As we sing the Gloria at the beginning of mass,
I know what Moses meant when he said to Joshua choose certain men. God did not
gift me with the best singing voice. I am out of tune and my tone is
flat. But, during the Gloria I am surrounded by beautiful and joyful
voices singing praise and glory to God.
First there is the entire Church community
lifting their voice in praise to glorify God. To the left of Father is Ava, our
altar server, who has a beautiful voice. To the right is our Cantor and
musicians (Cathy, Jennifer, and Daniel) talented and gifted with wonderful
voices. And next to me is Father Paul. I will say he sings better than I do.
Every week, I fight a battle of tone and tune to
make a joyful noise to the LORD. I am blessed because my community loves me
anyway.
Moses told Joshua to gather certain men to
prepare for battle with the enemy who had come to wage war against Israel.
What enemy do we fight?
Some thing or someone or some circumstance is
probably waging war against each of us. It attacks day and night. It hits with
fear, uncertainty, or pain. This battle is not from God. It is the enemy
waging war against us.
It may be a financial battle. Maybe I'm in over my
head with bills and expenses. I've lost my job. Medical bills are piling up.
Collection agencies are calling and calling and calling.
I may be an emotional battle. Life is not where
I want it to be. Maybe there is a marital crisis or a breakup or a divorce.
Maybe loneliness attacks. We question who we are and why we are and where we
are in life.
Maybe the battle is with health issues. The
attack is cancer or heart problems or dementia or aging. It is our health or
the health of our spouse, children, parents, or friends.
There are so many things that attack us and
those we love. There is so much and so many that wage war against us. So we
listen to the words of scripture.
Moses tells Joshua to prepare himself for battle
by picking out certain men. Moses is telling Joshua to surround himself with
people of faith. And, Moses stood above the battle field with his arms
raised, praying over Joshua and those men. As long as Moses held his arms up in
prayer, the Israelites were winning. When he grew tired and his arms fell, the
enemy was winning.
But, Moses had surrounded himself with certain
people - Aaron and Hur, men of faith and priests of God. When Moses became
weary and his prayers and arms fell to fatigue. Aaron and Hur held him up, one
on each side. They joined Moses in prayer to give him strength. And,
Moses was able to pray without ceasing.
In the battle against the things that wage war
against us, we should surround ourselves with certain people of faith. Using a
term started by our protestant brothers and sisters, surround ourselves with
prayer warriors.
These are the warriors who (as told in Timothy)
will help us to remain faithful to what we have learned and believe. In this,
we have the two great things to prepare ourselves for a battle against the
enemy. These are faith in Jesus Christ and the scriptures inspired by
God. By knowing these things we will be equipped for every good
work.
Know the strength and power of prayer. Know
the love of Jesus Christ. Our armament is prayer. Our shield is the love
of Christ. Our help is from the LORD who made heaven and earth our defender and
our protection.
In these, we are ready for battle. Most battles
will be long hard fights. Be persistent in faith and prayer, whether it is
convenient or inconvenient. Pray when rested. Pray when tired. Pray when time
is abundant time and pray when time is rushed. Be surrounded with certain
people to hold us up and strengthen our faith and prayers. Surround ourselves
with prayer warriors.
Scripture tells us that God’s will is not our
will.” And “God’s ways are not our ways.” Our prayers are not to change God’s
will; but to prove God’s will. And, God’s will is that we know him and love
him. By God’s will, we know God’s mercy.
Most importantly, pray without ceasing.
And, the LORD God who loves us will hear the
prayer of His chosen ones (certain people, people of faith, prayer warriors)
who call upon him night and day. God will see that justice is done, if, He
finds faith in those prayers.
That is why we surround ourselves with certain
people of faith; people persistent in faith and prayer. People, who will hold
us up, support our faith and what we believe and have learned when we grow
weary.
Friends this is a call for us to have that
faith. It is a call to teach our families the strength of persistent faith and
prayer. Pray for those who battle the enemy. Pray for our families and
community. Pray for the Church.
Be prayer warriors. Be a certain people of faith
that fights battles for our own. Pray without ceasing.
Pray for me. I will always pray for you.
Be good, be holy and preach the gospel by the
way you live your life and love one another. Amen.
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