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PART II
20. THE CROSS, THE SWORD AND
THE WAR ON EVIL
"Let us be pierced through by those pains, by
these sorrows, and let the sword, lance, or dart be well tempered that the
wound of love may be deeper. For the deeper the wound of love, the sooner will
the prisoner be freed from the dungeon." (
As I gaze on a crucifix, I
realize that if I grab it from the top of the vertical beam, as I did before,
imagining to be holding a key in my hand, it seems now that I am holding a sword. (click link to view) It reminds me of what
"Indeed, the word of God is living
and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul
and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of
the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)
Truly, Christ, the Word of God, speaks to us in a very human way in regard
to what the Love of God is all about, and how we are challenged to live by the
same standards as Christ had for us. We are also shown the consequence, if we
don't follow Him knowingly or unknowingly. As mentioned before, the Cross shows
us what true love is about in its maximum expression, and what evil is capable
of doing also in its maximum expression. The 'sword of the Word of God' separates clearly the two realities as
Simeon announced to Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Simeon blessed them and said to Mary,
his mother, "Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many
in
One thing that many people
seem to fall into, is having a passive image in regard
to the reason why Jesus died on the Cross. Simply to say, "It was the will
of the Father for our Salvation", while being true, may lead us to forget
that Jesus had it coming, for what he stood up for. Anyone who stands up to
evil, and to the people who promote it because they have chosen to live in evil
ways, is going to 'ruffle the feathers', so to say. This vision is very clearly
presented in 'Christ the Liberator' by Leonardo Boff.
We see Jesus constantly confronting the religious leadership of his time.
Obviously when he creates a ruckus in the temple, that was like 'the last
straw'.
They came to
The chief priests and the scribes came
to hear of it and were seeking a way to put him to death, yet they feared him
because the whole crowd was astonished at his teaching. When evening came, they
went out of the city." (Mark 11: 15-18)
The war against evil reaches its peak on the Cross, when Jesus confronts with Love and forgiveness, the maximum force of evil that is discharged
against Him. (cfr. Luke
23:34)
It is the power of the Word of God, which is more powerful than any other type
of power, be it political, financial, or corrupt religious power, which is
amply shown in the Bible.
Though the wicked flourish like grass
and all sinners thrive, they are destined for eternal destruction; but you, Lord,
are forever on high. Indeed your enemies, Lord, indeed your enemies shall
perish; all sinners shall be scattered." (Psalm 92: 8-10)
It is the power of Love that defeats Satan, with his deceit, lies, hatred, confusion, arrogance,
oppressiveness, or divisiveness. Even when there are times he is winning a
battle, the war is ultimately won by God's
forces. God has His ways, which are mysterious and surprising, even when He
'writes the journey of history with crooked lines'. Did not the Israelites have
to wait 400 years to be liberated from oppression and slavery in
"But do not ignore this one fact,
beloved, that with the Lord, one day is like a thousand years and a thousand
years like one day." (2 Peter 3:8)
This is a spiritual battle, as
"Finally, draw your strength from
the Lord and from his mighty power. Put on the armor of God so that you may be
able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood
but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this
present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and,
having done everything, to hold your ground.
So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with
righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel
of peace. In all circumstances, hold
faith as a shield, to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the
sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." (Ephesians 6:10-17)
The spiritual war that is fought, is totally baffling in the mind of humans, as it
starts through the humility, poverty, fragility, and smallness of the power
emanating from the baby Jesus.
"The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light; upon those who lived in a land of gloom a light has
shone. You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing; they rejoice
before you as people rejoice at harvest, as they exult when dividing the
spoils. For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulder, the rod of
their taskmaster, you have smashed, as on the day of Midian.
For every boot that tramped in battle, every cloak rolled in blood, will be
burned as fuel for fire. For a child is
born to us, a son is given to us; upon his shoulder dominion rests."
(Isaiah 9:1-5)
And it reaches its powerful peak, when Jesus hangs on the
Cross, bearing in mind that the crucifixion was considered a punishment
destined to the worst criminals of his time.
The message of the cross is foolishness
to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of
God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the learning
of the learned I will set aside.”
Where is the wise one? Where is the
scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made the wisdom of the
world foolish? For since in the wisdom of God the world did not come to know
God through wisdom, it was the will of God through the foolishness of the
proclamation to save those who have faith. For Jews demand signs and Greeks
look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews
and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called Jews and Greeks alike,
Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God
is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human
strength. (1 Corinthians 1:18-25)
It is the power of Love, which develops and spreads through
the power of humility. Here is a reminder of the text I quoted earlier on
to grasp the power of humility:
Have among yourselves the same attitude
that is also yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did
not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied
himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human
in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a
cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of
Jesus, every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the
earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father." (Philippians 2:5-11)
And this brings us to our
part in the building up of the reign of God, with the mother of Jesus, Mary,
who leads us with her example of life.
Who is this who comes forth like the
dawn, beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awesome as an army with
banners? (Song of Solomon 6:10) (ESV/NABRE)
Yes, Mary urges us on, in
this spiritual battle, when this text is symbolically applied to her. She
emerges as the humble servant pleasing to the Lord, and through her
intercession, the powerful and wealthy are brought low, while the humble are
elevated.
And Mary said, "My soul magnifies
the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the
humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call
me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his
name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts
of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted
those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things and the
rich he has sent away empty...” (Luke 1: 46) (ESV)
We must remember though, that
this is a spiritual war. We could
think: why did not the humble Jesus bring down the power of King Herod Antipas,
son of Herod the Great? Quite the contrary: Herod tried to slay Jesus. The same
is true, that the powerful at the time of the Crucifixion had Jesus put to
death. Even the apostles were awaiting Christ to establish his Reign in a
worldly fashion by defeating the Roman oppressive reign in Israel, but as Jesus
said to Pilate: 'my kingdom is not of this world'. Let's look once more at the
words of the 'Magnificat': "he has scattered the
proud in the thoughts of their
hearts…" Yes, by degrading themselves with such horrific behavior,
they lower themselves in dignity, and before others, lose all sense of respect.
They will have to live with a guilty conscience for the rest of their lives,
unless they are psychopaths who don't feel any guilt. Meanwhile, Jesus' power,
in his smallness, humility, simplicity, draws others to Himself, starting with
the shepherds, the magi, and later on, those close by when He hangs on the
Cross (cfr. John 12:32). This leads even the
centurion at the foot of the Cross to say: "truly this was the Son of
God" (cfr. Matthew 27:54)
But
the spiritual war has to lead us ultimately to other areas of life which should
be in consistency with the interior life. There is a saying that saints produce
good people…good people produce indifferent people. We are called therefore to
be holy people, to have a true effect on others, and even to have influence on
the different structures in society. A valid liberation theology will deal with
this as expressed in the first
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a message
of freedom and a force for liberation. In recent years, this essential
truth has become the object of reflection for theologians, with a new kind of
attention which is itself full of promise.
Liberation is first and foremost
liberation from the radical slavery of sin. Its end and its goal is the freedom
of the children of God, which is the gift of grace. As a logical consequence,
it calls for freedom from many different kinds of slavery in the cultural,
economic, social, and political spheres, all of which derive ultimately from
sin, and so often prevent people from living in a manner befitting their
dignity. To discern clearly what is fundamental to this issue
and what is a by-product of it, is an indispensable condition for any
theological reflection on liberation. (Instruction
on Certain Aspects of the Theology of Liberation. 1984)
21. THE CROSS AND OUR
LADY OF GUADALUPE
