In today’s first reading Paul calls upon us to prepare for “spiritual warfare.” “Brothers and sisters: Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power…For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness.” Paul warns us against demonic powers unleashed or embodied in such as Hitler, Putin or the KKK. Evil is a force in the world but human beings are also responsible for this evil with their deeds of violence, hatred and racism. Paul calls us to stand up to all such forms of violence and hatred. How? Paul tells us that we are equipped with truth, righteousness, and the Gospel of peace.
We are very aware today, as Paul was in his day, of the presence of evil and demonic forces in the world. But we also need to have a healthy and Christian optimism. God created the world and God created it very good: “God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good” (Genesis 1:31). While there is evil in the world God is more powerful than any evil or demonic forces. While we need to be vigilant, we do not need to live in fear of the devil because God is “far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way. (Ephesians 1:21-23).
When we are tempted to give in to pessimism and even despair in the face of the daily barrage of reports of violence, hatred, lies and a lack of integrity we need to listen to the Word of God and hear who we are, the Body of Christ, called to bring the light of God’s truth and mercy to our world. We need to be strengthened for this “spiritual warfare” by heeding Paul’s call: “With all prayer and supplication, pray at every opportunity in the Spirit.”
Image: “St Anthony of Egypt in Spiritual Warfare” by Lawrence OP is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.