Luke 13:31-35 That Fox!

Luke 13: 31-35 That Fox!

I look at myself in the mirror and take a deep breath. I say to myself, today I will engage the enemy. I may take a life for the Lord or lay down my life for Him. I will not be afraid for my Savior lives in me and through me. I commit myself in prayer, my pledge of allegiance. I will consider only one thing important: to die to self so that others may live. Cost whatever it may, I will serve the Lord. I put on my uniform, proud to be one of the few, and begin my day like so many before – in meditation. Silence is a prerequisite before the noise of battle; solitude a must if I wish to share the Lord with others; and simplicity a given if I wish to follow Him. I cannot be weighed down by the fears and doubts that plague this fallen world. I must be convinced that I stand for what is good, right and holy.

Jesus said, “Go and tell that Fox [Herod], ‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow.’” How true it is. Jesus performs healings today and tomorrow, two thousand years ago and till now, and two thousand years from now. Time keeps moving, flowing, always in accordance and in relation to the Son of Man. Time belongs to Him, it is His creation; it is his way of nudging us: “Do it now, do not delay.”

Everything that Jesus said and did will never end. Everything that Herod said and did has come to an end. This is the difference between man and God. What man does is of little significance. What God does continues forever. What the God-Man said and did will never end.

“Do this in memory of me.” God has no memory. It is always now! Every time we celebrate the sacred mysteries, we go back in time and witness the death, the resurrection and the glory of the Lord. This is our faith. This is the faith of the Catholic Church and we are proud to profess it in Christ Jesus our Lord!

What must I do? Live totally for the Lord. Be a Saint! No more shall you consider yourself the victim. No more shall I feel sorry for myself! What a waste of time! I lack nothing for greatness. Am I who I should be: more terrifying than a soldier and more peaceful than a lamb? I have been created in His image and likeness. I am who I am – another Christ. I am truly blessed to have the Lord as my Rock, my Fortress, my Lord and King! Who is a human king but a walking dead man? Who are my enemies but the weakest of the weakest, the proudest of the proudest, the dead among the dead?

St. Paul exhorts his friends, the Ephesians, to draw strength from the Lord; to put on the armor of God. Why does he do so? For only one reason: they are suffering like the Lord. They are going through the King’s passion. Our struggles do not rest with men. No! Our quarrels, our battles truly are with the devil. St. Paul reminds us:

Stand fast in the Truth.

Hold the shield of Faith to quench all the flaming arrows of the Evil One.

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit,

which is the word of God.

Pray and petition the Spirit at every moment.

Pray for all the holy ones and also for me.

Ask for strength and boldness in proclaiming the mystery of the Gospel.

(Eph 6:10-20)