War and Resistance

Catholic War Veterans Mass
Homily
13 October 2006

I remember when my grandmother was still alive I often asked her to tell me her experience during the Second World War, when the Japanese Imperial Army invaded the Philippines in 1941. She said they had to leave their home and moved from one place to another in order to escape the approaching Japanese soldiers. She said life was very difficult during the war. They didn’t have enough food and medicine. They stopped going to school. Many families were separated. She herself lost her only brother who joined the Filipino guerillas to defend the country and never saw him again after the war.

Last week, during my hospital chaplaincy work experience in Ballarat, I met a deeply religious elderly patient whom I gave Holy Communion and administered the Sacrament of Anointing. On my last day, which was last Friday, he told me that he’d been in the Philippines. I was surprised when he said that he was an Australian Navy and was actually present when General Douglas MacArthur arrived at the island of Leyte, to begin the campaign to recapture the Philippines. Their ship also went to different countries in Asia, like Indonesia, Korea, to neutralize their enemies. As a navy he told me that he saw the horror and destruction of the Second World War. I told him that I would mention his story in my homily today.

As I recall today his story and my grandmother’s story, I can tell that their memories of war, like all others who experienced war, are stories of courage and determination to survive, of longing for peace, unity and preservation of justice.

The principle of “winning” a war or battle is to strengthen both offensive and defensive forces. The Gospel today tells us about “war” but in a sense of our “spiritual warfare”. There is a spiritual battle between good and evil. As Christians our sole “offensive and defensive force” against evil forces is no other than Jesus, himself.

We heard from Luke Gospel Jesus is casting out a devil from a deaf-mute person. “Jesus' numerous exorcisms brought freedom to many who were troubled and oppressed by the work of evil spirits. Jesus himself encountered personal opposition and battle with Satan when he was put to the test in the wilderness just before his public ministry (Matthew 4:1; Luke 4:1). Ultimately, He overcame the Evil One through his obedience to the will of his Father.”

“Jesus makes it very clear that there are no neutral parties in this world. We are either for Jesus or against him, for the kingdom of God or against it. There are ultimately only two kingdoms which stand in opposition to one another— the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness which is under the rule of Satan. If we disobey God's word, we open to door to the power of sin and Satan. If we want to live in true freedom, then our "house" (the inner core of our true being) must be occupied by Jesus where he is enthroned as Lord and Savior.
In our present society we encounter the fact that many people are living in a culture that defies human mortality and disregards the spiritual aspect of human being – the true worth of human existence. Our human condition needs redemption both from the inner and external reality of our existence.[1] We need to be saved from all kinds of oppression such as sin, death and various evil forces of destruction. The state of our human condition is contaminated with sin and guilt – we are suffering from the inner wounds, sickness and hard-heartedness!

Only Jesus is the Saviour: by his death and resurrection he achieves a glorious triumph over sin, death and the darkness of evil.[2] So Jesus alone is the divine-human agent equipped with special gifts to bring salvation for humankind.[3] Christ’s redeeming power is always available to liberate us from the bondage of injustice, to expiate us from sin and lastly bring us back to the eternal love of God.

So in the light of the Gospel, as Christians, our stories too must be stories of courage and determination, of longing for peace, unity and preservation of justice.



[1] O’Collins, Interpreting Jesus, pp. 135-141.
[2] St. Paul’s vision of Christ who frees us from the enemies describes: “Now the sting of death is sin, and sin gets its power from the Law. So let us thank God for giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Cor 15:56-57).
[3] Loewe, “Jesus Christ” in The New Dictionary of Theology, p. 540.