Tuesday of 14th Week, Year II: reflection

Theme: Don’t quit being good or doing good because of negative criticisms

Reading: Mt 9:32–38

Do you face negative criticisms and assaults for the good thing you do in your family, church, and community? Are there people who criticize you for every positive step you take to improve the lives of others? Do people misinterpret you even when nothing warrants it? Are there people who always spin the narrative of your good efforts so that the people will concentrate on little mistakes rather than on the enormous good you are doing? Are you planning to quit doing good so that these negative attacks and reactions will stop coming?

Dear friends, there is someone who is never attracted to the good and would use every means to ensure that the world sees no good, but bad. This Mr. ‘Do No good’ has his disciples all over the word, using every formula to stop the good wherever it is diminishing the influence of the bad. In today’s gospel, Jesus had an encounter with these agents of this Mr Do No Good. While Jesus was going about doing good, liberating those held bound by evil and sicknesses, some Pharisees accused him of doing those good works through the power of the devil, with an intent to stop him from doing further good.

How Jesus reacted to attacks from the Pharisees in today’s gospel should motivate and guide all those who are thinking about giving up on doing good on account of negative criticisms, attacks and lies against them from the agents of Mr. Do no good. This gospel passage narrated that criticisms against Jesus spurred him up to double his efforts in doing good rather than quitting. It said “he went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity. And when he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them.”

Dear friends, when you quit doing good because of negative criticisms, the agents of Mr Do no good — the devil — have succeeded in their plans against you. Hence, let us resist the devil and his agents by continuing to do good for humanity despite negative criticisms.

Fr Isaac Chima