The Old Hags

Learning to fear no one but ourselves

06/25/2017

Matthew 10:26-33 

Jesus said to the Twelve: "Fear no one. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father."

          A preacher’s Sunday sermon was on the topic of “forgiving your enemies.” Toward the end of the service, he asked his congregation, “How many of you have forgiven your enemies?” About half held up their hands. He asked the question again, and since it was past lunchtime, about 80 percent held up their hands. He repeated his question a third time and all raised their hands, except one elderly lady. The preacher asked, “Mrs. Jones, are you not willing to forgive your enemies?” She smiled sweetly and said: “I don’t have any enemies.” The preacher was amazed: “Mrs. Jones, that’s very unusual. How old are you?” She answered, “I’m ninety three.” The preacher was delighted and asked, “Oh, Mrs. Jones, what a blessing you are to us all. Would you please come forward and share how someone can live so long and not have an enemy in the world?” The sweet little lady tottered down the aisle, faced the congregation, and said, “I out lived the old hags.” That’s one way to deal with your enemies: bury them.

          Let me ask you a similar question: who would you say is your greatest enemy? Some might say that Islamic terrorists are our enemies. Even if you wouldn’t say that, would the terrorists say that the United States is their greatest enemy? If you’ve experienced a divorce, you might say that your ex-spouse is your “enemy.” Not many, if any, divorces end on a positive note, high school sweet-hearts end up as bitter foes. Did you ever think that Christianity could be your enemy? Ask any teenager on Sunday morning who doesn’t want to get up and go to Mass, if Christianity feels like an enemy. Archbishop Fulton Sheen said that when Jesus first comes into your life, he comes as a “Disturber.” But after we have known him for some time, he becomes a “Friend.” We might all agree that the Devil is our enemy, but I’m afraid we have all but forgotten about him. You could probably add many more enemies to this list.

          But I would suggest to you another enemy we often miss, and this one is the most dangerous of all, namely, the enemy inside our selves. That is, we are our own worst enemy. An African proverb says: “If there is no enemy within, the enemy outside can do us no harm.” In other words, if you can tame yourself – your anger, your laziness, your lust, your greed, your pride, your jealousy, your ambition, in short, your ego – if you can tame these enemies within, then all the enemies outside of us will be infinitely easier to deal with. That sweet 93 year old lady said she had outlived “the old hags,” and we must outlive our enemies within. Our vices are the “old hags” we must bury.

           In the gospel today, Jesus says boldly, “Fear no one.” And it certainly sounds like he’s urging us not to fear any enemies. But a few verses later, he goes on to clarify that actually there is one we must fear, so he adds: “Be afraid of the one who can destroy both body and soul in Gehenna.” Now, who is that one? Well, most Scripture scholars say that refers to God, but that’s not the only interpretation. I believe “the one” can also refer to ourselves. How so? Well, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches this: “God predestines no one to go to hell; for this, a willful turning away from God (a mortal sin) is necessary” (Catechism, 1037). In other words, God does not condemn us to Gehenna (H. E. Double Hockey Sticks), but rather we choose Gehenna on our own. Now, why in the world would we do that? Well, because the enemies within were never defeated. President Franklin D. Roosevelt said: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”  But he was wrong. Jesus would disagree; there is one that we must fear, ourselves. We are the greatest enemy we will ever face.

         Let me suggest three weapons you can use in this warfare against yourself. First, go to confession. And, by the way, when you’re in confession, just mention your own sins, not those of your spouse or your neighbor or coworker. In confession you kill the enemy within; the confessional is like a gas chamber for the ego – that’s why it’s often hard to breathe in there. The old you is dying. Second, pray the rosary daily. It can be hard to find the time, but we make time for what’s important to us, like scrolling social media. Instead, scroll the beads of your rosary. Mother Mary was the only person in history who completely vanquished the enemy within her – that why we call her “Immaculate Mary” sinless Mary – and she will help you to do the same with her mighty rosary. Weaponize your rosary. And third, don’t take yourself too seriously, that is, laugh at yourself. There’s nothing your ego hates more than being belittled by others, being the butt of a joke. Self-deprecating humor is a powerful weapon against your greatest enemy: YOU. Regular confession, daily rosary and laughing at yourself is how you can outlive the “old hags” inside yourself. And “if there is no enemy within, the enemy outside can do us no harm.”

          I love St. Philip Neri, who started the Oratorians. St. Philip prayed every day: “Lord, watch out for Philip today, he will betray you.” Phillip knew who the real enemy was. When people started to praise Philip for his holiness, he grew a beard and shaved half of it off, so people would laugh at him. Not only did St. Philip Neri know who his greatest enemy was, he also knew what weapons would vanquish him. He outlived the old hags long before he turned 93.

Praised be Jesus Christ!