Every square inch, every split second is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan."
-- C. S. Lewis
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time B
On
Thursday I went to the movies
and saw, American Sniper.
(I’ll
do my best not to give away too many details,
in
case you plan to see it, too.)
The
film—nominated for six Academy Awards—
tells
the true story of Chris Kyle,
a
U.S. Navy SEAL from Texas,
who serves four separate tours of duty in Iraq
during
the height of the conflict there.
The
movie provides quite a powerful depiction
of
what our service men and women face
when they go to war.
But
one of the most affecting aspects of the movie
is
that Chris Kyle finds himself fighting on two fronts:
one
is the enemy that he can see—
the
violent insurgency in Iraq;
the
other is a hidden conflict…
...but one no less deadly.
All that time in battle, you see, takes a toll on Chris.
He’s
wounded...but not by bullets or bombs.
As
a legendary marksman,
he’s
celebrated for all the lives he’s saved;
but
he’s continually haunted
by
all the guys we wasn’t able to save.
When
he comes home to his wife and kids,
there’s
a big part of Chris that stays off at war.
And
that affects his personality, his character, and his marriage.
We
see him, as they say, “wrestling with his demons.”
But
I’d say that’s more than just an expression.
This
Sunday’s gospel reminds us
of
something we’d all prefer to forget:
we
live in a war zone.
There
are plenty of visible battles going on in the world,
but
I’m talking about the one you can’t see with the naked eye.
You
don’t have to read through the gospels very long
to
notice just how many times Jesus is engaged
in
hand-to-hand combat with the devil.
Whether
it’s the Lord’s temptations in the desert
or
the many times he’s casting out evil spirits,
it’s
pretty clear: Jesus has come to take Satan out,
and
both the battleground and the prize for the victor
are
one and the same—the human soul.
The
coming of the Son of God in human flesh
was
an ingenious infiltration behind enemy lines,
and
now the powers of hell are all stirred up
like
when one kicks a hornet's nest.
Jesus,
of course, has completely vanquished evil
by
his suffering, death, and resurrection…
…but
the devil seems to have an awfully hard time
admitting
his defeat.
While
they were pretty clear to his wife
and
the doctors at the VA clinic,
Chris
Kyle couldn’t find healing from his hidden battle scars
until
he knew for himself that he’d been wounded;
he
couldn’t fight an enemy he didn’t even recognize.
Likewise,
the devil’s most cunning trick
is
to get us to think he doesn’t really exist.
In our
modern, supposedly “enlightened” age,
we
write off any talk of the evil one
as
a myth—a “boogey man”—
invented
in a less sophisticated time
to
explain things science hadn't yet explained
and
to help keep people in line.
But
we buy into that lie to our great detriment.
When
you’re trying to do some good work,
have
you ever noticed
how
one obstacle or distraction after another
crops
up to throw you off track?
Or
when you’ve set aside time to pray or read the Bible,
that
that’s right when you get a headache or can’t clear your mind?
Have you always assumed that's just a coincidence?
Have you always assumed that's just a coincidence?
Have
you ever given any thought to what really lies behind
all
the acts of terrorism in the world today?
What
if there’s a whole lot more going on
behind
the scenes in our lives—on a spiritual level—
than
we usually stop to realize?
Now,
I don’t bring this up to get people scared.
We
have no reason to fear the devil.
As
I’ve already said: Christ has conquered him.
The
authority of Jesus,
which
once so astounded the crowded synagogue in Capernaum,
he
has passed on to his body, the Church.
If
we stick with Jesus, we’ve got more than the upper hand.
Yet neither can we use Satan
as a handy excuse for our bad behavior.
as a handy excuse for our bad behavior.
While
he can tempt and taunt us,
we’re
still fully responsible for our own actions.
But
we’re all going to be better armed
to
play our part in this ongoing battle
and
avoid any traps that have been set in our paths
if
we recognize the wily tactics of our opponent.
A
crucial thing to remember
is
that the devil is always trying to divide us.
(In
fact, the Greek word that gives us that name, “the devil,”
literally
means, “the scatterer.”)
God
is perfect unity—a Trinity of divine Persons in one God—
and
continually working to bring the many into one,
both
with each other and with him.
But
while the Holy Spirit’s mission is to bind us closer together,
evil
spirits look for ways to pull us apart—
whether
it’s a marriage, a parish, or a country.
We
can even see that happening within ourselves:
feeling
scattered; our lives getting out of order;
our
mind fighting against our will,
or
our passions against each other.
As
the old saying goes: “United we stand; divided, we fall.”
If
you want a dependable litmus test
for
what’s happening uncover in any given situation,
just
ask yourself,
“Is
this serving to bring people together or tear them apart?”
Division
is a clear sign of the devil’s hidden handiwork.
We
fight plenty of battles in this world,
but
the most critical of them all is one we quite often fail to see.
And
so it was with good reason
that,
when the Lord taught us to pray,
he
concluded with, “deliver us from evil.”
God our Father,
source of all authority in
heaven and on earth,
help us to firmly believe
that your Son
has forever conquered the
enemy of our souls.
Strengthen us to resist
every evil
with Jesus at our side.
1 comment:
Fantastic! Thank you so much for sharing your sermons with us.
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