Jeremiah 33:14-16/1 Thessalonians 3:12–4:2/Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

Today we start Advent which means we also start a new Church year, and the main way that affects us is that instead of hearing the Gospel of Mark, we will now hear the Gospel of Luke.  Luke was a doctor, a physician by trade, so he is very interested in healing through the power of the Holy Spirit.  

Luke wasn’t one of the 12 Apostles, but his healing descriptions are so detailed and his account of Jesus is so full that Luke was thought to be one of the early disciples. Besides the Gospel, he gives us a full account of the early Church as the writer of the Acts of the Apostles.

When we consider a scripture set, either from a specific writer like Luke, or a set or readings for Sunday, I find it helpful to look for themes, word themes or a theme of thought. Something that really jumped out to me in today’s readings was the word “strength.”  

First we heard it used in that second reading, St. Paul said to the Thesselonians, “May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, so as to strengthen your hearts, to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones.” (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13)

And then Jesus said, “pray that you have the strength.”  So that “strength” theme is present today, but I realized that is a pretty consistent theme from Luke, consider Luke 13 which says “Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” He answered them,  “Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.” (Luke 13:23-24) What does it mean to be strong enough?

This question sent me down kind of a rabbit trail where I just tried to find every use of the words “strength” and “strong” and “power.”  I feel like “power” goes right with these, and I found at least 25 references to these 3 words just in the Gospel of Luke.  

I would love to go through them all, but we don’t have near enough time, but I put them at the end of this homily. What became very clear to me is that there is a competition, the power of God versus the power of evil, which makes sense with our understanding of needing strength or power, it is because there is some sort of competition, good versus evil, God versus Satan.  

We are caught in the middle of this competition, the competition is actually for our souls, and this is why we need to strengthen our hearts. This competition isn’t anything to be afraid of or worried about - of course the evil spirits have power, but the Holy Spirit has more power, and we have access to this power from God which will strengthen us to make it through the world and into Heaven.

At the end of Luke’s Gospel, we read that after the Resurrection, when the gates of Heaven had been opened, Jesus was with His disciples and Luke says, “Then [Jesus] opened their minds to understand the scriptures. And he said to them, “Thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And [behold] I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.””

“Clothed with power from on high.”  This is Jesus’ promise to us, that we can have His power, we can be clothed with His strength. So how do we get His strength, practically?  

Well, Jesus said, “pray that you have the strength.”  This could be taken a lot of different ways, in fact before I went and did all of this research I was going to talk about how we need to pray, especially in Adoration or in the Church with Jesus, and we need to fast, not just from food but also from sleep, and we need to read the Bible more, the scriptures bring us strength as well.  These are all good ways we can pray for strength.

These things are like exercises or working out for strength and power, in a sports obsessed culture we can all understand that, really putting in the work like athletes do, which we have to do too.

But after doing this research, I want to recommend something different, here in Advent we think a lot about gifts, so my recommendation is to pray for the gifts of the Holy Spirit, to pray for the strength of the Holy Spirit, to be “clothed with power from” God. 

Hey, if we are really in a competition, we need to put on the right armor, the right gear for the battle, the armor of God which we can read from Ephesians 6:10-18.  Paul says:  

“Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits... Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all [the] flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and supplication, pray at every opportunity in the Spirit.”

“Pray at every opportunity in the Spirit.” Praying “in the Spirit” is a technical term for praying with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  This is why we need to ask for more gifts.

And yes, we receive the Holy Spirit at Baptism and Confirmation, but just like Caitlyn Clark didn’t start by shooting logo threes, we don’t start with the big gifts either.  Catilyn started by shooting layups, then moved to free throws and such and much later, as she got stronger, she was draining logo 3’s.  As we get stronger we need to ask for more gifts of the Spirit.

Of course we are strengthened each week by the Eucharist, but as the battle gets more difficult, as the competition around us gets more challenging, we need to work harder to compete. There are different levels of competition, we know that from our experience in sports, it’s different playing as kids versus playing in the Olympics.  And if we are going to compete at the highest level, striving to enter that narrow door, we need to do everything we can.

So a very simple, practical way, is to ask for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  We have these Healing Nights every first Thursday at St. Joseph’s in Bellevue, so this week at 7pm.  Healing is through the power of the Holy Spirit, so you can always come and just ask for an increase in gifts, an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Or if that doesn’t work, same thing happens at Nativity in Dubuque every week at 6pm.

As we enter this Advent season, remember God loves us as a good Father who wants to give us good gifts. God especially wants to give us gifts of the Holy Spirit to strengthen us, but it’s up to us to make the effort, even just to ask.

Scripture references in the Gospel of Luke to “strong” “strength” and “power”

Luke 1:34-37 But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.”

Luke 2:39-40 When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

Luke 4:6-8 The devil said to him, “I shall give to you all this power and their glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish. All this will be yours, if you worship me.” Jesus said to him in reply, “It is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.’”

Luke 4:14-15 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.

Luke 4:31 Jesus then went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee. He taught them on the sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching because he spoke with authority. In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out in a loud voice, “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet! Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down in front of them and came out of him without doing him any harm. They were all amazed and said to one another, “What is there about his word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” And news of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region.

Luke 5:17 One day as Jesus was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem, and the power of the Lord was with him for healing.

Luke 6:17-19 And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured. Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all.

Luke 8:46-48 But Jesus said, “Someone has touched me; for I know that power has gone out from me.” When the woman realized that she had not escaped notice, she came forward trembling. Falling down before him, she explained in the presence of all the people why she had touched him and how she had been healed immediately. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Luke 9:1-6 He summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal [the sick]. He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there. And as for those who do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them.” Then they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the good news and curing diseases everywhere.

Luke 10:17-22 The seventy[-two] returned rejoicing, and said, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.” Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power ‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” At that very moment he rejoiced [in] the Holy Spirit and said, “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

Luke 10:25-28 There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” He said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” He replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”

Luke 11:14-23 He was driving out a demon [that was] mute, and when the demon had gone out, the mute person spoke and the crowds were amazed. Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that [I] drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. “When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

Luke 12:5 “I shall show you whom to fear. Be afraid of the one who after killing has the power to cast into Gehenna; yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one.”

Luke 13:23-24 “Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” He answered them,  “Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.” 

Luke 16:3 The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.

Luke 21:12-19 “Before all this happens, however, they will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. It will lead to your giving testimony. Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”

Luke 21:25-28 “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.”

Luke 21:34-36 “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Luke 22:53 Day after day I was with you in the temple area, and you did not seize me; but this is your hour, the time for the power of darkness.”

Luke 22:69 But from this time on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”

Luke 24:45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. And he said to them, “Thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And [behold] I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”