“A fight is going on inside me,” the Cherokee Indian said to his grandson. “It is a terrible fight between two wolves. One wolf is evil. He is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, self-pity, guilt, resentment, false pride and ego. The other wolf is good. He is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, benevolence, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked the old man, “Which wolf will win?” The old man simply replied, “Whichever one you feed.”
There is a spiritual battle raging. In Acts we hear about a real battle as the chief priests thought they defeated the Jesus movement when they crucified him and the jailing of the apostles. Yet the promise of divine presence given to the apostles, at the time of their commissioning, secured their divine release from jail and just stirs up greater jealousy on the part of the high priests. The high priests have forgotten the experience and lesson of the Exodus. Where Pharaoh apposed God’s will to let his people go and its collective results.
Throughout history the blood of the martyrs like St. Stanislaus whom we remember today. Stanislaus, who was named Bishop of Krakow in 1072 denounced King Boleslaus’ cruelties and injustices and especially his kidnapping of the beautiful wife of a nobleman. When Stanislaus excommunicated the King and stopped services at the Cathedral when Boleslaus entered, Boleslaus himself killed Stanislaus while the Bishop was saying Mass in a chapel outside the city in 1079.[1]
Despite the high priests attempts to squelch the growing Jesus movement the angel of the Lord frees the apostles and tells them to, “Go and take your place in the temple area and tell the people everything about this life.” (Acts 5:20) A life of belief in the risen Jesus, the Christ.
God delivers all those who believe they will be delivered. The secret requirement in this promise is we need to acknowledge the need to be delivered in order to receive it. Whether we are battling literal bondage or symbolic imprisonment, God will come to our aid if we ask for help. The Gospel message is of the ultimate delivery, that Jesus is both the way to freedom from death and the way to heaven. Jesus is the deliverer. Whether our battles are physical, emotional, or spiritual only Jesus can truly set us free. We only need to ask to receive his light (the wolf that is good). Those who cannot believe and choose remain in darkness (the wolf that is evil).
Now is our Easter time, a time to see God’s Son as the source of salvation. As we approach this sacred feast, let us determine which wolf will we feed.
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