2 Maccabees 15: Battle – Part III
Thursday, March 6, 2025
It is not through arms but through the Lord’s decision that victory is won by those who deserve it.
The arms we carry into battle need only be Christ. When we see the oncoming storm of conflict, we only need put on the armor of God. When we enter into the battle that threatens to erase the values we hold as true, we turn to Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.
We are to be prisoners for the Lord and live in a manner worthy of the call we have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace; one body, and one Spirit, as we were also called to the one hope of our call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:1-6)
This, then, is how we move forward as a witness in Christ. This, then, is how we act in the Spirit. With understanding, humility, patience, and a deep-seated wish for unity.
It is not through arms but through the Lord’s decision that victory is won by those who deserve it.
The only battle worth entering, is one we enter with God not as a righteous banner, but with Christ as a loving guide, the Spirit as a healing force. When we exercise our full understanding and our full force of love, we will have entered the battle enjoined by God.
It is not through arms but through the Lord’s decision that victory is won by those who deserve it.
The only war worth waging, the only love worth winning, the only peace worth gaining, is the battle we enter with, and in, and for our loving God.
It is not through arms but through the Lord’s decision that victory is won by those who deserve it.
Adapted from a reflection written on February 28, 2009.
Image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judas_Maccabeus#/media/File:Peter_Paul_Rubens_and_workshop_002.jpg
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