Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power
Paul tells us in the first reading, that we are fighting an enemy who is much stronger than we are and therefore we cannot hope to conquer him with our unaided strength and resources. He says: “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.”
It is great wisdom to have that lesson sink into our minds, otherwise, we continually fight a losing battle; trying and trying repeatedly to overcome our weaknesses and never make progress. If anything, our condition becomes worse the older we grow, or at a certain stage we give in and give up trying. Think of wedging a war against one who has guns, when you have spears and arrows, or going to battle with guns against an enemy who has missiles, or one who fights with bear muscles against one who is armed with swords. Unlike us, our enemy, the devil, never grows tired, he never sleeps or grow drowsy, he never gets distracted. With such an enemy, failure is guaranteed when one fights with human resources alone.
Fortunately, we have an ally who is infinitely stronger than our enemy, and who is ever ready to help whenever we call upon him. in today’s gospel, Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, a city which did not recognize its opportunity when this was offered. Jesus saw the forces against this city. He foresaw than unless they accepted him and his message of peace, they would be overrun by the Roman Empire. He even predicted that not even a stone would be left on another when the inevitable would come.
This reality is sadly unfolding in our own days, with the wars and armed conflicts around the world. Unless we accept God’s help and God’s message of forgiveness and reconciliation, immense suffering, loss of life, of peace and of property is unavoidable. But when we put on the armor of God, the armor of integrity, of truth, of prayer and of living according to the word of God, then God fights on our side and victory is guaranteed.
