Traveling

"For now we are looking in a mirror that gives only a dim (blurred) reflection [of reality as in a riddle or enigma]…"

1 Corinthians 13.12 (Ampl.)

Earlier this week I received a university e-mail regarding a global conference to be held next year in Salzburg, Austria. It was a call for papers on perspectives of evil and human wickedness. Suspecting a Halloween joke I read the accompanying notes to discover it was a genuine request. My mind went into theological freefall at the thought of evil in Christianity, as personified by Satan and human wickedness, as embodied by Judas Iscariot.

Centuries ago, when it was illegal to read the Bible in English and only privileged and educated clergy had access to the Latin scriptures, the literate Church guided the illiterate faithful in the construction of their beliefs through liturgies, dogmas and doctrines. To help the predominantly rural populace to understand theology, local stories and familiar characters were sometimes used to illustrated biblical truths. And perhaps somehow in the telling, these illustrations became part of biblical fact and became incorporated into the Christian message. I have often wondered how our biblical images of Satan became so entrenched in our psyches. Lucifer, our symbol of evil, is often traditionally displayed with the lower body of a goat and with pointed ears and horns; reminiscent of Pan, the god of nature in Greek mythology. I remember my studies of Job and the introduction of Satan, as the Adversary – the "tempting servant of God" acting on His behalf and then his eventual makeover into the arch enemy of God in the New Testament.

Several years ago, I preached a sermon on dispositional healing and how God can heal those who are oppressed, depressed, repressed or in any other way - pressed. Sometimes though, I think our biggest difficulty is what we do to ourselves that contribute to our downheartedness at times. One of the most oppressed and broken hearted persons in the New Testament is Judas Iscariot; oppressed because he was overwhelmed by the manipulation of others, who used him for their own ends and broken hearted because he became so depressed that he killed himself. There are several theories regarding his betrayal of Christ; two of the gospels indicate that Satan entered into him and was thus possessed. It has been suggested that his love of money was the main factor. But non-canonical sources suggest other motives namely; that he hoped to force Jesus to reveal his true identity as the Messiah and secondly, that he believed Jesus had the spiritual power to remove himself from the situation if it became too dangerous. On these assumptions, seeing his ruse fail he must have been devastated. What dread must have come over Judas; a nameless horror of having misunderstood what was likely to happen; the utter devastation that brought on a deep depression, from abject remorse on realising his mistake and his eventual suicide.

For me, his undoing, was not so much his behaviour, but his attitude of mind that prevented his seeing a way out; a way of redemption, a way of healing. If his repentance was sincere, then God had already forgiven him, he did not have to take his own life. Sometimes we need to confront those patterns of behaviour within us, that prevent us moving along on our journey with God. The Holy Spirit needs the freedom to work deeply within our characters to mould us into the image of Christ. Our maturity as people of faith does not come automatically with conversion, baptism or ordination. We need to work consciously on ourselves, in our relationship with God and with each other. Nothing is automatic, we never arrive, we are always on the journey. It is only in enabling a firmer foundation for the understanding of ourselves as individuals and in how we interact and relate to others, that we will serve as a spiritual conduit for healing power to spring from within, for our own use and in our interactions with others. For this to develop, we need to;

Recognise our humanity.

"We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check"- James 3.2 (NIV)

Take direction.

"For let him who wants to enjoy life and see good days…Let him search for peace (harmony; undisturbedness from fears, agitating passions, and moral conflicts) and seek it eagerly. [Do not merely desire peaceful relations with God, with your fellowmen, and with yourself, but pursue, go after them!]" - 1 Peter 3:10-11 (Ampl)

Acknowledge the spiritual power.

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity… but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control" - 2 Timothy 1:7 (Ampl)

Things (and people) are not always what they seem. Scripture appears male oriented but we know that God, through Christ, speaks to us all.

May the still small voice of God, touch whatever unsettles you, and bring you peace.

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