2141AFC100821 – Sharpen your Sword!
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Hebrews 4:12-13 – 12 Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Right at the outset I want to acknowledge my youngest brother, JOHN EDWARD TODD who went to the Lord recently. Today would have been his 61st birthday. We’re happy to celebrate that with him (YOLO-F, remember?) and look forward to celebrating many other wonderful events of his life.
Now, let’s get to the business at hand. The readings for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time include a wonderful passage from the book of Wisdom (↔ Click Link), Psalm 90 which has us singing for joy as we witness to the works of God, the above passage from the Letter to the Hebrews, and the story of The Rich Young Ruler. We’ve previously weighed in on these topics. To be bluntly honest with you, I seriously considered just giving you the links to the two older posts that cover this set of readings and leave it at that. Alas and alack, there was more that the Holy Spirit required, so we’re going to follow his directions. Nonetheless, I think it’s OK to share those links with you. You can find these posts at 1541AFC100915 – The Wisdom of Love and 1841AFC101218 – Prophet and Loss. I’d also appreciate it if you would look at this little piece about My Mother.
Looking at our Key Verse and the image next to it, you may have guessed there is another bushel of Scripture headed our way. Since that’s the case, let’s ROLL! I’m sort of hoping you’re already ahead of me in knowing what I mean by “sharpen your sword.” Do you remember “The Full Armor of God”? (↔ Click Link) It is described in Ephesians 6:10-18. The particular piece of equipment I refer to is in Ephesians 6:17 – 17 Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Follow that link to see the whole passage.) We’re going to have to do some word etymology here so please get through this next bit with the kindness that comes from patience.
Roman legionaries in the Apostle Paul’s day carried a short two-edged sword called a gladius. That’s the Latin word for it. The Greek word is machaira. This means a short, sharply pointed sword which was “two edged” – dístomos in Greek – having “two mouths.” The nickname for that blade was “drinker of blood.” It was a very effective weapon because not only could it slash and cut like a single-edge blade, but also it could stab and slice thereby inflicting greater harm. It was indeed a superlative weapon – AND SO IS THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, THE WORD OF GOD!
Note what the Apostle Paul says at the beginning of this passage – 2 Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit. We are given this superlative weapon for battling against the Accuser. Why is it important that it divides soul from spirit? Let’s think of our soul as our intellect, our recognizable being in life. Our spirit is that part of us given by God to make us like him – we are spiritual beings, like him. What does the Accuser attack? He wants our soul, our understanding of our presence in Life. He accuses us of being sinners (and we are), and testifies against us saying we are unworthy of God’s Love and Salvation (but we are NOT!). He draws our attention away from God, and exaggerates our focus on us, blinding us to Truth. He hammers away at our hearts and minds so that we find ourselves in deep waters of remorse and regret, but he turns us away from Repentance! He serves up the garbage of our past as the treats for our pity-party. Jesus – the Word – stands against the Accuser. Satan tries to make us believe we are so corrupt that God has abandoned us in disgust.
Jesus convicts us with the Law, but does not accuse us. He speaks his Word of Love in our soul and spirit so that we realize we have sinned and long to return to fellowship with Jesus and our Brothers and Sisters in Christ – the Church. Our focus is diverted from the introspective derision Satan the Accuser uses and is turned toward the Cross where we know we find forgiveness, not abandonment. We are drawn closer to the Lord, closer to the Light, and we experience sincere contrition (not paralyzing guilt) and effective repentance. Thus, being closer to the Lord, we rest in the confidence of God’s Love and deal a painful, debilitating blow to Satan with our Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.
Now, why “Sharpen your Sword” for today’s topic? Surely you’ve guessed by now. What good soldier would leave his sword gathering dust in the bookshelf, or rusting away in some musty closet? We have this Spiritual armament given by God to fight against the Accuser. Are you getting pummeled by Satan? Suit up and get out there and fight! If we’re sitting around moaning, “Poor me, Jesus’ own little Christian sibling, I am so bullied and beaten by the Devil,” just dump out that mindset. Come ON! This is WAR! WAR! Ephesians 6:12 – 12 For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. What happens to you, to me, to us, to the World if we do not fight?
What? Don’t we know the word of God? Look what God himself says: Jeremiah 23:29 – “Is not My word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that smashes a rock?” And if we refuse to fight, refuse to believe God is with us? Jeremiah 17:10 – I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. Please think back to our discussions about prophesying – speaking the Word of God. That is how we use this Sword of the Spirit: We speak it and – better still – we live it. Moses opined that he wished all of God’s children would be Prophets. What would that be like? Check this out: 1 Corinthians 14:24-25 – 24 But if all prophesy, an unbeliever or outsider who enters is reproved by all and called to account by all. 25 After the secrets of the unbeliever’s heart are disclosed, that person will bow down before God and worship him, declaring, “God is really among you.” (↔ Music Link) Try to imagine how that would feel to the Accuser! OUCH is an understatement!
Well, by now you may be wishing I had just left you with those two links and have done with it. I can’t do that because before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account. Scroll up a paragraph or two and reread Jeremiah’s prophesy. Here’s how Jesus followed up on that: John 12:48-49 – 48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my word has a judge; on the last day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge, 49 for I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak. We can’t just phone it in. We have to be out there on the field of battle, (↔ Music Link), fully armed, and we sure better sharpen our Sword because that’s how we resist the Devil – with a good sharp poke in the keister I’d say. This is WAR! JEHOVAH SABAOTH – the Lord God of Hosts – is our commanding General. We must be prepared to follow his orders as given to us through his Son and the Son’s Brigade Commanders, our Church leaders: James 4:7 – 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. That happens because The Word is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. That’s what the Accuser wants to destroy so that he can have us forever body, soul, and spirit. Let’s sharpen our Swords! Study, practice, learn, memorize, drill, train in the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God! Onward to Victory!
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!
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Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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