Wisdom 18:6-9 / Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19 / Luke 12:32-48
Nowadays the word “security” is used not just for big establishments and organizations.
Security has been implemented in the things that we use in daily life like computers and mobile phones, in ATMs and internet banking, in cars and offices and shops.
Besides going all the way to national security, there is no doubt that first and foremost, we must take care of our domestic security.
Gone are those “kampong” days when we don’t need to lock our doors and the neighbours will keep an eye for us.
At home we have sophisticated electronic security systems like security cameras and fingerprint sensor-and-lock system, etc.
Nonetheless, some old-fashioned security systems can still do the job, as this story will show us.
From the shadows in the distance, the man watched as the family packed their bags in the car, locked the doors and then drove off for their holidays. The man waited till it was dark and then he emerged from the shadows and he went to the front door and rang the door-bell of the house.
When there was no answer, the man, a seasoned burglar picked the lock of the front door and got in. Then just to be sure that no one was in the house, he called out, "Is there anyone in?"
Hearing nothing, he was about to move on, when he was stunned by a voice, "I see you, and He sees you!" The burglar panicked and called out, "Who's that?" And again, the voice came back, "I see you, and He sees you!"
Terrified, the burglar switched on his torchlight and pointed it towards the direction of the voice. He was relieved to see that it was a parrot in a cage and it recited once again, "I see you, and He sees you!"
The burglar laughed to himself and said, "Oh, shut up stupid bird.
Anyway, who is this “He”? Is it another bird friend of yours?"
And the parrot replied, "He is right below me!" And the burglar shined his torch at what was below the parrot's cage. And there he saw this “He”, a huge Doberman, looking at the burglar with those eyes, and growling. And then, the parrot said, "He sees you, and He will get you."
Yes, we all need some kind of security against theft and burglary and other threats. As Jesus said in the gospel: You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what hour the burglar would come, he would not have let anyone break through the wall of his house.
But in the beginnings of Israel as the People of God, it was God Himself who broke through the walls of their enemies. When they were oppressed and under slavery in Egypt, God worked through Moses to break the chains of slavery and broke down the walls that imprisoned the Israelites and set them free from bondage.
The climax of this event was the parting of the Red Sea where the Israelites crossed into safety and the Egyptians perished in the waters of the sea.
In a mighty and marvelous way, God showed that He was their Saviour. He is their only security and He will fight their battles for them.
We fast-forward from that Exodus event to 700BC, when Jerusalem was laid siege by the ferocious Assyrian army that threated to exterminate them, just as how they had exterminated the other nations earlier.
Sennacherib, the king of Assyria sent a letter to taunt king Hezekiah of Judah. At this taunt, Hezekiah was crushed, recognizing his hopeless position. In great grief, Hezekiah took Sennacherib's letter to the Temple, spread it out for the Lord God to see, and prayed over it. The Lord God responded by inspiring the prophet Isaiah to write a long poem about Sennacherib's defeat. The Lord promised that Sennacherib would be unable to attack the city.
That night, a plague struck the Assyrian army surrounding Jerusalem, and 185,000 Assyrian soldiers died. Sennacherib, spooked by this, withdrew from Jerusalem. Not long after, he was assassinated.
Once again, the Lord God showed that He was the security of His people as long as they had faith in Him and trusted in Him alone.
And what God has done for His people, He is still doing whenever His people is under a threat.
We may remember the 1986 People Power Revolution in the Philippines. It was a peaceful and non-violent revolution as the people, together with priests and nuns knelt in front of tanks and armoured vehicles and prayed the Rosary.
We may also remember that on the 7th Sept 2013, Pope Francis led a global prayer vigil at St. Peter’s Square against a military attack on Syria and for peace in Syria. God heard the prayer and the attack was averted.
And in this current atmosphere of fear and tension of terrorist attacks, with security on high alert, we the Church has a mission.
We must be dressed for action and have our lamps lighted. Prayer is to be our action so that the light and power of prayer will scatter the darkness of violence and terror.
Just as Moses and Hezekiah called upon God, just as the people of the Philippines and Pope Francis called upon God to intervene and to dispel the threat, let us do likewise.
All the security measures and safeguards can only be effective when we call upon God to be our security and to fight our battles for us.
If we don’t stand by God, we will not stand at all. But when we stand by God in prayer, then there is no need to be afraid. God will stand by us to protect us and to fight our battles for us.