October 28, 2016 – Words of Wisdom
Rage of a Poet

“We’re all in the same game; just different levels. Dealing with the same hell; just different devils.” (“Rage of a Poet”, Big D)

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.” Matthew 4:1-11

In the hymn “A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” Luther wrote: Though devils all the world should fill, all eager to devour us, we tremble not, we fear no ill, they shall not overpower us. This world’s prince may still scowl fierce as he will, he can harm us none, he’s judged; the deed is done; one little word can fell him.

Martin Luther dealt with the devil in a straight forward and “in your face” contempt. He wrote: “Satan may be overcome by contempt, but in faith, not in presumption. However, he is certainly not to be invited; for he is a powerful enemy, seeing and hearing everything that lies before us and that we are now talking about. And God permitting, he spoils everything that is good. When the devil comes during the night to plague me, I give him this answer: “Devil, I must sleep now; for this is God’s command: Work during the day, sleep at night.” If he does not stop to vex me but faces me with my sins, I reply: “Dear devil, I have heard the record. But I have committed far more sins which do not even stand in your record. Put them down too. . . . . ” If he still does not stop accusing me as a sinner, I say to him in contempt: “Holy Satan, pray for me! You never have done anything evil and alone are holy. Go to God and acquire grace for yourself. If you want to make me righteous, I tell you: Physician heal yourself.”

Too many people today do not believe that the devil is a true presence. Oh they believe that evil does exist in the world, but for them evil is more the absence of good, rather than the presence of the devil. Jesus encountered the devil as a person, and faced the devil head on – and so did Martin Luther. We don’t know how the devil manifested himself to Luther, but ML even threw an ink well at the devil in an effort to get him to leave him alone.

We too must face evil and the devil head on, or evil will get more of a foothold in this world, and in the lives of our friends and family. How? The one thing evil hates is the idea of people doing good for each other, whether it is good in the name of religion, or good in the name of living in community. When we fill the world and our lives and our communities with good, then the devil will have fewer places to get a foothold within our midst. That does not mean the devil will stop trying, it just means we can never give up on doing good.

Pastor Dave