DEFORTIFICATION WAS THE SON OF GOD'S UNORTHODOX WAY IN WHICH HE PREPARED FOR WAR AGAINST EVIL

May 13, 2021

We are at war with evil. Evil was driven out of heaven and precipitously cast down into the Garden of Eden (Revelation 12:7-12) (Luke 10:18) (Isaiah 14:12-16) (Genesis 3:1) (John 8:44) which it transmogrified into a battlefield known as the Valley of Tears (Hail Holy Queen). Evil was evicted but not defeated. The war against evil was incomplete - unfinished. Only the venue had changed from up there to down here.

Jesus was dispatched from heaven to bring the opposition to evil into the Valley of Tears. He was the tip of the spear. Furthermore, Jesus led the army that he recruited by example. He did not merely lob advice at us from the safety of the sidelines as a priest lobs a homily at us from the safety of an ambo. He joined us cheek-to-jowl, toe-to-hoof with evil in the scrum at the line of scrimmage.

WHAT DID JESUS DO TO PREPARE FOR THE WAR AGAINST EVIL IN THE VALLEY OF TEARS? What would a human general do? Wouldn't a human general equip his army to the teeth with powerful weapons to engage the enemy? Shock and awe, the generals say (Wikipedia). Jesus, however, employed a quite different strategy. He did something that no human general would ever do. JESUS DISARMED. He defortified himself. He made himself weak (Philippians 2:8). The lion became the lamb. The word became tender flesh (John 1:14). THE SON OF GOD DOFFED HIS INVINCIBLE ARMOR OF DIVINITY, DONNED OUR FRAIL UNIFORM OF FLESH AND BLOOD AND, DRESSED LIKE US, ENTERED THE BATTLEFIELD IN THE WAR AGAINST EVIL. The Son of God became one of us - an equal to us in our humanity - a partner with us in our suffering.

The defortification of the Son of God, also known as the Incarnation, was a most unusual tactic. Unexpected. Surprising. Unorthodox. Counterintuitive (Isaiah 55:8-9). Disarmament on the brink of his battle with evil gobsmacks us. It knocks us off our horse (Acts 9:4). "What the heck is he doing?", we exclaim nonplussed (Isaiah 55:8-9). Father, send us the mighty God who smote the Egyptians not a puny God of flesh and blood. What good is a puny God of flesh and blood? What can a puny God of flesh and blood do for us?

Why did Jesus defortify himself on the brink of battle with evil?

"[F]or my strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9). Weakness was the foil against which his strength was amplified and highlighted and emphasized and accentuated and magnified. The apocalyptic juxtaposition of weakness and strength took place on the road from the Crucifixion to the Resurrection. On the road from the Crucifixion to the Resurrection, an event unique in history took place. In no other place and at no other time on earth or in heaven did Jesus do what he did on the road from the Crucifixion to the Resurrection. He spent the coin of his flesh and blood. With the coin of his flesh and blood, Jesus made a purchase. Jesus purchased for us the gift of forgiveness (Jeremiah 31:31-34)(Luke 23:34 )(Acts 10:43) (Matthew 6:12) (Matthew 18:21-35) (Luke 7:47). The price that Jesus paid to purchase for us the gift of forgiveness was exorbitant - astronomical. The puny God of flesh and blood never paid more for anything else. The size of his payment is irrefutable evidence of the size of his love for us "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends"(John 15:13) (John 12:24). Moreover, that our evil did not extinguish the bonfire of love that burns for us in his most Sacred Heart or reduce its intensity by even the slightest degree tells us in no uncertain terms that his love for us is immutable. His love for us is mysteriously intransigent, inexplicably persistent and radically stubborn (Lamentations 3:22-23) (Jeremiah 31:3) (Psalm 8:4-8). By putting Jesus to the test (Luke 4:12) (Deuteronomy 6:16) on the road from the Crucifixion to the Resurrection, we discovered that the dial that controls his love for us is in his hands not ours. Moreover, it was set to the highest degree and locked in place. Not even our evil could budge it.

The gift of forgiveness (Jeremiah 31:31-34)(Luke 23:34 )(Acts 10:43) (Matthew 6:12) (Matthew 18:21-35) (Luke 7:47) that Jesus purchased for us on the road from the Crucifixion to the Resurrection even though we did not deserve it is the strength that emerged from weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). Forgiveness is not easy. Our instinct is to release the three headed monster of revenge, retaliation and retribution in answer to evil that is done to us. Evil begets evil. Yet, Jesus had the strength to break out of the ineluctable chain of causation by forgiving us. He had the strength to keep the three headed monster locked up in chains in the dungeon of his heart. Instead, he released the Angel of Forgiveness. Through his bloody wounds, Jesus poured the sweet syrup of love in the form of forgiveness into the Valley of Tears to dilute its toxicity in the same way the sugar cubes dilute the bitterness of a cup of bad coffee. By his gentle answer to the evil that we did to him, Jesus revealed to the children of Adam and Eve the identity of God. “The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up” (Matthew 4:16)(2 Peter 1:19). The light of forgiveness (Jeremiah 31:31-34)(Luke 23:34 )(Acts 10:43) (Matthew 6:12) (Matthew 18:21-35) (Luke 7:47) emerged from the darkness of the Crucifixion. In the darkness of the Crucifixion, Jesus was at his weakest. In the light of forgiveness, Jesus showed us the strength of God. Our God’s love for us is humongous in size and immutable in duration. It is off the charts. Our evil is no match for God's love.

What human general has the audacity to defortify himself on the brink of battle? What human general has the strength to forgive his enemies (Matthew 5:43-44) who captured him - who tortured and killed him - who made him suffer and die?

The light of forgiveness (Jeremiah 31:31-34)(Luke 23:34 )(Acts 10:43) (Matthew 6:12) (Matthew 18:21-35) (Luke 7:47) emerged from the darkness of the Crucifixion. “The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up” (Matthew 4:16) (2 Peter 1:19).

You can leave a comment to start a discussion about this post. God is not dead. Indeed, God is very much alive. However, the conversation about God is dead. Killing the conversation about God is tantamount to killing God. The enemies of the Church know this. The Church does not. Can we devote 50% of the conversation to God? Is 50% too much to ask?

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