Ties Up the Strong Man

Ties Up the Strong Man

January 28, 2013
Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church

But now once for all he has appeared at the end of the ages to take away sin by his sacrifice. Just as it is appointed that human beings die once, and after this the judgment, so also Christ, offered once to take away the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to take away sin but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him. Hebrews 9:27-28

But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house. Mark 3:27

Piety

Jesus presents for us the perfect union with the Father and the Spirit. Help us reflect that unity with our sisters and brothers in the church as we come together to “tie up the strong man” so that His message of love in action for all may resonate through the land.

Study

Over the past two thousand years, there have been 35 people named "doctors" of the church. Today is the Memorial for one of the greatest -- St. Thomas Aquinas. Thomas is one of the great theologians in the church -- however, if we were to user recent scripture as a guide, one would not have thought that this Jesus of Nazareth would amount to much.

In the readings Saturday, Jesus was being crowded out of his own house and his family concluded that "he is out of his mind." Today, the leaders of the temple remark that Jesus is possessed by the devil. Will this carpenter's son amount to anything worthy of the writings of St. Thomas?

Jesus intends to overthrow the "strong man." Some will see this as a revolt against the power of evil in the world. The Pharisees understand that this is the continuing threat to their own power, too.

These days, with the popularity of the movie Lincoln -- we also have a chance to reflect on the meaning of the term "house divided." Not only did it refer to Jesus' family and his temple community, but President Lincoln also used the term to describe the predicament that the nation found itself 150 years ago.

Action

Jesus defined the battle he faced as with a house divided. Today, we consider the Catholic Church to be the general and universal expression of faith handed down by Jesus to St. Peter. Since the Great Schism, the church has eastern and western branches -- Orthodox and Roman churches. In many ways, the church remains a house divided.

If a non-Catholic attends Mass, they are only welcome if their beliefs support the views of the Church. If a Catholic finds her or himself in a Coptic Orthodox, Greek Orthodox or Russian Orthodox Church, the communion table there is not open to us.  We have a long way to go before we get back to a universal holy general church for all. Pray for unity in the church.