Go to Church or the Devil will Get You - May 30
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 107:33-43, 108:1-6(7-13); Ezek. 36:22-27; Eph. 6:10-24; Matt. 9:18-26
On I-65 between Birmingham and Montgomery, there is this obnoxiously large sign, “Go to Church or the Devil will Get You.” There is a picture of a little man with elf-like shoes and a farming scythe. I usually laugh when I drive by. Sometimes, I want to pull over and take a picture. I have always thought the idea of a little man with horns that talks us into to doing bad things is pretty silly.
Evil, on the other hand, seems as real as anything. And it’s a whole lot bigger than a little elf man with horns. I have been struggling with what to say in face of such evil in our world. I probably don’t need to say too much as white men have dominated the conversation for too long, and instead need to do a better job of listening to my friends and other people of color. I am heartbroken at the image of George Floyd’s life having been snatched from him for the crime of being born another color than me. I am heartbroken from the story of Ahmaud Arbery. Probably the most heinous of all was watching a video this week of a white woman threaten a black man who was bird watching in Central Park by calling the police and reporting that a black man was terrifying her and she was scared for her life. The look in her eye and the sound of her voice as she changed cadences for the soul purpose of striking terror in the other’s life, left me with chills. I also struggle with a theology that requires me to see all of these people, especially the ones terrifying others as beloved children of God and how to reconcile that. And if all of these people are children of God, then how do I protect myself from the same evil that infects them, probably me, and much of our world.
Listen to the author of Ephesians, “For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Cosmic powers of darkness. Wow! The author then gives us an incredible image. “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.”
Are you too struggling with how to respond? What if we saw our faith as the very armor that equips us and protects so that we can be agents of peace and reconciliation? What if our faith is the armor to speak love to fear and truth to power? As Episcopalians, our faith asks us to repent of evil, and to acknowledge our role in it. That’s why there is grace, but we have to do this work and allow the Holy Spirit work and change us over time. It might even be that this very work is the source of the armor of God. I don’t know that the devil will get you if you don’t go to church, but I do know that if you show up, the work you will be required to do is the work of reconciliation, of learning to pray for forgiveness for the wrongs we have done and the wrongs we have left undone, and to fight the forces of evil in this world. Good thing we have some armor, a breastplate, and some new shoes for the journey. Maybe we should see ourselves as superheroes. Kind of scary, but also really cool.
-John+
Questions for Self-Reflection
How do you speak up against evil? How do you fight against it? If you struggle to, what keeps you from doing so?
Daily Challenge
Spending some time reflecting on courage. Share something with a friend or loved one that you wouldn’t have said before, that for you is working to undo the forces of evil in this world.