A Easter 7 RCL

May 4, 2008

 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11

"Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ's sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you.

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen".

When I get done at the Macklyn House with the worship service that I do there each Sunday, I often go over to Curry Good Sam to see the people over there. Sometimes if the person scheduled to do the service at Good Sam doesn’t show up, then I do a service for them as well. Recently, when I was over there, a woman was telling about her daughter. "She calls herself Christian, but her church doesn’t even believe in the devil," the woman told me. Rather than get into a long discussion with her about the devil and how her daughter could easily be Christian and view the devil as a metaphorical personification of evil, I smiled and told her, "Jesus certainly spoke of the devil as if he were a real person." See, that woman didn’t want hear about differing views of evil. For her the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.

And why shouldn’t she believe this. After all, that is what we heard in our second lesson this morning: "Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith…"

I have a tendency to view the references to the devil in Scripture as metaphorical. This does not mean that I do not believe in evil and sin. It is obvious to me that we live in a fallen, imperfect world where people sin and evil is committed. But I usually see Satan as the personification of evil rather than an entity that serves as the catalyst for sinful acts by putting thoughts of temptation into people’s minds. That sounds like some sort of boogeyman that is designed to put fear into our hearts. "Look out! Satan is coming to devour you!" I’m not going for it. Jesus does not want us to cultivate a spirit of fear. Jesus wants us to know and feel love, not fear.

Now, I’m not telling you to believe in the devil or not believe in the devil as a literal being that roams the earth trying to stir up chaos. After all, I wasn’t kidding when I told that woman at Curry Good Sam that Jesus spoke of the devil as if he were a real person. The Bible certainly supports this view consistently. And I might, in fact, be wrong if I were to tell you that there is no devil.

I guess it is pretty simple, really. I don’t like the idea of the devil. I don’t like to think about the devil. And I don’t like it when mentally ill people or any one else is accused of being possessed by the devil. Nor do I like the excuse that some people might invent when they say, "The devil made me do it." I would rather the devil didn’t exist and so I don’t spend a lot of time and effort believing in him. Of course, C. S. Lewis said that the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was to get us to believe that he doesn’t exist. However, with all due respect to C. S. Lewis, the devil is not required for evil and sin to exist.

Here is one thing that I can say with all certainty and I think it is extremely important: If there is an entity called the devil that prowls around, then he is most definitely NOT equal and opposite to Jesus. If there is a devil, then he is part of the created order as opposed to "eternally begotten from the Father" like Jesus. Jesus has no beginning and no end. He existed before Creation. The devil did not exist prior to creation and therefore is part of the created order. Consequently, Jesus, ultimately, has power over the devil.

Now, back to my imperfect understanding of the devil as the personification of evil. I think that all evil has its roots in narcissism (self-absorption). When I put myself in the center of the world, kicking God out of his rightful place, then I make myself more powerful than God. If I am the center, then no one else really matters unless they serve my purpose somehow. Therefore I can easily justify lying to others, hurting others, and demeaning others. Everything is all about me—too bad for anyone else.

One of the worst forms of self-absorption is self-pity. "Poor me, I have it worse than anyone else. If you had it like I do, you’d do the things I do too." When I feel self-pity all I think about is myself and how miserable I am. I have no interest at all in what good thing I can do for my fellow human being. I justify my actions because of how I was wronged by others—it is their fault because of what they did to me. Once again, it is all about me.

I think that was the context of the situation that Peter was addressing when he wrote his letter. I think that the people he was writing to were feeling sorry for themselves. Peter writes, "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you…" This kind of sounds like, "I told you that bad times would come with the good. Don’t start feeling sorry for yourselves when the bad times come."

Then the good news comes a little further into the passage: "Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you." Let go and let God. Turn your troubles over to Him because he is bigger than any suffering that might come your way.

I think that in this context, "your adversary the devil that prowls around like a lion looking for someone to devour" is that ancient adversary self-pity, narcissism, and self-absorption. And there is no doubt that these things can devour our lives, making us spiritually dead.

If there is a devil, then these are the things that he whispers in my ear: "you’re no good, you never were any good, you never will be any good. You deserve all the bad things that have ever happened to you. You should be ashamed of how pathetic you are. How can God love someone that is as pathetic as you." These are the words that start me on the road to self-pity. And the self-pity blocks out my ability to be in contact with God. Like I was saying before, for me, I don’t need the devil to whisper these things to me. My own head thinks these thoughts just fine on its own. And there I am—poor me!

Peter goes on to say that we should resist self-pity, being steadfast in our faith, because, after all, we aren’t the only ones in the world with problems: "for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering." And this passage ends with the good news that on the other side of all suffer will be God, welcoming us through the ordeal to restore, support, strengthen, and establish us.

The Contemporary English Version translates Peter like this: "You will suffer for a while, but God will make you complete, steady, strong, and firm. God will be in control forever! Amen."

So be it. Amen!