4 January 2023
Memorial of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Religious
According to the first epistle of John, chapter 3, the Son of God was revealed in order to destroy the works of the Devil. We do not know much about the Devil, but we do know, from the same passage in scripture, that he sinned from the beginning. In other words, the Devil is a being who is capable of sinning, and, therefore, he is a person with free will. The reason that Jesus came to Earth was not to destroy the Devil himself, but to destroy the works of the Devil, which include sin and the temptation to sin.
Although the Devil is a shadowy and dangerous figure, we do not need to be afraid of him or try to avoid him at all costs. Recall how the Israelites refused to enter the promised land because they were afraid to encounter the Anakim, shadowy and dangerous figures. Moses told them: “Have no dread or fear of them. The LORD, your God, who goes before you, is the one who will fight for you” (Deuteronomy 1:29-30). The Israelites, though, were stubborn in their cowardice. Fearing the Anakim, they neglected to obey God’s commandment to enter the promised land. The result: greater suffering far from home.
“The children of God and the children of the Devil are made plain; no one who fails to act in righteousness belongs to God, nor anyone who does not love his brother” (1 John 3:10). When we join ourselves with God’s Son, we become children of God with him. Then it falls to us, like him, to destroy the works of the Devil: sin, the temptation to sin. Let us not be afraid to do so.