To belong.
Not too long ago, I read a book to Mia and Fiona called Words on Fire by Jennifer Nielsen. (Insert every tear; the book was fabulous). The story follows a young Lithuanian girl in the 19th Century who learns her parents are book smugglers after Cossack soldiers storm then burn down her home. She takes and conceals the book her parents were transporting just moments before they are arrested to a small underground library at her mother's insistence. The young girl, who was never allowed to attend a day of school in her life, had to quickly decide for herself the power of words…
As a background note, between 1864 and 1904, the Russian Czar banned books printed in the Lithuanian Latin alphabet to suppress Lithuanian culture, history, and their Catholic faith. Soon, speaking in Lithuanian became a crime, men were prohibited from entering seminary, and traditional Catholic texts were banned. In response, brave men and women smuggled books into and throughout the Lithuanian speaking areas of the Russian Empire to preserve their people's identity.
Of course, my girls had many questions about why books would be banned. I have read to them starting from their earliest moments; books are a window to the world, and they have long gazed from its ledge. I think we all take for granted the exceptional power of words and how they sew together the fabric of a people. Centuries of history and tradition, joys and sufferings, prayers and worship, love and loss, victory and defeat, placed on paper for future generations to remember. It is all a part of a beautiful tapestry that tells the story of a family — who they are, where they have been, and where they are going.
It is hard to verbalize to a 5 and 8-year-old why anyone would want to take away something so precious as the gift of belonging — heritage and family. It's hard to explain to children because it's hard to understand as adults. Enemies seek to destroy that which unites a people…they seek to destroy anything that says you belong.
In today's first reading, we are reminded of the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem in 586 BC. We read that they worked to strip the Jews of their identity, "Their enemies burnt the house of God, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, set all its palaces afire…" (2 Chronicles 26:31). The Babylonians wanted to eliminate God's Word from the lives of the Jews - that which told them who and whose they were.
The Israelites continued to face foreign rule and oppression; over time, they became dispersed and scattered, and they longed for restoration and the unity of a people. From the ends of the earth, prophets and saints of the Old Testament smuggled the truth across enemy lines, sharing the story of Israel and the promises of Yahweh. They had faith in the Word of God that the story of Israel and the promises to their family would be fulfilled. They belonged to God's chosen people, and they refused to forget.
This Lent, we are preparing our hearts to receive the gift of salvation from the Word made Flesh. The Word of God, Christ Jesus, the Author of all things, the fulfillment of the promises of Yahweh. Through Christ, we become a part of the story of Israel; we become adopted sons and daughters of God joining this sacred family; and we hear the words we ache for… you belong. It is through Christ Jesus that we understand who we are, where we have been, and where we are going.
Today, my friends, the enemy still seeks to destroy anything that says you belong. The evil one wants nothing more than to drown out the Word of God in our hearts that sings His Fatherhood over His beloved children. The enemy steps into our weakness and our vulnerability and sells us a bag of lies that we are not worthy of this sacred belonging. He hisses in our ear that we are not good enough and points a finger in both accusation and deceit. The enemy wants us to forget who and whose we are.
With the same precision as the Lithuanian people, we must systematically identify and overcome the enemy seeking to suppress the Word of God in our lives. We must ask ourselves, at what moments do we hear the lies of the evil one over the Lord's words of Spirit and life? Is it when we get busy that we allow the enemy's voice to gain volume? Has he coiled around a specific issue in our lives? Does he wait for us in our grief, our anger, our loneliness, our relationships, our sin?
We must identify those places in our hearts where he tells us that we are not good enough, unworthy, and don't belong and take it straight to our Father. We must ask Jesus to hold us closer in those moments of weakness precisely where and when the enemy encourages us to pull away. We must move so close to Him that there is no room for anything but His Word. In this battle, the only power the enemy has is the power we give him.
The Lithuanian people risked imprisonment or execution to protect the words of man. What are we willing to risk for the Word of God? We must risk doing the hard work. Tearing into those scarred and bloodied areas of our life where a battle still rages, we declare Christ sovereign — declare His Word as the only Word with power over our life. Practically, this will involve spending time with Jesus in silence. Sometimes, we are aware of the areas where we allow the enemy to have a voice, but often, we have blindspots where, like a trojan horse, the enemy slips in before we realize he's there chiding and baiting. Ask Jesus to step into these spaces and allow Him to hold and protect you. Ask Him to bind and release the enemy's cheap lies. Ask for the ear of your heart to hear His words of Spirit and life and let them burn inside you.
This Lent, as we walk through the desert, let Christ be the only Word we hear, the Word that says you belong.
Continue to Pray, Grow, & Serve with your children through the eighth, ninth, and tenth Stations of the Cross. Get all 14 beautiful Stations of the Cross, here!
