Homily | June 19, 2026 | Hope When Evil Looks Strong | (Episode 166)

Have you ever looked at the world and wonder if evil is winning?

Turn on the news.

You'll see corruption, violence, confusion.

You see people abandoning God.

And sometimes it can feel as though darkness has the upper hand.

That's exactly the situation in today's first reading.

Atheliah has seized power.

The royal family is being murdered.

The legitimate heir to David's throne appears to have been eliminated.

The covenant promises seem to be hanging by a thread.

And for six years evil appears to reign.

Six years.

Imagine living through that.

Imagine being one of the faithful.

Every day Atheliah sits on the throne.

Every day appears that God's plan has failed.

Every day it looks as though darkness has won.

But hidden away in the temple is a little boy named Josiah, the rightful king, unknown to most people, unseen by the nation, protected by God, and at the anointed moment he emerges.

The crown is placed upon his head, the people rejoice, the usurper falls, the covenant is renews, and peace returns.

The lesson is profound.

While evil appeared to be winning, God was quietly preparing the answer.

That happens all through salvation history.

When Pharaoh was killing Hebrew children, Moses was hidden away.

When Saul hunted David, the king, future king was being prepared.

When Herod sought to kill the Christ child, Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt.

When Jesus lay in the tomb on Good Friday, it appeared the darkness had triumphed, but Easter was already coming.

One of the greatest mistakes we make is judging God's work too early.

We look at a single chapter and assume we know the whole story.

We can experience suffering and conclude that he's absent.

We encounter a closed door and think his plan has failed.

But God is often doing his deepest work in the hiddenness.

Joash spent six years hidden in the temple.

Those years were not wasted.

They were preparation.

And I think many people are living through something similar right now.

Perhaps you're praying for a child who has drifted away from the faith.

Perhaps you are carrying a burden that nobody else knows about, or even maybe struggling with a situation that seems impossible.

You can look at the church, the culture, or even your own family and wonder, what is God doing?

When will God act?

Today's reading reminds us that God is never absent.

He may be hidden, he may be working on ways we cannot yet see, but he is never absent.

In fact, some of God's greatest victories begin in obscurity.

The world celebrates visibility.

God often works through hiddenness.

The world will celebrate power.

God often works through weakness.

The world celebrates immediate results.

God works according to his own timetable.

The future of the Davidic kingdom was not found in a palace.

It was found in a hidden temple.

The future of Israel was not in the hands of politicians.

It was in the hands of God.

And the same is true for us.

The future of the church does not depend primarily on strategies, programs, or human strength.

It depends on God's faithfulness.

The future of your family does not depend solely on your ability to fix every problem.

It depends on God's grace.

The future of your soul does not rest on your own perfection.

It rests on God's mercy.

The gospel complements this beautifully.

Jesus tells us not to store up treasures on earth where moth and decay destroy.

Why?

Well, because earthly things are fragile.

Power is fragile, popularity is fragile, success is fragile.

Athaliah had power.

She thought the throne belonged to her.

She thought she was secure.

She thought she controlled the future.

Six years later, she was gone.

The throne belonged to someone else.

That is the fate of every earthly kingdom.

Only God's kingdom endures.

And that is where Jesus wants our hearts to be.

Because he says, For wherever your treasure is, there also will be your heart will be.

The real question is not whether we have a treasure.

Everyone does.

The question is, where have we placed it?

In ourselves, in our plans, in our possessions, in our reputation, or in God.

Because everything else eventually passes away.

Only God remains.

So if today's readings teach us anything, it is this.

Do not lose hope when evil seems strong.

Do not lose hope when God's plan seems hidden.

Do not lose hope when the future seems uncertain.

The faithful in Jerusalem could not see what God was doing in the temple, but God was preparing a king.

And there may be things happening right now in your life that you cannot see.

Seeds are being planted, hearts are being changed, prayers are being answered in small hidden ways, because God has not stopped working.

He never does.

And those who trust him long enough eventually discover that what looked like defeat was often the beginning of his victory.

Amen.