Advent, 2nd Sunday (A) In our first reading, God promises to solve the problem of evil. He will strike the ruthless and slay the wicked, freeing the poor and afflicted. There will be no harm or ruin on all God's holy mountain.
Where did evil come from? The Bible explains evil through the existence of a person called the Devil or Satan. God created the Devil. But He made him good, perhaps the best and the brightest of the angels. But he rebelled against God and led a rebellion against God. He was cast out of Heaven. Now he wanders the world with his demons seeking the ruin of souls.
He envies us and he wants to separate us from God. He operates by sowing doubt and fear rooted in lies:
- God doesn't love you.
- God doesn't care about you.
- You can't trust him.
- He doesn't want you to be happy.
- He has abandoned you.
The Devil doesn't do a great deal of harm himself. He sows lies and doubts and then steps back and watches us destroy each other and self-destruct. We don't believe we are beloved children of God. We choose to use and abuse. Victims of abuse become abusers. We become trapped in patterns of sin and violence. And we get farther and farther from God. His ultimate goal is to separate us from God. The farther we get from God, the more we experience doubt and despair and darkness and death.
The good news is that all his lies are false: God is a Good Father, who loves you, and has not abandoned you. And help is on the way!
8 Dec 2019
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Scriptures Referenced:
- Wisdom 2:23-24: "For God created man for incorruption, and made him in the image of his own eternity,but through the devil’s envy death entered the world, and those who belong to his party experience it."
- John 8:44: "You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies."
- Revelation 12:3-12: "...Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon..."
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