When my in-laws visited our household this weekend, I prepared dinner for them. During the course of the meal, I offered some cooked Normandy blend vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots) to my father-in-law, who declined. I nodded and said, “That’s probably wise. Everyone who eats carrots dies.” My in-laws seemed somewhat confused and asked what I meant. I shrugged and said, “Well, everyone dies, eventually, so everyone who eats carrots will die as well. It may take a while and it’s not related to the carrots, but . . .” And they (correctly) groaned at this joke.
In today’s readings, there’s a strong theme of conspiracy among all three larger passages. In the reading from Jeremiah, “The people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem said, ‘Come, let us contrive a plot against Jeremiah . . .'” The Responsorial Psalm, contains the line, “I hear the whispers of the crowd, that frighten me from every side, as they consult together against me, plotting to take my life.” And the Gospel selection from Matthew has Jesus laying out the foundation of Easter: “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”
Much like the subjects of the readings today, there are those conspiring against you . . . because there are those who are conspiring against everyone. In the same way that those who eat carrots will die because everyone dies, there are folks who exist to do nothing more than spread misery, doubt, and despair.
For nearly all of us, this isn’t an active conspiracy: “Bwah-hah-hah! I shall do everything in my power to bring Steven Marsh down!” Rather, it’s those people driven by greed, who uncaringly or willingly hurt those they encounter if it makes them a few dollars more. It’s those people promoting nihilism, doing what they can to foster uncertainty among those they come across because they don’t have a spiritual anchor of their own. It’s those who deal in selfishness, who “conspire” to encourage us to objectify ourselves and each other.
In a lot of ways, the Faith is an answer to the fundamental observation that “everybody dies” (regardless of whether or not they eat carrots). In fact, it’s a rebuttal, as the promises of Christ specifically offer us the opportunity for life everlasting.
So, too, does our faith give us the ability to rebut the conspiratorial nature of the world. Individually, the strength of Jesus can let us resist those elements that would seek to drag us down. Together, as the Body of Christ, we can work collectively to protect our own and push back against those elements of the world that would harm us all.
And, at the end of the day, we can accept that the forces that “conspire” against us may prove temporarily successful, as they were against Jesus on that Good Friday millennia ago. But if we remain true to our faith, our ideals, and the teachings of Christ, that minor success pales to the rewards that come to us as members of the faithful.
With a secular society that works against our beliefs, we should avoid falling to despair or paranoia. Rather, we should entrust our minds and hearts to God, confident in His ability to protect and care for us in the long term.
This Lenten season is a good time to reflect on those elements of the world that may be nipping at our heels, hoping to drag us down. Stay strong in your personal lives against people driven by those minor forces, and — as appropriate — work against more insistent or darker forces by using the Sacraments of Confession and the Eucharist to more fully turn your life over to God. (I find that Daily Mass has been useful at times in my life as extra “armor” against the world’s worries.)
And keep eating your carrots! They’re good for you, and will help you stay longer in this mortal realm to more fully do God’s will.
Today’s readings: Jer 18:18-20; Ps 31:5-6,14,15-16; Mt 20:17-28
