On good in evil

This week we read "The Journey to the Crossroads."  The hobbits part with Faramir and continue on their journey.  As they say their farewells, Frodo says this, 

‘Most gracious host,’ said Frodo, ‘it was said to me by Elrond Halfelven

that I should find friendship upon the way, secret and unlooked for.

Certainly I looked for no such friendship as you have shown.

To have found it turns evil to great good.’

Why does our text have Frodo say "turns evil to great good," instead of something like "is a great good in a time of evil."  Faramir's kindness doesn't just ease the experience of the Quest.  Taking Frodo's words literally, the trials he's endured are not just worth it.  They, themselves, are good.

It's easy to find goodness among evil as an oasis from the struggle.  It's also tempting to see comforts in life as an escape from its regular hardships.  But this kind of disconnect - this either/or - may lead us to unhealthy places.  It could cause someone to want more comforts and less hardship.  But we all know people so privileged they view any obstacle as a deep injustice.  I think regularly experiencing hardship is probably good for people.

If the world was already good, that would seem obviously good.  However, I think the world would also become fragile.  A child who was given a sheltered upbringing, upon hearing about someone wrongfully arrested, is going to be startled such things occur.  Experiencing the imperfections of the world regularly (which encompasses anything from someone being fully evil to simply running into an inconvenience - a restaurant that doesn't cater to your dietary requirements) steels us against them.  If we wish to fight wrong, we must be willing to encounter it.  How will we know where it is otherwise?  Our fight against wrongs strengthens us by giving us practice in fighting wrongs.  At the end, not only do we right wrong X, but we become better equipped for the next fight.

When we encounter wrong, we shouldn't merely gasp at its persistence.  Maybe we will as an involuntary reaction.  How wonderful is it we live in a world where we can go a few days or even weeks without issue!  But after the shock of the reminder wears off we must ask: How can we overcome it?  

My own circle has become worried about the spike in antisemitism at anti-war protests (and other places) around the world.  I take heart in the fact many people disapprove, and that the police are protecting, not attacking, the Jews.  This "turns evil to great good."  I'm not safe from antisemitism because antisemitism is gone - because it may return.  I'm safe from antisemitism because I can count on others to defend me.  Far from make me worry for my family's safety, these protests have bolstered my sense of security, odd as that sounds.

Maybe the lesson of defeating evil is not that it is defeated, but that we proved it defeatable.  And if it can be done once, it can be done again and again and again.  We should therefore expect to repeat these struggles instead of allowing us to believe one defeat is enough.  And each time we win we should celebrate not its defeat but our capability to make the world a better place.

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