From the days of John the Baptist until now,
the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence,
and the violent are taking it by force.
In what sense do the violent take the Kingdom? We know that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Kingdom, whose keys were entrusted to Peter (see Matthew 16:18). We know that the Kingdom is not only able to endure great violence, but it is precisely through such endurance, as represented in death of John the Baptist, in the testimony of the martyrs, and especially in the crucifixion of the Lord of glory, that the power of the Kingdom is unleashed. In the face of such testimony, the violent themselves are given the opportunity to reflect and repent. They look on him whom they have pierced (see Zechariah 12:10) and their hardened hearts have the opportunity to be softened and melted.
We can not only endure violence for the sake of the Kingdom but there is also a sense in which we must be violent for it. For we do have within ourselves a fallen nature that resists the law of our minds and tries to make us captive to sin (see Romans 7:22). Insofar as we must resist tendencies which will otherwise be our defaults we ourselves are violent. This violence is the asceticism that puts God's will before lower and less considered desires. Yet we cannot prevail or even survive in this struggle ourselves. We need one who is stronger to bind our foe (see Luke 11:22). In this struggle Paul himself asked who could deliver him. But he immediately answered, "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (see Romans 7:25).
If we look too much at ourselves, at our own abilities, at our own strength, we will understand why Israel was called a worm and a maggot. But like Israel, we are not meant to look to ourselves for strength. We are not meant to even hear such words that may be necessary to put us in our place. Rather, we are meant to trust in the Lord.
I, the LORD, will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
I will open up rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the broad valleys;
I will turn the desert into a marshland,
and the dry ground into springs of water.
Like Paul there is a sense in which we must pommel our body and subdue it (see First Corinthians 9:27). We must not concede to sin, even an inch. But Paul knows that which we must learn. He knows that he can only succeed with the strength he has in Christ (see Philippians 4:13).
There is urgency here, because Elijah has already come to prepare the way. The Messiah is near. By the help of the Most High may we be found ready.
Let them make known to men your might
and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
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