The Masquerade of Evil

Evil is the topic that comes up in our lectionary today.  I’m thinking the bad thing now is the end of summer.  Today we are talking about a serious topic, evil parading as good.  It all starts in the Garden of Eden doesn’t it.  Then the LORD God said,

Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil ( Genesis 3:22).

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Isa. 5:20.)

Paul tells us in 2 Cor. 11:14 that “Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”  Evil’s secret is camouflage. Evil’s job is to look very upright! Thomas Aquinas said Evil must disguise itself as good. It has to look like the defense of a great cause so that many evils can be done without guilt, shame or self-doubt.  Instead, these actions can be called virtuous.

Evil can do things that it says are “in the name of Christ.” Remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ. In our home country, Manifest Destiny, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ. I am sorry to say that violence not unique to one group or one religion.  Evil dresses up and disguises as good as it merrily perverts and distorts our faith.  We need to be vigilantly discerning to recognize it and deal with it.

Evil corrupts our experience of God.  Evil, lately appears more powerful than the Good.  Our television news certainly thrives on its presence Is evil truly winning the battle?  As a follower of Jesus, I believe Good will be victorious because God is victorious.  God depends on us to take care of the earth and build the kingdom.   That’s a frightening thought when you think about it, isn’t it?   “But thanks be to God! He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Paul exhorts us, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Rom. 12:21)  With knowledge about good and evil, we have responsibility for our choices.  This knowledge makes us unique in creation.  Thankfully, God did not leave less defenseless against evil.

As I preached last week, God has given us the gifts of the Spirit to build his kingdom through the body of Christ. We are given the ability to discern when evil is masquerading as good, when the thirst for power parades as justice. We Christians can no longer stay on the sidelines.  We can no longer sit comfortably on our keisters on the bench.  We must all become first-string players.  “Not me, you might say. I don’t have the time, or the strength, or the youth, or the money.”

Peter tells us, "[God’s] divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him whocalled us by his own glory and goodness." ( 2 Peter 1:3)  Each of us have our own unique gifts.  The question is,   “Are we using them for God’s purpose?”  If we as Christians don’t, who do we expect to do this?  By ignoring our gifts, by letting them be idle and doing nothing – we allow evil to crowd out the good.

We can bring good that will prevent, erode, and destroy the evil in our midst.  Every week, if you haven’t noticed, my sermons each week exhort us to get out there and work for and build God’s kingdom in any way we can.   We exist as a church, not just for ourselves, but to be a beacon of hope for others. Just like we hope the light on our steeple is for our community. Can you ignore God’s calling?  Are you listening?  God fortifies us with the Word.  Listen.

"But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." ~ Isaiah 40:31;    Amen