Homily for Advent 2
December 7, 2025
Rescue Behind Enemy Lines
There
have been many stories of heroism in the history of the US Army, but very few
can top that of Master Sergeant Roy Benavidez. He was already wounded once in
Vietnam and doctors told him that he would never walk again, but he forced
himself – through excruciating pain – to relearn how to walk so that he could
continue to fight for his country. One night in 1968, he heard over the radio
that 12 Special Forces were trapped behind enemy lines, about ready to be
decimated.
Without
hesitation, Roy boarded a helicopter to try to rescue them. But the chopper
couldn’t find a place to land, so he leapt from the helicopter 40 feet above
the field where his men were, behind enemy lines, to give them medical aid. For
six hours he stayed with them in the midst of a chaotic firefight. At one point
a Vietnamese soldier got close enough to stab him – so Roy just ripped the
knife out of his side and kept fighting. Roy had to provide cover fire so that
his men could board the helicopter and be rescued – he was the last one to be
rescued, having suffered 37 separate shrapnel and bullet wounds. In fact, one Army
doctor declared him dead before a second doctor noticed he was still breathing!
He earned four Purple Hearts and a Medal of Honor, for saving the lives of
these men by risking his own behind enemy lines.
Why do I
tell this story? Because this is exactly what Jesus did for us. The human race
– not just in general, but you and I – are trapped in enemy-occupied territory.
In this fallen world, we have an enemy who wants our destruction: the Evil One,
sin, and brokenness. For centuries – and for much of our own lives – we’ve
lived in darkness, tossed about by our fleshly desires and the fickle whims and
despair of this broken world. We need someone to rescue us. And so, like a
soldier descending from a helicopter, Jesus descends into our world at
Christmas, sneaking in behind enemy lines, to rescue us. He, too, is wounded in
the battle – we see Him with His five wounds behind us, on the Cross – but that
was the price paid for our liberation.
Sound
crazy? Extreme? But great theologians throughout the centuries have had this
same insight. Listen to the words of CS Lewis: “Enemy-occupied territory---that
is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has
landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us to take part in a
great campaign of sabotage.”
But some
are sitting here this morning thinking, “My life is pretty good – why all this
talk about rescuing us from an enemy?” Because brokenness and sin is all around
us – and we need rescuing from a lot of things. Have you ever been fearful
about the future? Jesus invites us to trust Him wholeheartedly. Have you ever
wondered whether there’s any meaning or purpose to your life? Jesus gives us
the most magnificent mission: to become saints and bring His Kingdom into the
world. Have you made some life choices that you regret? Jesus can reorient our
life to our true North Star, Heaven. Perhaps there are some hidden sins that
are causing you shame? His mercy in Confession is enough to give us a new heart.
Maybe we look at the headlines and are filled with despair – Jesus alone is the
hope that God will bring good out of this messy world. Maybe we are tired and
weary with all the demands put upon us at work, in our family – Jesus promises
us that “we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.” Maybe we’re
afraid of death, because we don’t know what’s on the other side – so we turn to
the One Who has already conquered death by rising from the dead.
So, we
all need rescuing. We are all trapped behind enemy lines: the enemy of sin,
brokenness, and the Evil One. We all need a Savior!
You may
be familiar with the Japanese art of kinsugi. If a bowl or dish breaks,
instead of throwing it away, they fix it with a glue mixed with gold dust –
producing a beautiful finished product that shines and shimmers. So it is with
the presence of Christ in our life – He is the gold that both fixes and
beautifies the brokenness of our lives and our world. He does so by entering
into the brokenness, even to enduring loneliness, anguish, and death upon the
Cross – defeating our ancient enemies by their own tactics. The Evil One wanted
our misery and death; so Christ entered into misery and death on the Cross,
transforming it into an act of love and redemption.
Back in
the early 1200s, southern Europe was a crossroads of warring civilizations: the
Muslims from North Africa had invaded Spain and Portugal, and the Christians
were fighting back in a series of wars and skirmishes. Tragically, over one
million Christians from Europe had been captured and enslaved by these Barbary
(North African) Muslims. Into this situation came a merchant from Barcelona called
Peter Nolasco, who felt so moved by the plight of these Christian slaves that
he founded an organization called the Mercedarians – a group of knights,
noblemen, and priests who would give their lives to try to ransom these slaves.
Those with money would purchase the freedom of these Christian slaves, but
sometimes the price was too high. In that case, the Mercedarians would actually
ask permission to switch places with the slaves, taking on their slavery and
liberating the slaves. Over 70,000 slaves were freed by the Mercedarians, many
of whom willingly gave their lives in exchange for others. For this, we now
know the founder of the Mercedarians as St. Peter Nolasco, who inspired so many
men to give their lives for their brothers.
And is
this not what Jesus did? He found us under the fear of death – so He endured
death for our sake. He found us separated from God due to our sin – so Jesus,
God Himself, became one of us so humanity would be reunited to God. He found us
enslaved under the power of the Evil One, and so He defeated the Evil One with
the greatest act of love: the Cross.
So what
now, for us? If you believe all this, then we must make Him the center of our
lives. It’s fundamentally a relationship with the living God – He Who loved you
into existence, Who takes your brokenness upon Himself, Who gives Himself to us
as food in the Eucharist, Who burns with a desire to spend eternity with us in
Heaven.
It’s not
hard to have that living relationship with Him. Daily prayer, weekly Mass,
repenting and confessing our sins, beginning to conform our lives to His law.
Jesus at the center of our lives is not a feeling, but it is a surrender – no
more doing life “on our own”, but walking daily in trust of Him, seeking Him
and loving Him.
In a
moment I will be seated, and I ask you to choose. If you’re ready, invite
Christ to be the center of your life. You could pray a prayer such as, “Lord
Jesus, I need You. I invite You into my heart and my life. Be my Savior, and
let me experience Your love.” If you’re not ready, that’s okay too – just pray
a silent prayer and be honest with God, something like, “Lord, I’m not sure
about You yet. I’m not ready to make You the center. So show me who You are and
give me the courage to say yes to You.”
He took
the first step, invaded behind enemy lines, to rescue you from sin and
death. What will your response be?
