Christ is risen!
The word of
the day is "pretext." Evil comes in many disguises. One of these is
to hide one's motives under the cloak of pretext. This tactic of wickedness
misleads others into believing that the reasons for one's actions are good and
genuine. Today, in our reading of Acts 17-1-15, we find that envious Jews stir
up a mob in Thessalonica. The crowd dragged the host of Paul and Silas to the
pagan rulers of the city. They charged that Jason and the followers of Christ
were acting "contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another
king–Jesus" (OSB vs. 7).
Today, we examine this example of a pretext and find that these falsehoods are based on the motives of wayward passions. Passions are misdirected emotions. When they
get out of hand, Gregory of Nyssa says, we become irrational animals. Thus, the
jealous religious leaders of Thessalonica stirred up the feelings of the crowd
into a raging mob.
Pretext as a
Cover for Envy
The leaders'
accusation against the believers in Thessalonica was like the accusation
against the Lord Jesus at his trial before Pilate. It was a pretext for the
actual motive of envy. This observation prompts us to examine the disguise of
evil by pretext and consider how to avoid being controlled by envious passions.
The Pretext
of False Charges
The Roman
ruler of the city was a pagan, and the Jews knew that he would have no interest
in religious disputes. So, the Jewish leaders concocted charges against the
believers. They falsely claimed that the apostles taught there was another king
besides Caesar.
An
insurrection was a grave offense that was swiftly crushed. Between the
Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the end of the 1st century A.D., there were no
less than thirteen major revolts against Roman authority, not only in the
provinces but also among Roman politicians. Such rebelliousness was swiftly
punished with ruthless torture and death.
The Jews'
charges against Jason, the host of the apostles, and other believers hid their
true purpose, which was to undermine and destroy the faith in Jesus Christ. The
Jews deceitfully used the power of the state to enforce their hatred and
promote their interests. Those who opposed the teachings of the apostles used
one of the most frequent pretexts for opposing the Lord and the apostles. It
was the tactic of confusing the kingdoms of this world with the Kingdom of God.
For
Reflection
The
righteousness of human action is often a matter of motives. We can do the right
things for the wrong reasons. And we can do evil things for what would be
considered good reasons. St. Maximus said, "Many human activities, good in
themselves, are not good because of the motive for which they are done."
For example, fasting and vigils, prayer and psalmody, acts of charity and
hospitality are by nature good, but when performed for the sake of self-esteem,
they are not good.[1]
The same is
true of other actions that may seem reasonable and noble in the eyes of those
who do them. The Lord said, "They will put you out of the synagogues; yes,
the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service"
(OSB John 16:2). Indeed, the Jews in Thessalonica probably rationalized that
they were protecting their leadership and teaching of Judaism.
Today's
study teaches that we should pray for the discernment of our own and others'
motives. We learn from our reading that envy and jealousy are often hidden in
the rationalization of pretexts. By the wisdom that the Holy Spirit gives, we
need to identify it and root it out of its hiding places in the heart. To do
this, we should examine our motives, especially when intense emotions compel us
to act irrationally. We should not strive to get rid of our passions but to
cleanse them so that we act on pure motives that are right and good.
Works Cited
[1] St.
Maximus the Confessor, Four Hundred Texts on Love 2.35, The Philokalia: The
Complete Text (Vol. 2),
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