Church militant, Christ triumphant
The geopolitical activities in the world concern many nations and often are tied to deep religious belief. Among Christians, a spectrum of convictions on international affairs exists, especially in regard to holy lands of antiquity. While the watchful mind is programmed to take heed to rockets and gunfire, this phenomenon draws the Christian’s concentration away from the inner battle. The Christian Church is more concerned with unconquered domains of the heart than it is with the physical boundary lines of nation states.
The inner life of spiritual watchfulness is easily distracted by the political agendas at work. External forces in the world pull on our sense of justice and cause us to be shaken from the spiritual center of our faith. It is this spiritual center that maintains our love for all mankind and guards us from any hatred against anyone. It is this spiritual Light that keeps fear and darkness from entering our souls.
The historic lands in the old testament have spiritual significance for the Christian when illumined by the life of Christ. The Samaritan woman at the well brought up the geopolitical agenda of the day while trying to divert attention away from her own inner turmoil. “The jews say the place we must worship is in Jerusalem” (John 4:20). Christ gently entered the hidden places of her soul and illumined them as her Messiah. “I who speak to you – I am He”. As legend has it, this Saint when went on to become a great evangelist and martyr in the faith.
St. Photini, “enlightened one”, was the name given to her by the apostles. She moved to Carthage to proclaim the gospel of Christ and eventually, along with her children, faced the tyrannical Nero. When Nero demanded they worship His gods of violence and decadence, they resisted and in so doing conquered the power of his dark kingdom.
When we are enlightened by the Light of Christ, we understand His words when he says, “the kingdom of God is within you”. It is this spiritual kingdom that is not advanced by physical violence, but advances by the blood of the saints, those who have testified to the Eternal, the True, the Divine. Christians are called to be fully given to Christ, that Christ might live in them and so overcome the world.
Joshua Ben Nun 