Who can Battle with the Lord? I say Nobody.

Homily for November 24, 2017.

Anyone who sets out to fight for truth, righteousness and holiness always wins in the end. The victory of Judas and his brothers over the evil king Antiochus is a victory that assures us of God’s great hand of support when we fight on his side.

There is a song that we sing quite often: “Who can battle with the Lord? Who can battle with the Lord? I say No body. I say No body.”

Can anyone destroy God? The book of Proverbs 18 verse 10 says even the very name of the Lord is a STRONG TOWER. The righteous run to it and they are safe.

Nonetheless, we must always remember that when it comes to the battle against sin, our greatest enemy is our very selves. According to Sir Thomas Browne in his book Religio Medici written in 1639, “Every man is his own greatest enemy, and as it were his own executioner.”

In the course of his earthly life, Jesus fought many battles and won. He fought with the devil after his 40days fasting and prayer and the devil could not stop him from beginning his ministry. Again at the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus fought again, his sweat was like drops of blood but he succeeded. It was on the Cross of Calvary that Jesus gave the final fatal blow to Satan.

In our Gospel passage this morning, we are presented with the story of how Jesus using Holy Anger, engaged in a battle against those who were buying and selling in the temple; it was a battle for truth, a battle for righteousness, a battle to teach us how we should treat the house of God as well as things dedicated to God.

For eight days Judas and his brothers celebrated the dedication of the temple, they recognised that it was God who gave them victory over Antiochus and they gave God glory by purifying the Temple. How do I treat the house of God? Do I bring my phone to church, pick up calls during mass or distract others with its ring tone? Do I litter the church as though it is no man’s business?

The Saints, Andrew Dung-Lac and companions were martyred in Vietnam for their faith. They include priests, nuns, brothers, some lay people, some were foreign missionaries, but most of them were native Vietnamese killed by their own government and countrymen. In 1988, Pope John Paul II recognized over a hundred of them.

Each time we suffer loss or pain for the sake of doing what is right or standing for the truth, we too are martyrs. The world we live in does not like us when we stand for God. We should not expect people to love us when we are good Christians. Jesus says: If they have called the Master of the House Beelzebub, how much more will they malign those of his household? But then, for standing for God and for fighting against evil, the victory is ours eventually whether in his life or in the life to come.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, give me courage and inspiration when the going seems tough. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. (Friday of the 33^rd Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study:  1 Maccabees 4:36-59 and Luke 19:45-48).