Into Hell Psalm 68:15-20; Ephesians 4:1-10; 1 Peter 3:18-22

Transcription

1 Into Hell Psalm 68:15-20; Ephesians 4:1-10; 1 Peter 3:18-22 We returned from vacation this past Sunday having spent eight days in the Grand Teton National Park. The folks up there were complaining about the heat wave. One day it reached 81 Fahrenheit with 30% humidity. The nights were in the low forties. We re from San Antonio. I asked one person while up there Is this heaven. No sir, she said, this is Wyoming. We really enjoyed our time there particularly as it was punctuated by that cool, cool weather. Well as we got off the plane to be greeted by the San Antonio heat; it was an immediate reminder that the article of the creed we are talking about today is, he descended into hell. This is arguably the most controversial of the article in the Apostles Creed. So why did the authors and redactors insert this phrase. Was it necessary for Jesus to descend into hell? It just doesn t seem fair. For this man, who walked the earth, working miracles, casting compassion on the outcast and preaching love to be cast into the pit of hell. It evokes gut wrenching emotions when put up against our sense of justice. It is just not fair. Much ink has been spilt over the whole notion of fairness and justice poets and novelist most effectively keep the issue before us; articulating in poetry and prose what for us is often a visceral reaction to injustice. In the nineteenth century Dumas Malone wrote the novel, The Count of Monte Christo. 1 It is a novel about: betrayal, hope, justice, vengeance, mercy and forgiveness with a complex plot line and presents a platoon of people who display a range of character; both noble and ill. The main character in the novel is Edmond Dantés a man of humble birth and noble character. He is a seaman who realizes his dream and is named captain of a ship. This good fortune and elevation in station enables him to ask for the hand of Mercedes in marriage. As so often the case, his good fortune is immediately met with tragedy. He is betrayed by his best friend, Fernand, a man of noble birth and impoverished character. In a complex web of betrayal, Edmond is accused of being a Bonapartist, a group hoping to execute Napoleon s return from Elba to once again rule France. Without hearing or trial or a even a smattering of fairness, he is sentenced to life in prison at the 1 Malone, Dumas. The Count of Monte Christo. David Coward, translator. Oxford University Press This sermon is written for the ear & thus may have grammatical inconsistencies nor has it 1

2 Chateau d If where he at once becomes the victim of brutal punishment by the sadistic warden; an innocent man, suffering for the sin of others. During the course of his captivity he is befriended by Father Farial, known among inmates and guards alike as the Mad Priest. Father Farial is a scholar who like Edmond is wrongly imprisoned. He becomes Edmonds intellectual benefactor. He begins the process of educating young Edmond, teaching him mathematics, philosophy, chemistry, literature and languages; transforming him into a man of culture and scholarship and combat skills; able prosecute his cause with mind and sword. The origin of Father Farial s nickname is that he claims to know the whereabouts of a huge fortune in gold; pleading with the guards to free him for a share in the bounty. Eventually falling ill and realizing he is going to die in prison, he lets Edmond in on place of the secret treasure. Upon the priest death, Edmond is able to trade places with him in the body bag that is to be tossed into the sea thus securing his freedom after 14 years in the bowels of hell known as Chateau d If. He encounters a band of industrious smugglers. They pit Edmond in a fight to the death with another smuggler. Edmond best his rival but instead of killing him extends grace. The smuggler s name is Giovanni, who in gratitude becomes Edmonds servant and confidant. They find the gold and Edmond becomes a man of unimaginable wealth. His plot for revenge against his betrayers is underwritten with wealth. He transforms himself from Edmond Dantés, seaman of humble origins into the enigmatic Count of Monte Christo; a man of mystery, intrigue and enormous wealth. Along the way he learns that the love of his life, Mercedes has married his former best friend and chief among his betrayers. Now even the reason for his passion to live had been stolen from him. As his character slithers into the darkness of hate and evil, embracing rage and hatred his soul begins to die and death begins to gain the upper hand; the mercy and grace that was nature of his being is trumped by anger and rage. As the internal battle for his soul rages the foundational morals that had shaped and governed his prebetrayal life began to win out against the hounds of hell who were gnawing at his being. In the end, those who had betrayed Edmond were eventually victims of their own deceit. Their just reward initiated and executed by their own actions. This sermon is written for the ear & thus may have grammatical inconsistencies nor has it 2

3 Upon learning why Mercedes had little choice but to married his betrayer, Edmond is finally willing to forgive her, the Count falls in love all over again with Mercedes, and, with those who had betrayed them out of the way, they resolve to live their lives, casting aside the dark and regrettable episodes which had robbed them of so many happy times with each other and with their son Albert. In the end, though having to live through an agonizing season of misery, grace, fairness and justice prevailed; hate is displaced by love. This novel is a vivid portrait of Jesus love for God and God s love for us. Jesus, betrayed by Judas and denied by Peter, among his closest band of disciples, strode boldly in to the bowels of hell taking the keys of death from the author of evil. Jesus trusted God with his eternal life. Later, the Apostle Peter said this, He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When they hurled insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly (1 Peter 2:22-23). We humans not very good at this; Jesus said, Turn the other check we tend to arm ourselves to the hilt sometime metaphorically and sometimes literally. When we are wronged we rail with righteous indignation. We begin to plot our revenge, enlisting allies, mapping strategy. Edmond strengthened body and mind for the battle and began to plot and scheme; in the process his once almost idealistic character grew dark. Just this past week, I read a rather sad article in the paper. A man was in a parking lot when the love of his life was wronged. A young man in another car sideswiped this man s love his precious car. His reaction, in a fit of rage he followed the young man for seven miles, jump out of his car and beat him to death, over a car. One man dead the other facing life in prison; two families ruined over a paint job. Animals treat each other better. When will we learn? When will forgiveness trump revenge? My friend Larry Coulter once said, Holding a grudge and seeking revenge is like drinking a glass of poison and hoping the other person dies. So why did Jesus have to bear the unbearable? First, there is the notion of descent itself. Jesus, the eternal Son of God descends to earth through his birth and at his death continues the descent to into the bowels of hell. Yet the one who descend; ascends and is exalted This sermon is written for the ear & thus may have grammatical inconsistencies nor has it 3

4 above all names. Jesus went into hell to rise again to sit at the right hand of God. There is a humorous comment attributed to John Calvin about where Jesus sits. Someone asked Calvin if Jesus was literally seated at the right hand of God? Calvin replied, Oh no, sometimes he gets up and walks around. The one who descended is the one who ascended and is exalted. Second, the creed has painstakingly demonstrated that Jesus came in the flesh all flesh is born and all flesh eventually dies. Jesus descent is the final affirmation of the real death of Jesus. It was a traditional Jewish belief that the souls of the dead went to a place below the earth to await the final resurrection. Tertullian, in his treatise On the Soul, 2 expounds upon this theology. He asserts that Jesus went into the underworld where he was really dead. Jesus was fully human, and fully human beings all die. Third, it was thought that Jesus descended into the place of the dead so that he might preach to those imprisoned there and awaiting the presence and preaching of Jesus to them. Therefore, by descending into hell and there preaching to those who had lived before him, Jesus gave fair opportunity for salvation. 3 Fourth, Jesus descent into hell was to claim victory over the power of evil. Jesus conquered death and give us the blessed assurance of eternal life. The great Apostle Paul wrote, Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death is your victory? Where, o death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:54-57). Jesus descent, even the cross, can only be understood in light of the resurrection. Jesus made his way into the headquarters of evil in order to defeat it. In the incarnation God entered the world where evil held sway. At the cross the devil laughed, he thought he had won and was taking home a neatly wrapped package which seemed to be his greatest prize. He 2 Tertullian, On the Soul, in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, 3: González, 50. This sermon is written for the ear & thus may have grammatical inconsistencies nor has it 4

5 smugly locked the package in a safe; but the package was a time bomb, and on the third day Amen. 4 4 Ibid, 52 This sermon is written for the ear & thus may have grammatical inconsistencies nor has it 5