“When a strong man fully armed guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. But when one stronger than he assails him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoil” (Luke 11:21)
At the time it seemed like a wise idea, the time being after 9/11 when our nation felt the initial anger over the daring deeds done to our buildings and the idea to mark off four rogue nations and select Iraq as the primary target. President Bush invaded that nation and toppled Saddam Hussein from his monument. Americans cheered to witness that tyrant with his outstretched arm extended to his vast holdings falling headlong, his arm pointed to the earth. Our strong President claimed a victory over tyranny, and our country celebrated the triumph. But the end was not yet—still isn’t. Now after many years and thousands of young lives, not to mention the native suffering, we wonder at the wisdom of that invasion and impudent goal of “regime change.”
The lesson of warfare from the mouth of our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ that appears in the gospel of St. Luke may refer to the invasion of the United States along with our western allies, but the meaning transcends the incidents of history. Our Lord is speaking of spiritual warfare. He demonstrated little interest in the problems that beset and obsess the nation of Israel, an attitude that turned the political and religious leaders of His day against Him. In that sense He wasn’t a “good Jew.” How could He be considered a successor of the mighty Moses if He showed no interest in the chosen people? Is it not His business to form an opinion, at least, over the scandal of occupancy by the empire of Rome? What sort of savior was He, if He refused to accept the role of messiah in the manner of His mighty ancestor David?
What He is claiming throughout the gospels is that there is a far more significant struggle for our souls than any battle or war among the nations of the world. In His metaphor above He expected the listeners of that time and us in our time to understand that the palace is the world, the strong man who takes ownership of the palace is Satan. The “one stronger than [Satan]” is none other than He Himself, Jesus of Nazareth, who is also the Son of God. As He said, “No one can enter a strong man’s house and carry off all his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house” (Mark 3:27) and again, as in His dialogue with Pontius Pilate, “You would have no power over Me unless it had been given you from above” (John 19:11) How can He possibly take away the armor of Satan except by disarming his power, revealing him for what he is—the consummate liar, deceiver, and intimidator of those who have fallen into his clutches. What is the weapon that will defeat Satan? The cross of Christ. All who take up their crosses and follow Christ are uniting themselves with the Father and Holy Spirit in the Son of God. From a purely human point of view, it looks like a mission impossible, but with God all things are possible. As St. Paul wrote: “If God is with us, who can stand against us?” Only with faith is this cosmic battle to be won. Many baptized Christians would prefer to stand on the sidelines and hope, even pray for the outcome to be favorable to Jesus. He responds to them: He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who doesn’t gather, scatters. You cannot avoid taking a stand. You haven’t the option of objectivity—that’s a mere illusion.