I once visited a parishioner whose husband ran an Aikido school. Her husband joined us for tea, and while having a chat on various topics, her husband shared with me about his Aikido school. It seems that Aikido is a martial art, like karate. However, Aikido is a unique way of self-defense because, unlike Karate which uses force which can be lethal, Aikido uses the assailant’s aggression against himself. As her husband enthusiastically shared his experiences in practicing and teaching Aikido, I recall how Aikido could be related to today's Gospel. How so?
In today's Gospel, we see how Jesus used the principles of Aikido to defend himself against the scribes. The scribes accused Jesus by claiming that "‘Beelzebul is in him’ and, ‘It is through the prince of devils that he casts devils out.’"But Jesus used such statements to point out the scribes flawed logic by countering, “How can Satan drive out Satan?” In the end, the scribes were made to look foolish, since their accusation or "aggression" was used against themselves.
What about us? Have we been caught in such an embarrassing situation where we had accused others of something, only to end up having such accusations thrown back to our face? May we learn to be humble and check our motivations and intentions, so that we do not end up making false or illogical accusations or comments, and end up looking silly or foolish.
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