LIVING THIS SIDE OF THE CROSS: PART VI
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen was one of the most celebrated Catholic priests of the 20th century. From 1930 until 1950 he hosted a radio program called The Catholic Hour, and from 1951 until 1957, he hosted a television show called Life Is Worth Living. As you might suspect of a man of his stature, he often lectured to very large crowds. One time, however, while giving a lecture in Chicago…he encountered a heckler in the audience.
Archbishop Sheen was telling the biblical story of Jonah and the whale. He spoke of how Jonah fled from the call of God, was cast off the side of a ship in a storm, and ended up spending three days in the belly of a whale. That’s when the heckler reared his ugly head. The heckler cried, “It is physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human being!” Sheen was a bit taken aback. He paused for a second, then said, “Well, the Bible says that Jonah was swallowed by a whale.” The heckler responded, “It is physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human being! Its throat is too small!”
Undaunted, Archbishop Sheen replied, “Well, when I get to heaven, I will ask Jonah myself.” The heckler said, “What if Jonah is with the Devil someplace else?” To which Sheen quickly replied, “Then you can ask him!”
That’s the long way of getting around to the questions with which I want to begin this sermon. Presbyterians don’t talk about the Devil very often. Do you think there is a Devil? And if there is, do you think he holds any sway in the world today? Do you think the Devil has any impact on the decisions we make on a daily basis? Keep that thought in mind as we move on.
This is the sixth in a series of sermons entitled, Living This Side of the Cross. The thesis of the series is pretty much summed up in verses 14 and 15 in the 4th chapter of the book of Ephesians. There the Apostle Paul writes, “We must no longer be children tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head…into Christ Jesus, our Lord.” In other words, this is a sermon series on growing up in Christ.
Six weeks ago, we talked about how the church is meant to represent the kingdom of God on earth. We said that the kingdom is here…but not fully here. Thus, could it be that the church we have is exactly what God intended when he created the church? Could it be that the church we have provides the very conditions necessary for growing up in Christ? While we live in a throw-away society these days, perhaps there are some things we shouldn’t throw away. After all, the providence of God means that wherever we have gotten to – whatever we have done – that is precisely where the road to heaven begins.
Five weeks ago we talked about living a worthy life. A worthy life – a life that is truly growing up in Christ – is a life formed in community. Christian maturity develops as we form friendships with the friends of God…not just the friends we prefer. You see, God chooses to act and intervene in the world through us. We see God acting in the world today when we witness the heart-felt convictions of those who serve him.
Two weeks ago, we encountered Paul’s roadmap through the cosmos. He tells us who we really are as Christians. As Christians, we are blessed by God, chosen in Christ, destined for adoption, bestowed grace, lavished redemption and forgiveness, made to know the will of God through Christ, and gathered up to God in the end. We are precious children of God – created in the image of God – and destined for eternal life. Do not let anyone ever tell you otherwise.
Last week, we noted how Paul refers to us as saints. Paul deliberately chooses a word that identifies us not by what we do for God, but rather, by what God does for us. He is retraining our imaginations to understand ourselves not in terms of how we feel about ourselves, and certainly not in terms of how others feel about us, but rather…he is retraining our imaginations to understand how God feels about us. In God’s eyes, we are saints. In God’s eyes, we are holy ones.
Now back to this Devil business. Is there a Devil? And if there is, does he hold any sway in the world today? Do you think the Devil has any impact on the decisions we make on a daily basis? I suspect that in this day and age, we tend to have our doubts.
Frankly, like any competent theologian, I can exegete the Devil out of the Bible. For example, where does the Devil appear in the Old Testament? The first thing you want to say is the Garden of Eden, right? The Devil tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. Truth be told, it was a Serpent who tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. It may be implied that the Serpent is the Devil, but that is never expressly stated.
The first place the Devil actually appears in the Old Testament is in the first book of Chronicles. In chapter 21, verse one, it says: “Satan stood up against Israel, and incited David to number Israel.” So in other words, it was Satan who called for the first census! Now that’s funny! But truth be told, this verse reflects an evolution that had begun to take place in Jewish thought. The word “Satan” comes to replace a Hebrew word which was originally translated, “the anger of the Lord.” In other words, the Jewish people only wanted to associate God with good things in life. The concept of a fallen angel named Satan was developed to account for evil and misfortune.
Then, of course, there’s the book of Job. Supposedly Satan made a deal with God to make Job’s life go awry. Most scholars do not take this story literally. Truth be told, God himself does not come out looking very good in the book of Job if one does take it literally. The point is that mainstream Judaism does not have a concept of the Devil akin to what Christians have.
Of course, in the New Testament, Jesus is tempted by the Devil in the wilderness. The Greek word used for Devil is diabolon. It means literally, slanderer or accuser. Yet the word slanderer can actually be looked at two ways. It can be construed as an outside entity, such as the Devil. Or, it can be construed as an inside entity, such as the evil that lurks within all of us. Like I said, I can exegete the Devil out of the Bible.
But listen to this. I like to practice what is called contemplative prayer. That’s just a fancy way of saying listening prayer. Contemplative prayer has to do with listening for God. Christian mystics have long taught that when one is involved in contemplative prayer, one can actually receive messages from God. The subject of the Devil once came to mind during the course of one of my contemplative prayer sessions. I asked the question, “Is there a Devil?” I immediately sensed the word, “Yes.” So then I asked, “Why?” And immediately, I sensed the words, “That’s not for you to know.”
Now some of you may chalk that up to my vivid imagination, and that’s fine. But for those of us who know God, that sure sounds like God, does it not? While I can exegete the Devil out of the Bible, I still have a sneaking suspicion that there is one. I don’t know why. It makes no sense to me. As hard as it is for us to accept these days, perhaps there are some things we are simply not meant to know.
The Apostle Paul believed there was a Devil. In fact, he goes so far as to say that that’s who the Ephesians were serving before they came to know Christ. In verses one and two of chapter two, he writes, “You he made alive…when you were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.”
Paul’s word for the Devil is the prince of the power of the air. And he says that the spirit of the Devil is at work in the sons of disobedience. Do you understand what he’s saying? Paul is saying that we are serving God OR we are serving the Devil. There doesn’t seem to be any in between here. Either we are serving God, or we are serving the Devil. How does the spirit of the Devil work? The spirit of the Devil is that which leads a person away from God. Ladies and gentlemen, the prince of the power of the air…is alive and well in our world today.
In order to prove that statement, perhaps all I have to do is mention what is being called a zombie attack in Miami. Honestly, never in my life did I ever think I would use the word “zombie” in a sermon. I’m not going to say anything else about it here. The incident was far too gruesome. If you know what I’m talking about, you understand. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go look it up. The prince of the power of the air is alive and well in our world today.
But that’s too blatant an illustration. It enables us to point a finger at something and say, “Look at that,” or, “Look at them!” But it’s my job to help us realize that when we point a finger at someone else, there are always three fingers pointing back at us. How is the prince of the power of the air alive and well in our own worlds today? How is the spirit of the Devil leading us away from God? I think the Devil is really quite subtle these days.
For example, there is a restaurant that recently opened up by The Movies at Meadville called Timber Creek. Now since we are supposedly in a recession, I wondered how it would fare…or even how it might affect business at The Montana Rib and Chop House. I drove past the restaurants on a Friday night not long ago. The Timber Creek parking lot was full, the Montana Rib and Chop House parking lot was full, and the Movies at Meadville parking lot was full, as well. What recession, right?
In the meantime, church attendance has plummeted all across the country. Churches are having to trim back their budgets, which means cutting back on mission. Why, we can hardly find enough people to fill our slates of elders, deacons and trustees! People seem to have all the time and money in the world to pay for their own entertainment, but they come up woefully short when it comes to the things of God. Oh yes…the prince of the power of the air is alive and well in our world today. The spirit of the Devil is having a field day leading us away from God. And the saddest part of all…is that we don’t even seem to realize it.
Yet it is to sinners – it is to sinners like us – that God sent his only begotten Son. As Paul notes in verses four and five, “But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us – even when we were dead through our sin – made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved.”
By grace we have been saved. What thus remains for us…is to learn how to live in that grace. Of course, that’s easier said than done. Consider the silent reflection portion of your bulletins this morning. Eugene Peterson writes:
In fifty years of being a pastor, my most difficult assignment continues to be the task of developing a sense among the people I serve of the soul-transforming implications of grace – a comprehensive, foundational reorientation from living anxiously by my wits and muscle, to living effortlessly in the world of God’s active presence. The prevailing North American culture is – to all intents and purposes – a context of persistent denial of grace.
So how do we learn to live in God’s grace? Let me take a stab at what that looks like. Imagine a swimming pool filled with water. As you walk into the water, you immediately sink to the bottom. It seems as though there is no possible way this water could support your body. But it can. It can if you trust it to support your body. So you lean forward, lift up your legs, and let yourself go. You reach out with ease and confidence…and you find yourself gliding through the water. The water can support your body…if you let yourself go and trust it to do so.
Perhaps living in God’s grace is a little bit like swimming. We can’t see God’s grace. It seems as though there is no possible way that the grace of God could support us. It’s so much easier to rely on our own grit and determination. We have to lean forward, lift up our legs, and let ourselves go. As someone once said, “Let go, and let God.” And when we do that, we will find ourselves gliding through life on the grace of God.
What does that look like in real life? We’ll get to that in weeks to come. Amen.
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