Rev. Stephen E.
Stults
St. Paul’s Anglican
Church
3rd Sunday after Trinity 2014
July 6, 2014
I Peter 5:8-9: “Be sober,
be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about,
seeking whom he may devour, whom
withstand stedfast in your faith, knowing that the same sufferings are
accomplished in your brethren who are in the world.”
Our Epistle selection for the day brings forth
an interesting question… Is the idea of objective evil a myth, or is it truth? The
answers will vary. Among those who deem themselves as secular intellectuals,
yet whom are devoid of a lively faith, the answer one might receive is one of
mild incredulity or even derision.
“What,” your associates might exclaim, “You believe in evil as an
objective reality? You actually buy the idea that there’s some sort of sinister
supernatural being as your spiritual enemy?
My, my, how quaint, how beautifully primitive and simplistic!” On the other hand, among those of faith, the
answer may be as St. Peter, that “your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion,
walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”
So, brethren, which is it? Do we, as 21st
century Anglicans believe that the Devil really exists, that there really is a
supernatural enemy named Satan? Or, is he just a myth, cooked up by monastic
Medieval minds?
That answer
may hinge on your view of the validity and veracity of the Holy Bible. If, for example, you believe that the Bible
is the inspired word of God, you probably have no problem accepting the concept
that Satan exists. If, on the other
hand, you take a more relativistic view of the Bible, or you hold it to be
mainly myth, especially that part about the resurrection, you will certainly
scoff at the outlandish idea that there is a supernatural adversary in pursuit
of your soul.
So, there we
have it. Again, perhaps our more
“enlightened” friends will chuckle at the simplicity of our view, the life of
faith. So be it. To my mind, faith makes life easier, cleaner, and certainly
more comprehensible. It does explain why
things are as they are to a great degree, and it helps one to make better sense
of nonsensical situations
Simply, our
worldview is this: we have a loving God and Creator, who made all things and loves
all things to an infinite degree. This
being has expressed himself to us as a tripartite Person consisting of God the
Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. His Creation is good. Yet, for some hidden and mysterious reason,
evil entered into our world through the machinations of a fallen angel,
Lucifer. Again, for some divine and
mysterious reason, this same angel led a revolt in Heaven, as detailed in the
book of Daniel. Here’s an important point: God Himself did not fight against
this fallen angel, but delegated that task to the Archangel Michael, who then
led an army of faithful angels to defeat, evict, and humiliate Lucifer. His fate: to be sentenced to the nether
regions of the Earth, and to remain in this temporal realm until God the Father
sees fit to change his situation.
This story
from God’s Holy Word underscores a mightily important point. That point is that no matter how grievous
evil is, and despite the titanic amount of suffering it causes, evil is in no
way, shape, or form nearly as powerful as good. The Universe in general and the
Earth in particular, are both inherently good, because they were made by God.
Here’s the
catch, however. The Earth still labors
under her ancient curse, applied when our First Parents fell from grace. That
is why we have briars, and thistles, insect pests, and things that bite and
scratch us. It’s why Nature is so
brutal, and why we too must kill in order to eat. It’s also why life is
basically so tough, at its core.
How does this
help us to understand the nature of evil in this world? How does it help to
combat the chief objection to Christianity for many; namely, why does a loving
God allow so much suffering in His world?
How and why does He allow it to a happen? In short, how could He?
This priest
knows that all of us here have either thought this thought, or been asked this
question by enemies of Christianity. We certainly don’t have the answer, except
to say this: God is a god of order, and His processes are inherently logical
and orderly. If, in the first instance
when sin and evil entered his Creation, he pronounced a curse on it, so it is.
If, as part of that curse, Man could follow the darker, more sinister side of
existence, exemplified by Lucifer’s rebellion, so be it. Finally, and
lamentably, if chaos, suffering, death, and horrible human behavior springs
from this, sadly, so be it. In short, God does not cause suffering, death, or
even damnation. Our inherent fallen human nature takes care of that….
Yet, it gets
worse…if our own fallen natures weren’t bad enough; they are actually aided and
abetted by that spiritual criminal and rebel, Lucifer, known in this world as
Satan. This, as simplistic, Medieval, superstitious, or just plain silly as it
sounds to our worldly friends, is the real spiritual truth here. If one ignores it, it accrues to one’s own
spiritual peril.
So, what of
it? Are we just flotsam and jetsam on the spiritual sea? Are we humans
just spiritual “cannon fodder” on the
battleground between good and evil?
Far from it.
Rather than being just passive objects of temptation, we are major actors in
this drama. We actually have the ability
to affect our outcome, and even the nature of the world around us. We take up
the shield of faith, we put on the breastplate of righteousness, and we don the
helmet of salvation. Most importantly,
we seize the Sword of the Spirit. Then,
as St. Peter tells us, we are to resist Satan, steadfast in the faith.
How? What power do we little Christians actually
have at our fingertips?
We have the
greatest power imaginable, the Name of Jesus.
When a Christian prayerfully invokes the name of Jesus with unshakeable
faith, miraculous things happen. The sick are cured, the lame walk, the blind
see, and the satanic forces are dispelled. At the name of Jesus, they recoil in horror,
fear, and loathing. They quit the battlefield, dispirited and weakened. You see, the satanic forces know they are
defeated. They know, deep in their devilish
beings, that they must lose, eventually. As Martin Luther once wrote about
Satan, “for lo! His doom is sure. One little word shall fell him…”
That word,
Jesus, is the one to whom we Christians owe eternal thanks and praise, not only
for our salvation, but for the help we receive here and now. Thanks be to
Christ, we can resist the spiritual foes that afflict us... Then, when the spiritual heaviness is over
and we once again begin to feel light in the Lord, we should look up and say,
“Thanks are to God!”
AMEN
