Friday 17 March 2023

3rd Sunday of Lent 12 Mar 2023 Sermon

 

3rd Sunday of Lent 12 March 2023 Fighting for life

 

Its easy to downplay the spiritual life or ignore it altogether being caught up in the material world. Easy because the spiritual is out of sight and can be out of mind.

 

If you see a random crowd walking along it is not likely that many of them would be concerned for their spiritual wellbeing. If they are worried it would be about other things.

 

How can we convince people that in fact although they cannot see it, there are angels and demons fighting over them.

 

St Paul describes this in Ephesians 6. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ep 6,12)

 

There are no spears and swords being used. This is entirely a spiritual battle but very intense all the same.

 

What are they fighting with? Truth v Lies. The truth will prevail but it can be difficult for humans to recognize and to retain.

 

We feel the effects of this battle in our own hearts, minds and souls. We feel ourselves to be torn this way and that, sometimes choosing the right course, sometimes not.

 

We are what they are fighting about, both sides trying to claim our souls for eternity.

 

At the ground level we take part in the battle, most of it beyond our knowledge or comprehension, but nevertheless our role is important.

 

We take every chance to affirm which side we are on. Then we back that up with a thousand daily decisions to do right not wrong. The little things add up to a lot, especially if we consider that there are billions of people involved.

 

Prayer and fasting are essential. As are good works, and general Christian living, giving good witness to each other. And exhortation to keep fighting.

 

We must be good not only in general, but in particular daily actions.

 

This should go without saying but it does not go as it should. A great deal of sin is committed the world over and this keeps the spiritual battle from resolving quickly.

 

The problem comes back to visibility. If we could see angels and demons we would find it very easy to choose which side to be on.

 

The devil is losing but we are not fighting  hard enough , cooperating enough and we are missing chances to finish things off.

 

We sin too readily, and repent too slowly.

 

Even the small sins can nag at us. we should have smashed them decades ago and going into higher things. without relapses.

 

We don’t stay in grade 1 for fifty years at school, but in spiritual terms we might go fifty years without any great improvement. This is what happens if someone just rests with the sin without trying to uproot it.

 

We need to take a stronger hold on the wheel, that is of our whole lives, keeping the spiritual foremost at all times. We deal with practical matters but always with the spiritual perspective in view.

 

We take orders from above, but also from ourselves as we command our wayward nature to step into line.

 

Doing nothing will let the demons back in, as we have in today’s Gospel (Lk 11,24-26)

 

And not just back in, but worse than before. Seven demons instead of one. This is how vital that we do not become complacent or lazy.

 

The victory has been gained on principle but still damage can be done. Losing armies in war will destroy as they retreat. The devil has a sting in his tail.

 

We should have got further than we have; we should be holier than we are by now; the Church should be stronger than it is… no matter all of these things are retrievable.

 

Jesus, the strong man, expels the demons from their strongholds. We want to be around to be part of that, and eventually enjoy demon-free life.

 

 

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