https://youtubetranscript.com/?v=a45skixSz5M
And so it’s very fascinating to understand if you understand the pattern, what it leads to. And so when we look at what has been happening in the recent events, let’s say with the protests and the riots in the United States, I think it’s very important to look at the manner in which the story was framed by some people. Now in the weeks that followed the death of George Floyd, we started to see some images appear and some suggestions. We saw, for example, Father James Martin, Catholic priest who is extremely, extremely liberal, probably one of the most vocally liberal priests in the United States, comparing Floyd to Jesus. You also saw an article talking about the crucifixion of George Floyd. For many, many example, culminating in some images where you could see him represented with a halo, with wings, and with a halo kind of got more and more until finally it came down to an actual icon where an icon of the Mother of God placing, you know, with her dead son in her arms, the face of Jesus was replaced with a portrait of George Floyd, full on with the halo with a cross, and in the cross saying ho-on, that is, I am God. It actually, it is the, when you put those letters in a halo, those letters means the one that is, that is God himself. And so this was the epitome, of course, of the situation. But already you could see some images appear of people kneeling in front of images of George Floyd. Of course, it was very ambiguous because it was kind of like the BLM kneeling, but nonetheless you see people, you see the images turned into shrines with people kneeling. And so there really is this strange, almost deification of George Floyd. And what’s fascinating about it is, of course, the comparison between, let’s say, George Floyd and Christ, not just the character, not just George Floyd, but George Floyd in the context of Black Lives Matter and in the context of the protests and in the context of what became a riot and also the taking over of certain aspects of the cities. Because of course, you know, Mr. Floyd, it’s very sad that he was, that he had to die that day. It was not, it was very unbearable to watch and it was a tragedy, of course. But George Floyd was obviously not like Christ. George Floyd was a, was a, someone who was a convicted criminal at certain times in his life. He was on drugs at the time. And it’s the same with several of the characters who have also sparked other riots in the consequence of George Floyd. All of those characters seem to have been criminals or accused of criminal actions in very suspicious situations with, you know, with some very suspicious pasts. And so it is very fascinating that there is a comparison between someone like George Floyd and Christ. And of course, that comparison would not be that big of a deal in the sense that you could make a very slight comparison in the sense of someone who died unjustly. But it becomes a bigger deal, of course, when you get to an actual icon. But also because you have to understand the comparison in the context of insurrectional acts, in the context of revolutionary acts, in the context of riots and protests, and in the context of riots and protests in the name of the little ones, in the name of the poor, in the broadest sense, in those that are marginalized by society. And like I said, this is where it gets tricky to see the difference between Christianity and a strange, let’s say, perversion of the Christian ideal. Christianity, which wants to take care of those who are poor and marginalized and those who are on the edge, who wants to reach in and help them to participate in the Kingdom of God, the difference between that and what we’re seeing happening with buildings on fire and this revolutionary action. And like I said, we always have to remember that the situation was similar to what was happening in the time of Jesus, which is that Rome was an oppressive power and the Jews were persecuted, were under the boot of the Roman authorities, and there were insurrections and riots and rebellions against the authorities. But Jesus never actually spoke up against that. Jesus never gave political drive towards what was going to happen. He was going to transform Rome. Christ was going to not only transform but take over Rome, but he was going to do it in a different manner. He was going to do it from the inside out rather than from political action and social action, which usually doesn’t alleviate the problem but just ends up replacing one power by another. And this is, of course, where the story of Judas comes into mind, is to remember in the story of Judas where his desire to help the poor because he was presented as higher than the desire to worship became, was actually a subterfuge for what he really wanted, which was power. And I think that we see that that’s what happened in the revolutionary movements of the past, whether it be the French Revolution or the Russian Revolution, although it was presented in the guise of helping the little ones, of helping the poor. In the end, what happened was a reversal, a new elite, which was more violent, more cruel, more controlling than the one before, and was actually, let’s say, controlling society with an iron fist in a very perverse way. And it seems like with these requests to defund the police or to disband the police, to disband the current order, the breaking down of statues, the breaking down of order, although it is done in the name of the little one, because it is seen as the highest value, because characters like George Floyd, who, you know, you could say was unjustly killed, was nonetheless not a holy man, was not a saint, was not someone who was known for being Christ-like. And so in that guise comes the flames, comes the revolution and the insurrection that is definitely not the message that Christ has given. And so I just wanted to offer a little bit of reflection on the subject. Of course, there would be much more to say, but I thought it was important to talk about that as we see these protests not lit up, as we see the situation not calm down. We need to be able as Christians, as people who are looking at the story of Christ, to be able to notice the difference and to tell the difference. Because for a very long time, in certain branches of Christianity, Christ is represented as a kind of revolutionary figure, a figure that is presenting some kind of social justice change, whereas I don’t believe that’s what Christ was doing. The change, the justice, the peace comes from an inner transformation of his saints and a communion of love between people, not a pointing of fingers and a finding the guilty one, canceling them, getting rid of them, and demonizing all the people who aren’t part of your group. So that is what I wanted to bring to you today. Thank you.