Dealing with the Devil

Transcription

1 Dealing with the Devil How do we Episcopalians deal with the devil? I would venture that most of us have never even heard a sermon on the devil. And that s too bad, because while there are few references to the devil or Satan in the Old Testament, there is quite a bit about the devil in the New Testament. Jesus himself refers to the devil several times, and in John s Gospel calls him a murderer, the father of lies, and the prince of this world. St. Paul characterizes the devil as an Angel of light a reference that prompted St. Ignatius Loyola to write his Rules for Discernment in the Spiritual Exercises. Like it or not, the devil is in Scripture and we have to come to terms with him. Jesus had to come to terms with the devil in today s gospel. I want you to note this is not a devil with pointy ears, a long tail and a pitchfork in his hand. This is not the devil of the film the Exorcist which tried to scare us out of our wits. This is an eminently reasonable devil, someone who seems to have our best interest at heart, someone who wants us to succeed in life, and avoid needless suffering and disappointment. This is the devil that puts his arms around our shoulders, smiles and wants to be our friend the devil who says, I feel your pain and I am here to meet your needs. This is the devil in Stephen Vincent Benet s short story The Devil and Daniel Webster which was made into a film back in 1941 starring Edward Arnold and Walter Huston. In 1840 a New Hampshire farmer by the name of Jabez Stone is going through hard times. He is broke, plagued by bad luck and at the mercy of a money-lender who threatens to foreclose on his farm. Desperate for help, he cries out that he would sell his soul to the devil for two cents. Just then the devil appears and offers him a deal he can t refuse:

2 sell his soul for seven years of prosperity and good luck. When the devil reveals a hoard of gold coins on the floor, Jabez Stone signs the contract. He does indeed have seven years of fortune but he develops into a mean, miserly human being, increasingly callous and arrogant. Only thanks to the lawyering of Daniel Webster persuading a jury of the most notorious damned-to-hell Americans picked by the devil himself does Jabez Stone avoid his fate. Jesus is much like Jabez Stone in today s gospel. He is hungry, tired, afraid, and no doubt cognizant of the suffering and death that awaits him in fulfilling his mission. In such an anxious state of mind, who among us would not be open to the devil s logic? Turn stones into bread? Why not? It would have tasted wonderful after fasting 40 days. What s wrong with satisfying the basic needs of people? Why not give people what they want and become a bread king feeding their stomachs while leaving their souls empty? Give the devil his due? What s wrong with having the devil on your side if it achieves liberation from Roman oppressors and puts Jesus on the throne without any hassle? What s wrong with a few political shortcuts? Maybe the end does justify the means. Jump from the top of the temple? Why not dazzle people with a bit of flair? That certainly would have proved to people that Jesus was the Messiah. His status and power would have been confirmed. In the wilderness Jesus struggled with this kind of devil. So do us in 21st century America. The devil can be charismatic, attractive and personable assuring us that we are following our selfinterest while leading us to self-destruction. You see: the wrong course of conduct can always be made to appear sensible. You

3 can make any action seem reasonable. Some of the best theology about the devil comes from a film released in the mid-1990s, Broadcast News. The movie, which is relevant in this era of fake news and sensational journalism, focuses on the ethics of the television news industry and centers around three characters. Aaron is a brilliant reporter, passionate about maintaining high standards in the television news business. Jane is a producer, sharing with her close friend Aaron the same commitment to broadcast excellence. Tom is a handsome broadcaster who lacks most of the skills of a reporter, but he s very charming. It becomes evident that Tom has few scruples when it comes to the ethics of reporting. He brazenly inserts himself and his personality into the news stories he is given to report. At one point, Aaron senses that Jane has fallen in love with Tom. He confronts her, and asks if she could possibly be in love with such a guy. He then goes on to say, Tom, while a very nice man, is the devil. Jane thinks Aaron has gone crazy. Aaron continues: What do you think the devil is going to look like if he s around? Come on, nobody is going to be taking him to be a guy with a long, red, pointy tail. No, I m semi-serious here. He will be attractive, he will be nice and helpful, he will get a job where he influences a great, God-fearing nation, he will never do an evil thing, he will never deliberately hurt a single living thing; he will just bit by bit lower our standards wherever they are important. Just a tiny little bit, coax along flash over substance, just a tiny little bit, and he will talk about us just really being salesmen. That s temptation at its most insidious the temptation which over time, slowly and gradually corrupts our character, lowers our standards, blurs our principles, weakens our values and always

4 with a perfect rationalization. Before you know it, you re not the person you once were. One concession leads to another until you feel yourself so far gone from your former self that it becomes impossible to turn back and the evil you once abhorred now begins to seem normal. I am not a political partisan, but as an attorney I have been fascinated by the fall of Michael Cohen, who served for ten years as Donald Trump s special counsel in the Trump Organization. Michael Cohen started out as a very talented New York real estate lawyer who by the age of 39 was financially successful. He had a lovely wife, two fine children and a very comfortable lifestyle. But his ambition and lust for money knew no bounds. By his admission, he chose the dark path of life. He committed shady and even illegal transactions, never considering the ethical and moral implications of what he was doing. Eventually, it all caught up with him. During the Special Prosecutor s investigation, it was discovered that Michael Cohen committed bank fraud and tax evasion. He also had lied to the Special Prosecutor and to Congress by his own admission he was a fool, though others termed him a liar, a swindler, a con artist and a crook brash, arrogant and cocky. Michael Cohen, a once talented and successful lawyer, will be going to prison in May. He has been disbarred as a New York attorney and he stands disgraced before the nation. To all of this Cohen confessed, I am ashamed. How does someone go from the pinnacle of financial and professional success to being a convicted felon and a disbarred attorney? Maybe another film about the devil provides an answer. The Devil s Advocate was a 1997 movie starring Al Pacino as a crafty New York lawyer by the name of John Milton who is really the

5 devil. Al Pacino played the part perfectly, luring a talented trial lawyer by the name of Kevin into his web of influence by appealing to his vanity, his self-interest, his pride, his lust for money and power and prestige. When Kevin realizes that Milton is really the devil, he accuses him of deception and of destroying the people he loved. Milton responds that he merely set the stage, but that Kevin was always free to respond to any choice before him. Kevin then realizes that as a trial attorney he always wanted to win, no matter the cost or the consequences. Unwittingly, he played right into the devil s game. I think what happened to Kevin is what happened to Michael Cohen. Even now I don t think Michael Cohen is a bad person weak, imperfect, and not the sort of person you may want as a friend, yes, but not a truly bad person. I think what happened to Michael Cohen is what happens to some people who graduate from law school or business school with high ideals and noble aspirations. They genuinely want to do good for society and do well for themselves. And yet, gradually they become involved in systems, companies, organizations, and institutions that corrupt their character in ways they may not even notice. Michael Cohen admitted that he never stopped to ask himself whether what he was doing was legal or not he simply did the things he thought was expected of him. This son of a Holocaust survivor separated his ethical and religious beliefs from his work activities. One expedient led to another, one moral compromise led to a bigger moral compromise, one illegality led to another, until in the end he became a thoroughly amoral human being. You don t sell your soul to the devil all at once, but step by step, incrementally, taking one step after another until in the end you are a shell of the person you once were. Al Pacino s devil would be pleased. So, we had better be on guard. For this reason the Service of

6 Compline in The Book of Common Prayer includes this reading from First Peter as a reminder of our vulnerability: Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith (1 Pet. 5:8-9a). When I practiced law in New York, I remember having lunch with a very successful Wall Street attorney at a private club near the Stock Exchange. I think he really liked me and wanted me to become a successful lawyer, and he offered me advice on how to further my career. He thought I was too idealistic, too innocent for the rough and tumble world of New York law. At one point he looked at me intently and said, Gary, I don t want you ever to forget this. Remember: everyone has their price. You just have to find out what it is. I thought that a horribly cynical view of human nature, and yet I wonder if it isn t true. Have you ever considered what you might do if the price was right? Don t fool yourself: we all have a weak spot. Part of being a wise person is to know yourself so thoroughly that you can identify where you are vulnerable. If you re a politician, for example, maybe you have to take a position that violates your conscience but you take it anyway to survive politically or get campaign contributions. Follow the money is an oft repeated phrase about how politicians are influenced by lobbyists. You can almost certainly tell how a politician will vote based on political contributions. If a politician is receiving enormous amounts of money from Planned Parenthood, they almost certainly will vote against any attempt to restrict abortion. If a politician receives money from the NRA, they almost certainly will vote against any attempt to restrict gun rights. Follow the money and you can tell a lot about a politician. Of course, you can name your own scenario of how someone engages in ethically, morally or even legally questionable practices. The crucial question to ask is this: Does this action

7 this thought, this attitude, this course of conduct harm my walk with God; does it force me to betray my most deeply held values and beliefs? If the answer is yes, that s the devil at work, and you need to resist. I want to conclude with yet another movie about the devil. It s the 1999 movie End of Days, in which Arnold Schwarzenegger plays ex-cop turned private security provider Jericho Cane. Jericho is an atheist, but he has stumbled onto Satan s plot to mate with a young woman before the millennium. If Satan can accomplish this, the Antichrist will come into the world. Jericho will try to stop him, but throughout the movie Jericho really doesn t know whom he is up against. In one gripping scene, Jericho finds himself in his apartment with Satan, who appears as a man. Satan tries to persuade Jericho to tell him where the young woman is hidden. He promises to restore his past life with his wife, Emily, and daughter, Amy, who were brutally murdered when he was on duty somewhere else, and free him from the guilt he feels over not being at home when the murderers came. I can make it like it never happened, Satan says. When that does not work, Satan persists by reflecting Jericho s own sentiments that God has treated him like garbage. Tell me what you really want and I ll give it to you. Take my hand and I ll give you back everything he took away. To his credit, without even then really knowing what he is up against, Jericho resists and Satan exits out the window but only to return later. And that s the point. The devil never gives up. At the conclusion of Jesus three temptations, Luke says, When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time. In other words, he ll be back the devil always comes back, which means we can never let down our guard or think we are ever free from

8 temptation. The truth is: we can t beat the devil by ourselves. If the battle is between devil and us, we lose no doubt about it. But thanks be to God, on the cross Jesus defeated the devil once and for all. What we cannot do for ourselves, Jesus has done for us. So, we never fight the devil alone, but Jesus is by our side strengthening us to resist temptation, forgiving us when we fall, guiding us in our decision-making, and showering us with grace upon grace to persevere in the battle against evil in all its many forms. In Jesus we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Take confidence, then, on this first Sunday of Lent, in the words of Martin Luther: And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us; we will not fear, for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us; the prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him; his rage we can endure, for lo! his doom is sure, one little word shall fell him. (1) Dr. Gary Nicolosi March 10, 2019 Text Luke 4:1-13 Lent 1, C 1. A mighty fortress is our God, The Hymnal 1982, v. 3