Jer 18:18-20
‘Come on,’ they said, ‘let us concoct a plot against Jeremiah, for the Law will not perish for lack of priests, nor advice for lack of wise men, nor the word for lack of prophets. Come on, let us slander him and pay no attention to anything he says.’ Pay attention to me, Yahweh, hear what my adversaries are saying. Should evil be returned for good? Now they are digging a pit for me. Remember how I pleaded before you and spoke good of them, to turn your retribution away from them.
Yes, there are indeed such things as plans of iniquity, and in these dark plans there can also be conspiracies. In the reading we heard today, they plotted against Jeremiah, and they also plotted against Our Lord, seeking to set traps for them. On a spiritual level, this malice is directed against all those who serve the Lord, to try to turn them out of their way, or at least to hinder them.
In Jeremiah’s case, his adversaries were known to him and he had even interceded for them before the Lord. The same is true of Jesus, who knew that there were Pharisees and scribes conspiring against him. But it is not always possible to identify with such clarity those who plot evil. Sometimes these things happen in a hidden way, and we do not know who, on the human side, is involved in the plans of iniquity.
However, we do know who the ultimate actor in these plans is, and that is the most important thing. Behind every action hostile to God, there are Satan’s intentions, whether he directly executes them himself or whether he uses people who act under his influence and inspiration.
Take gender ideology, for example. Not a few politicians and others support and promote this demonic ideology, without knowing what they are actually doing. Thus, such people are involved in a kind of “plan” or “conspiracy” against the Creator, even though most of them have probably not consciously made that decision.
We see, then, that it is not so simple to categorise these conspiracies. There are many examples of how these ‘plots’ are forged, and in many cases it will be demons or people acting under the influence of evil, who take advantage of other people, who often do not know what they are getting into.
I think that even in Freemasonry not all members know exactly who they are serving by joining their lodges. Many will believe they are doing something good for humanity! There will probably be others among them who know very well that the goals they are pursuing do not correspond to God’s plan, and there will be just as many who do know who the inspirer of Freemasonry is.
Normally we will not be able to distinguish these different possibilities with certainty, and indeed it is not important for us to know these details, unless we have been entrusted with the special task of bringing these wicked plans to light.
Let us be cautious and prudent, for if we become too preoccupied with the plans of evil, whether real or supposed, we will end up – without realising it – being drawn into the fascination of darkness. We will then confuse ourselves and perhaps others as well, and our opinions will lose credibility.
Therefore, Satan’s plans of iniquity must be dealt in the right way. They are destroyed by God’s saving plans: “This was the purpose of the appearing of the Son of God, to undo the work of the devil.” (1 Jn 3:8)
So when we perceive the intrigues of the world of darkness, let us turn our gaze to God. And since there are often people involved in these dark works, let us pray for their deliverance.
Our hope is to be placed solely in God, who knows how to integrate everything into His plan of salvation, even the dark. The more darkness surrounds us, the more important it becomes to pray and to have faith in the victory of Christ, which will be consummated over the whole earth: “He went away, to go from victory to victory” (Rev 6:2).
