.

What do we mean by the evil we receive?

Probably each of us could begin compiling an endless list in response to this question: humiliations, betrayals, disloyalty, insults, provocations, unfair conduct, aggressiveness, injustices… and we could go on.
Faced with all this, and much more, we become indignant, angry, curse and… react.

How do we react?

We could also provide a long, perhaps imaginative, list of reactions to this question. The fact is that our reaction usually tends to “give back” to the other person what we received. And we tell ourselves: «It’s a matter of justice!!!».
But in this way, are we really different from the person who caused us harm and from that same evil that we felt entering our flesh? Are we really different from the constant messages that reach us from everywhere and speak the same language as the “evil” that has struck us: attack, respond, make them pay…?

Do we repay in kind because we are exercising our freedom?

«What does freedom have to do with the fact that I am insulted and insult someone in return? I’m defending myself! I’m not a fool!».
Well, yes, we have fallen head over heels into evil’s trap. Instead of making us “act,” it makes us “react,” preventing us from being masters of ourselves and placing us at the mercy of its destructive force; we are giving evil the power to decide in our place. And is that freedom?
When Jesus says: «If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other one as well», he is not telling us: «Make him think you’re a fool», but: «Be the Lord of your actions, let evil go, do not hold on to it, do not multiply it, stop it because you are strong and capable of doing so! I am with you!».

Neutralizing evil

So, does being free mean reacting to evil, or acting to interrupt its spiral of violence and thus neutralize it and deprive it of its destructive force?
Is the person who “reacts” truly strong and free, or the one who “acts” and decides to be an instrument of goodness, peace, harmony, and kindness, especially when faced with the evil received?
Freedom, then, the freedom that Jesus came to restore to us, freeing us from the bonds of sin, is the concrete possibility of putting on the right glasses every day to view reality from another perspective, that of goodness, the only one that makes us truly free.

The truth will set you free

But then how can we exercise our freedom, the freedom that makes us choose goodness, compassion, understanding, mercy, kindness…?
The starting point may be to experience in our own flesh Jesus’ words: «The truth will set you free». The truth is him, and he taught us that evil is stopped by stopping it within ourselves, avoiding multiplying it, and practicing being spreaders of peace, always. Then we will truly be free; free to choose goodness, and we will experience a fullness of life, a profound joy, and a beauty of heart that will confirm that we are on the right path. The path of Jesus, the one that lets us savor this truth: goodness does good! To us and to those around us.
War, unfortunately, continues to be a very sad reality in the world. The news reaching us from countries devastated by this scourge makes us feel powerless and indignant. So let us seize our powerlessness and indignation to do our part. Certainly, these are words that have been said and repeated, but today, perhaps, after reflecting on the real “power” our actions have in daily life, we can truly become those truly strong women and men who stop evil in its tracks, do not give it additional strength, do not allow it to decide in our place, and expose it for what it is: stupid, destructive pride.

Let us wholeheartedly welcome the freedom that the Lord Jesus came to give us, and let us be the best version of ourselves every day!