Pentecost VI, Cycle C

"Against the Evil Foe"

July 4, 2010

The Rev. Dr. David M. Wendel

Saint Luke's Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs

Lessons: Isaiah 66:10-14; Galatians 6:1-16; St. Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Quite naturally, we look for good—in humans, in life, in the world around us. Most of us look, and see, good things—in a child's love for his or her parents; in the beauty of nature; in the simple acts of kindness shown day by day, by those we see at home, at work, at school, in the marketplace. It's not healthy to only focus on, to dwell on the bad that surely exists in our lives and in the world, so, we turn away from that, and try, at least, to see the good.

The problem with that is, we can become so optimistic, such positive thinkers, that we can convince ourselves that there is no longer such a thing as evil! While we dare not allow ourselves to be consumed with the reality of evil in the world, we ignore evil, or dismiss evil, to our own peril. We see that today, in the mindset of those who cannot bring themselves to name evil, for what it is. Some today will bend over backwards to keep from acknowledging evil, as it exists in our world, as if refusing to recognize evil, or to call it what it is, means it isn't really evil. Whether we're talking about evil groups of people, evil movements, or the evil that exists in the hearts of men, and women, the truth is, there are bad people in our world, even bad religious people, who cannot abide good in our world, and will do anything, even commit mass murder if it serves their purposes. And rather than ignore such evil, rather than act like it doesn't exist, we would be better off naming it for what it is, defending against it, and rallying the forces of good in the world, to defeat all evil, wherever it is.

As I've been reading presidential biographies these last few years, one of our congregation suggested a recent book about the unique relationship between Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, titled, oddly enough, Franklin and Winston. Upon the first meeting of these two great men, great not because of their political or social agendas, but because they rose to their calling to defeat evil, the author of the book describes a Sunday worship service on the deck of the British ship, Prince of Wales, as the two leaders of the two great English-speaking nations met for prayer, in the midst of their conversations. The second hymn they sang was Onward Christian Soldiers, and Franklin and Winston sang together, "Onward Christian Soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus, going on before! Christ, the Royal Master, leads against the foe, forward into battle, see, his banners go." And Churchill wept. Then there were the Scripture readings, one of which was from Joshua, as the chaplains read, "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid; for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." Prayer followed later, including the prayer, "Stablish our hearts, O God, in the day of battle, and strengthen our resolve, that we fight, not in enmity against men, but against the powers of darkness enslaving the souls of men; till all enmity and oppression be done away, and the peoples of the world be set free from fear to serve one another; as children of our Father, who is above all and through all and in all, our God forever and ever. Amen."

Whatever you might think of Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, however you might agree or disagree with their political and social goals, it's clear that when confronted with the powers of darkness enslaving the souls of men, when faced with an evil that would have, could have exterminated every Jewish man, woman and child on the earth; when challenged to fight against evil to set the peoples of the world free, or turn away and ignore the march of fascism, violence and terror, they saw themselves as Christian soldiers, marching to war against the foe—strengthened in their resolve, to fight, not necessarily against men, but against the powers of darkness that would enslave the peoples of the world.

And we? We find it hard to call evil, evil. We find it easier to turn a blind eye, to go along to get along, to ignore the powers of darkness that exist in our world, rather than confront them, that people would be free.

And while we might think about this, today, this Independence Day, in political and national terms, we might also think about this in terms of our faith, our belief, our mission and ministry in the world. For without a doubt, there are Christians today who hesitate to name evil, evil, let alone confront it. And why should we confront it? If we don't acknowledge that powers of darkness exist, then there's no need to march as Christian soldiers, against Satan and the forces of evil. If we have convinced ourselves that the devil, and demons and yes, sin existed only in ancient writings, as the figments of primitive imaginations, then today, there's no need to mobilize against such enemies. Maybe that's why many mainline denominations are excluding the hymn, "Onward, Christian Soldiers" from new hymnals, because not only is it perceived as too militaristic, but surely it's no longer necessary to sing such hymns of militant action, given the fact that we no longer acknowledge the existence of the "ancient foe".

In our gospel lesson for today, Jesus sends out seventy whom He had called from among His followers, sending them on ahead to preach the Gospel and the nearness of the kingdom of God—in them. And they are to go with an urgency and a passion that is reflected in the fact that they are to take no purse, no man-bag, no sandals, no food—but go on their way staying in whatever house will have them, eating whatever is set before them. But, Jesus warns, this will be no cake-walk; no stroll in the park. He is sending them out like lambs in the midst of wolves! There will be opposition and rejection. But they are to go curing the sick, casting out demons, setting people who are enslaved to sin, free, as the kingdom of God is inaugurated in their midst. And the seventy—those who were the forerunners of the priestly ordained ministry to come, as the Twelve were the first bishops, the seventy return to Jesus with joy, saying, "Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!" And Jesus responds, saying, "See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, to tread on Satan and his evil spirits, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will hurt you."

And yet, Jesus reminds, the point is not necessarily to have power over evil, but to bring people into the kingdom of God—to have names written in the Lamb's Book of Life, in heaven. This, Jesus says, is the reason for His mission and ministry in the world, and this is why He called Apostles and the Seventy and sent them out. This is why He continues to call bishops and pastors and send them out—not to preach good news of inclusivity and a social justice agenda, not to preach a gospel of prosperity or psychological well-being; Jesus calls us and sends us out, to bring the kingdom of God near to people, by fighting against the kingdom of Satan, by working, through God's Word, to cast out demons and evil spirits, to overcome all the power of the enemy! We are to spread the Word of God, regardless the opposition or rejection, sharing the good news of the Kingdom of God with urgency, and passion—yes, to set people free from the evil forces that enslave them, yes, to liberate them from the power of sin, death and the devil, but finally, so that their names will be written in heaven! So that finally, they will be, as St. Paul writes in our second lesson, new creations in Christ Jesus!

To fulfill our mission, however; to accomplish our task of spreading the Gospel, overcoming evil, and bringing Christ to the world, we have to acknowledge and name the powers of darkness that stand against us. We have to acknowledge that Jesus, Himself, saw Satan cast out of heaven upon his rebellion, and that this same Satan now seeks world domination, the enslavement of every person, people and nation. To fulfill Christ's goal of bringing the Kingdom of God to every heart and life, we begin by acknowledging that evil exists, and that evil spirits are to be cast out, so that the Holy Spirit may come in. We begin by taking up the cross of Jesus, marching as to war, against the evil foe!

And this will not be easy for some of us. For some, there will be the urge to ignore evil, in our world, in our city, in our own homes and families—hoping it will just disappear, go away, if it hasn't already. But we are not called to Christian naïveté. We are not called to dismiss or ignore evil. Rather, we are called to take up the weapons of the Spirit, and fight! We are called to name evil and confront evil—as we go forth, as we leave the safety and security of the church building, and seek to spread the Gospel, in our world. But we go, knowing we have been given power over that ancient serpent, Satan and his demons; we go knowing that the very kingdom of heaven goes with us; we go bringing the presence of the Risen, Victorious Jesus Christ, to do battle with us, against sin, death and the devil. We go, assured of victory—so let us go—to proclaim the Gospel, to set people free.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.