Depart from me, all you evildoers!

25 AUGUST (Lk 13,22-30)

Ancient Scripture already knows these workers of iniquity, injustice and lies. Jesus speaks and his listeners understand the exact meaning of his words. The operator of injustice is a person who seeks evil for his brothers, because he wants it.

After the death of Judas, the transgressors of the law raised their heads in every part of Israel, and all kinds of evildoers appeared. In those days there was a very great famine, and the country deserted to them. Bacchides chose impious men and made them masters of the country. These sought out and hunted down the friends of Judas and brought them to Bacchides, who punished and derided them. There had not been such great distress in Israel since the time prophets ceased to appear among the people. Then all the friends of Judas came together and said to Jonathan: “Since your brother Judas died, there has been no one like him to oppose our enemies, Bacchides and those who are hostile to our nation. Now therefore we have chosen you today to be our ruler and leader in his place, and to fight our battle.” From that moment Jonathan accepted the leadership, and took the place of Judas his brother (1Mac 9,23-31).

Do you indeed speak righteousness, O gods? Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men? No, in heart you work unrighteousness; On earth you weigh out the violence of your hands. The wicked are estranged from the womb; These who speak lies go astray from birth. They have venom like the venom of a serpent; Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear, So that it does not hear the voice of charmers, Or a skillful caster of spells. O God, shatter their teeth in their mouth; Break out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD. Let them flow away like water that runs off; When he aims his arrows, let them be as headless shafts. Let them be as a snail which melts away as it goes along, Like the miscarriages of a woman which never see the sun. Before your pots can feel the fire of thorns He will sweep them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning alike. The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. And men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; Surely there is a God who judges on earth!” (Psalm 58 (57) 1-12).

For Jesus evildoers all those who act badly, want the evil, seek it, study it, tout it, carry it out it, and then pretend that the Lord welcomes them in his eternal dwellings, with him in Paradise.

He passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” He answered them, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ He will say to you in reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ And you will say, ‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’ Then he will say to you, ‘I do not know where (you) are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!’ And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out. And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God. For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

The operator of injustice is the one who not having produced any fruit of good, pretends to enjoy every good fruit as if it were due to him. Jesus warns us. Paradise must be a fruit of man, other than a most pure gift of our celestial Father. God gives Paradise to everyone, because he promised it to all. However, his is a conditional gift. Who observed his Word, lived in his Commandments and walked in the Gospel enter into it. God will always be faithful to his promise. Never has a word of God fallen in vain.

And it is here that the injustice operator comes in. He promises Paradise to all, against the will of God, against his every Word, even against all human logic. So it is not a matter of transgressions of fragility of which one then repents and asks for forgiveness to the Lord. On the contrary, it is a question of mind diverted from the truth, from justice, from the faithfulness of God to his every promise or word. Declaring the Lord a liar, the operator of injustice has his false word pass as a most pure truth.

Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels and Saints free us from all unrighteousness.