Psalm 144 begins in a rather interesting manner - “Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my arms for battle, who prepares my hands for war.” (Psalm 144:1). What is interesting or maybe even alarming is that the psalmist is blessing God for training his arms for battle and preparing his hands for war. The first thought that comes to mind is that the psalmist who prayed Psalm 144 must have been a pretty violent person. Why does he praise God for training him for war instead of praying for peace? Should he not be praying for peace instead?
I guess we will all arrive at the answer when we reflect more deeply into the reality of our lives. Although we all pray for peace and the first gift of the Risen Lord is peace, war is also a reality in our lives. Henri Nouwen has beautifully put it when he says that every war that is fought out in the outside world, whether it be between entire nations or between groups of people; they are all a reflection of the war that is raging in human hearts. In that sense, the wars that are fought in the world is but the manifestation of the wars that are already raging strongly in our hearts. Thus, battle is a reality of our lives and it would be naive to think that we are able to bypass the battle for righteousness. Indeed, our battle as Christians is to be heralds of God’s Kingdom which is God’s reign in the lives of all mankind, starting with our own personal lives. As such, a battle is being fought whether we like it or not – it is a battle with our fallen nature that is striving to allow Christ to truly reign and conquer it. It is no wonder than that St Paul says, “For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armour of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground” (Eph 6: 12 -13).
One thing that we can be sure when we enter into this battle is that the battle has already been won by Jesus, Our Saviour. When he broke the chains of death and responded to mankind’s hatred and rejection of Him with love, compassion and forgiveness, Jesus our Lord, had inaugurated a new kind of battle – it is the battle for the Kingdom by the Kingdom. The ultimate seen of this battle is the Cross of Calvary, for Jesus did not conquer this world for the Father with military might or shrewd strategising; He conquered it with obedience, love and forgiveness. So too is out battles today and God is training our arms for these battles; battles that must be won together with Christ as we unite ourselves with Him upon the Cross of Calvary and learn what it means to obey through suffering (cf. Heb 5:8) Let us always pray that we may fight the good fight till the end and share in the victory of Jesus who has conquered the world!
I guess we will all arrive at the answer when we reflect more deeply into the reality of our lives. Although we all pray for peace and the first gift of the Risen Lord is peace, war is also a reality in our lives. Henri Nouwen has beautifully put it when he says that every war that is fought out in the outside world, whether it be between entire nations or between groups of people; they are all a reflection of the war that is raging in human hearts. In that sense, the wars that are fought in the world is but the manifestation of the wars that are already raging strongly in our hearts. Thus, battle is a reality of our lives and it would be naive to think that we are able to bypass the battle for righteousness. Indeed, our battle as Christians is to be heralds of God’s Kingdom which is God’s reign in the lives of all mankind, starting with our own personal lives. As such, a battle is being fought whether we like it or not – it is a battle with our fallen nature that is striving to allow Christ to truly reign and conquer it. It is no wonder than that St Paul says, “For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armour of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground” (Eph 6: 12 -13).
One thing that we can be sure when we enter into this battle is that the battle has already been won by Jesus, Our Saviour. When he broke the chains of death and responded to mankind’s hatred and rejection of Him with love, compassion and forgiveness, Jesus our Lord, had inaugurated a new kind of battle – it is the battle for the Kingdom by the Kingdom. The ultimate seen of this battle is the Cross of Calvary, for Jesus did not conquer this world for the Father with military might or shrewd strategising; He conquered it with obedience, love and forgiveness. So too is out battles today and God is training our arms for these battles; battles that must be won together with Christ as we unite ourselves with Him upon the Cross of Calvary and learn what it means to obey through suffering (cf. Heb 5:8) Let us always pray that we may fight the good fight till the end and share in the victory of Jesus who has conquered the world!
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Stay tuned for the next post by Br Terence Kesavan on 07th May 2010.
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