God Fights for Us against Satan

God Fights for Us against Satan

In yesterday's reading from  Exodus 14: 21-15:1, "the Egyptians sounded the retreat before Israel, because the Lord was fighting for them against the Egyptians."  The same is true for us. Enemies may be pursuing us on every side and especially from within our own beings: pride, selfishness, gluttony, idolatry (God substitutes such as compulsive use of alcohol, drugs, food,  pleasure, relationships,  sex or whatever we use to distract ourselves or as sole means to meet insatiable needs, calm excessive fears, and avoid feeling whatever pain is beckoning us to look at the truth of what is going on in our lives). As with the Israelites, God fights for us as well.

By our use of God substitutes, we are likely to deafen ourselves to God's voice and develop a  blindness to God's presence and action in our lives.  How do we keep our ears and eyes open?  How do we maintain our focus on God, realizing and discovering that God is on our side and that God is enough for us? By calling upon the Holy Spirit or reverently uttering Jesus' name, asking God to help us.  It is at those times that Satan sounds his "retreat" from us,  because he knows then that the Lord is fighting for us against him in the same way as the Lord fought for the Israelites, His Chosen People.

Mary's Focus

When Mary entered Elizabeth's home and greeted Elizabeth, the child  in Elizabeth's womb leaped with joy.  The Holy Spirit who overshadowed Mary when Jesus was conceived now overshadowed John in Elizabeth's womb. Elizabeth, also filled with the Holy Spirit, recognized Mary, her young cousin, as the mother of God, and cries out: "How does this happen to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you.... (Luke 1: 39-45).  Mary could have focused on  herself following that greeting but does not.  She focuses on God, proclaiming God's greatness: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior, for he has looked upon his lowly servant"  (Luke 1: 46).  She does, however, acknowledge that she has truly been blessed:  From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name"  (Luke 1: 47).  Notice, again, though, that she immediately directs our attention to "the Almighty."

Where is your focus/my focus?  When something great has happened in our lives, do we turn our attention and that of others to ourselves or to the Lord God?

Keep Your Eyes on the Lord

In today's Gospel, Matthew 14: 22-36, Jesus, while dismissing the crowd,  sends the disciples to the other side of the sea ahead of him.   Once the crowd is dismissed, Jesus goes up to the mountain to pray by Himself.  The disciples are a couple of miles out on the sea and are being tossed around by a strong storm.  "During the fourth watch of the night, [Jesus] came toward them, walking on the sea." They are scared out of their wits, thinking a ghost is approaching them on this stormy sea.  "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid." Peter yells back at the ghostly figure and says: "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." "Come," Jesus responds to Peter. And Peter steps out of the boat onto the rough waters. Realizing what the heck he is doing, Peter becomes fearful, takes his eyes off of Jesus and begins to sink.  "Lord, save me."  And immediately, Jesus stretches out His hand and pulls Peter up drowning.

"Lord, save me," is a prayer all of us, no doubt, say often!  We  may drowning, so to speak, in grief, in financial or  relationship problems, in episodes with our children that we could never dream of, in facing illnesses--mental or physical--that baffle us and fill us with fear!  "Lord, where are you?" we ask!   "Be not afraid," the Lord says to us. I am right here with you. Together we will face these storms flooding  your life. You are not alone. I never abandon you. No matter how rough things become, keep your focus on me. Be not like Peter and focus on turbulent "sea."  With your focus on me, you will make it, because I am the God of life, not of death. I am the God of hope, not despair.  I am the God of power, not despair.  When you are too tired, too weak, to walk, I will carry you. Trust Me.

St. Stephen's Witness

It is the day after Christmas and the Church celebrates the martyrdom of St. Stephen described in the first reading, Acts 6: 8-10; 7: 54-59.  In the Gospel itself, Matthew 10: 17-22, Jesus asks us to "[b]eware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans....Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved."  Eight days after his birth, Jesus is brought to the temple and Simeon says to Mary:  "You see this child: he is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is rejected--and a sword will pierce your own soul too--so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare" (Luke 1: 14-15).

Jesus also tells us in the Gospels not to be afraid when  you encounter troubles in the world, as He, too, encountered troubles and conquered them. In the darkest day of our salvation history, when Jesus hung on the cross dying, He, like Stephen, said to God: "Into your hands I commend my spirit." Three days later Jesus conquered suffering and death and rose again. Forty days later, Jesus ascended into heaven. Stephen, as he faced his murderers, was "filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said, 'Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of God standing at the right hand of God.'"

May we like Jesus and like Stephen commend our spirits to the Lord when we, in turn, are at death's door waiting to pass through death, by whatever means, and enter eternal life. Like Stephen, when we are dying, may we look to heaven and see Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father waiting for our return to our eternal home.  In preparation for that moment, may we, throughout life's difficulties turn to the Lord for help.  May we always take refuge in the Lord and focus on the Lord when we are facing challenges instead of locking ourselves into our anger, feeding it and thus succumbing to temptations we would otherwise be able to resist because God is always at our side, as He was for St. Stephen.