Sunday December 16th
2018 3rd Sunday in Advent
(Cycle C)
It’s War!
The tie in between
today’s readings: Binding the Strongman
Opening up with
today’s reading in Luke we see John the Baptist, as God’s drill sergeant
recruiting his way through the Jordan Valley. He’s preparing the nation for the
coming conflict. His rallying cry cuts sharp and deep into the heart of the
people as he calls them to muster. “The Great One is coming!” “Get ready!” “War
will soon be upon us!” John accepts only the committed and sincere. Self-righteous
hypocrites are quickly 4-F’d and rejected.
The chosen are initiated by baptism in the Jordan. Their first order in
God’s boot camp: REPENT! Life can’t go on as usual. This is a different kind of
war. It’s spiritual. Spears and swords are useless. The weapons of choice in
this operation are prayer, fasting, and love of neighbor; these are the only
things that can overcome evil. Few, if any, realize the seriousness of the situation.
“I baptize you with water,” exclaims John, “but the Mighty One is coming. He
will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He will chop down the
fruitless trees. His wheat will be gathered into his barn and He will burn the
chaff with unquenchable fire!” and with many other exhortations he preached the
gospel to the people.
Then, one day, it
happened. He is baptized. The sky opens up. The Father proclaims Jesus’
identity and the Spirit marks Him out. This is it! Sin…Salvation…the whole
creation hangs in the balance. All of mankind has a stake in the coming battle.
The ax cuts at each of our sinful roots. If Jesus fails then everyone will be
kindling. No hope. No Joy. No wheat, only chaff for burning. The Holy Spirit
drives Jesus into the desert for the initial engagement. It is bare knuckles
against evil, now! The Kingdom of Heaven is advancing on the earth. The Prince
of Peace is a mighty warrior with one objective: Bind the Strongman!
Satan and his
demons know Jesus is coming for them. They have all the puzzle pieces of
prophesy. God’s battle plan has to do with sin somehow but the rebellious angels
just can’t figure it out. Satan sees Jesus in a weakened condition while
fasting in the desert and takes a shotgun approach to get the Messiah to
stumble. Jesus fends off three
temptation attempts by the Strongman and wins the day. Other evil attacks ensue
over time in an attempt to nullify the Son of Man, but to no avail. Finally,
crucifixion seems like Jesus’ Achilles’ heel and Satan goes for it. Jesus
suffers through His Passion and it appears that evil will win after all;
however, something is going wrong. There’s an inkling about it while Jesus is
on the cross (Matt 27:42), but when Christ resurrects on Easter Sunday, the total
devastation of the Devil is assured. In a demonstration of Devine Jujitsu’ the
wisdom of the Almighty deceived the deceivers: “for if they had known the
mystery of God, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Corinthians
2:7-8). Satan is crushed. Jesus plunders his house and the souls of men are set
free (Luke 4:18).
The other three
readings today in Zephaniah, Isaiah, and Philippians are passages of joy,
salvation, and triumph in Jesus. In this third Sunday of Advent, let us not
forget that you cannot separate the cradle from the cross. Had Jesus failed,
there would be no tidings of comfort and joy, no celebration of that holy
night, only the dismal mockery of God’s grand attempt. It is one thing to take
the field but another to leave in triumph. But we see Jesus who was made a
little lower than the angels now crowned with glory and honor because He
suffered death, so by the grace of God, He may taste death for everyone
(Hebrews 2:9). He is victorious! He lives! Alleluia! He now hands over the
battle to you. Let us put on the full armor of God and advance God’s Kingdom in
this world through the victory of Easter and in the love and joy of Christmas.
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