Homily for Ordinary Time 29 - October 16, 2022

 

Homily for Ordinary Time 29

October 16, 2022

Spiritual Warfare

 

            If you’ve ever read the Old Testament, you may wonder why it’s so doggone bloody. The Israelites are always involved in a war – and today’s first reading is a perfect example, as Moses and Joshua fight and win a battle against the Amalekites. Non-Christians often use this as a reason for disbelieving in the Bible – how could God allow so many wars in the Old Testament when He preaches love and forgiveness in the New Testament?

            But there are two reasons for this. First, there is a principle in reading the Bible called the Law of Progressive Revelation. This means that God doesn’t reveal the fullness of His plan all at once, but only gradually. When I was in second grade, I took the bus with middle schoolers, and one eighth grader showed me her math book. I was appalled – how could anyone do math with letters? Algebra didn’t make sense! But of course – you can’t teach algebra to a second-grader. Likewise, in 1500BC (when this war takes place), God is still trying to convince the Israelites that there is only one God – they are not yet ready for His teachings about mercy and forgiveness. Back then, the entire Middle East was filled with warring tribes – to tell the Israelites not to fight would mean they would be destroyed by these other nations. So God is willing to overlook such violence because He was trying to first teach them that He is real, that He is the only God, and that He is going to be on their side forever.

            But the other reason why the Old Testament has so many battles is because what the Israelites go through in the physical realm, Christians go through in the spiritual realm. Israel is led out of slavery in Egypt by passing through the Red Sea – Christians are led out of the slavery of sin through the waters of Baptism. A man named Jeshuah – Joshua – leads the Chosen People into the Promised Land. A new Jeshuah (Jesus of Nazareth) leads His new Chosen People, the Church, into the Promised Land of Heaven. So these physical battles that Israel fights are foreshadowing the spiritual battle Christians engage in. When Israel prays, “Lord, deliver us from our enemies,” we can pray that too: “Lord, deliver us from our spiritual enemies – not of flesh and blood, but the powers and principalities of evil.”

            Our world is no less a battle now than it was during the time of Moses. We believe that the devil and his minions are very real – and I have helped with an exorcism, I can tell you that Satan is not a myth. This battle is not fought primarily in politics or in culture, but within every human soul. God created your soul for eternal bliss with Him, but Satan, out of his hatred for God, desires to own your soul as well, through sin and faithlessness. But it’s up to you to decide who will win this battle.

            So how do we fight this spiritual war for our own souls? We see two powerful tools in our other readings today. Our second reading speaks about the power of the Word of God. Before heading into a battle, any soldier needs to check in with their commanding officer to see what the plan is, what the advance scouts have found out, where the traps are, what kind of enemy they’re facing. “One mile up on the right is a big tank, and to the left are land mines, and you’re going to need this certain type of weapon…” These are the instructions we receive from the Word of God – they are our battlefield map, our armory, our check-in with the Commander. Read it daily and prepare for the battle.

            Our Gospel gives us another powerful tool – prayer without ceasing. I wish we knew the power and absolutely desperate need we have for prayer! My brother was in the Navy, and as part of his basic training, he had to walk into a room with tear gas and take off his gas mask, breathing in the toxic fumes. He said it was pure torture for several minutes until he was able to put back it back on and breathe clean air.

            That’s how desperately we need God – He is our breath of fresh air in the midst of toxic culture. Prayer can’t be a five-minute afterthought, but the very motivating factor of our life. Because Satan is wiley with his temptations – anger one minute, arrogance the next, lust here, greed there. We cannot avoid the temptations, but we can keep our eyes fixed on the One we are living for. The only thing stronger than our temptations is our love – if we love God more than we love sin, we will be free of sin. If we cling to God, then our sins will not cling to us.

            Even the great saints were severely tempted, but through perseverance in prayer they triumphed. St. Anthony the Abbot was one of the first of the “desert fathers” – men who sought God as secluded hermits in the deserts of Egypt. He lived in a cave, fasted rigorously, and prayed unceasingly. But he was still tempted greatly. It is recorded in his biography, written by a saint who was a contemporary of his (St. Athanasius), that at times he had so many impure temptations that he felt like he was in the midst of a swarm of bees. Once as he traveled further into the desert, out of nowhere Satan gave him a mirage of a pile of gold coins in the path, with the suggestion to take some with him – who knows when he would need to use them? But he recognized that this was an attempt to get him to abandon his radical poverty. At every moment, Anthony covered himself in prayer, though. Finally, the Evil One appeared to him as fierce beasts, trying to cause him to abandon his vocation through fear. During one particularly severe temptation, St. Anthony cried out to the Lord, “Where have You been, O Jesus? Why did you not come to rescue me?” Jesus responded, “I was here, but I hid myself to see your struggle. And as you have not yielded to the temptation, I will be your helper forever.”

            Of course, there are so many other weapons against Satan that we have. The Vatican’s top exorcist, Fr. Gabriel Amorth, who did over 10,000 exorcisms in his lifetime, said that the two most powerful weapons against the devil are…Confession and the Eucharist. Last week we spoke about the Rosary being a powerful spiritual weapon. There are many others too, but if you start with daily prayer and the Scriptures, you’ll be on the right path.

            My friends, do you want to win the battle against evil? Do you want Christ’s Kingdom to come in your life and in your circle of influence? Turn to the Scriptures, and turn to daily, passionate prayer to arm yourself for the battle. Christ has won the war, but the battle for your soul is still undecided – until you decide to fight it with God at your right hand.