Not long ago, on a beautiful morning, I said hello to a young black man in the park. No response. I said “good morning” again and heard only angry silence. Then I got angry. “I said ‘good morning’ to you!” He turned to me with threatening hatred: “if you say one more F-ing thing to me ….” How did he get so angry? How did I get so angry?
In the original Star Wars saga, Luke Skywalker enters into mortal combat with Darth Vader. He discovers at that point that Darth is his father, and he feels helpless rage rising within him. A “presence” behind both Luke and his father (the evil emperor) smiles wickedly as son and father fight each other. “Feel the anger, Luke,” the emperor tells him. “Give in to your hatred!” But Luke resists the anger, and that is why he is the hero of the original Star Wars legend.
Let us be clear that hatred is from the evil one, who is also known as diabolus, or “he who divides.” Those who promote anger are in the service of this Satanas, which means “the accuser” or “he who condemns.” It’s a wicked thing to play rap music, and public service ads promoting anger destroy goodwill. They do not promote justice, but only destruction.
For those Catholics who think condemnation, anger, and division are acts of “social justice,” think again. Think on the only Savior who came “not to condemn the world.” Be very clear from whence the anger comes: not from any good person, but from a very bad person. Let us commit ourselves to resisting these calls to anger and hatred, and to working for true justice, which always begins with a smile, not a frown. It looks up (to God), not down (on people).