Evil and things that go Bump in the Night

A Sermon for Halloween based on Ephesians 6.10-18

[10] Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. [11] Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. [12] For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the forces of evil in the spiritual realms. 

[13] Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. [14] Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of justice in place, [15] and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the good news of peace. 

[16] In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. [17] Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. [18] And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 

I do not normally preach from a script at the high pulpit, but on the momentous occasion of all Hallows Eve I have decided to deliver my spooky sermon from right here. Why, you ask? Because I want to preach on something dark. Something dangerous. Something people avoid. My topic today? Darkness and evil and things that go bump in the night!!!

Many of us, when we think of evil at all, think of evil as something easy to spot. We think of evil as something scary that hides under the bed, or in the closet, or perhaps haunts a house. Evil is something that is ready to jump out and pounce on us when we least expect it. Perhaps evil might even give us a jump scare when we are just driving along peacefully, like we see in this German advertisement.

But can we really identify evil as just a "jump scare"? Or is there more to evil than that? Maybe when we think of evil we think of something cartoonish. Someone easily recognized. A devil in red spandex. Or a villain dressed in black. Or a tyrant with a cape. Or an alien overlord just waiting to invade the Earth. We picture evil as an absurd supervillain that no one in their right mind would want to be. We picture evil as, well, corny and cartoonish. Even a child can spot evil and avoid it!

But maybe our picture of evil is a little less cartoonish. Maybe we picture evil as a group of people we can easily spot in a crowd. We can tell they are evil from the way they dress, the way they talk, the way they act, and even the way they vote. We can tell that "they" are not like "us". WE are good and right and true and noble. THEY are evil and wrong and deceptive and awful.

In this view of evil, there is a clear line of distinction that runs between "us" and "them": However we define "us" and "them". The world gets split in easy and predictable ways between the GOOD people and the BAD people. And it is the job of the good people to be on their guard, and isolate or eliminate the bad people, before they do the same to us. 

WE are always right, always correct, and always good. And if WE happen to do something wrong, we excuse ourselves, and blame them. Because WE are essentially good people no matter what we do. But not THEM! THEY are essentially bad people who always do what is filthy and gross and wrong. Life thus becomes a cosmic battle between the heroes and the villains, and we can always be assured "we" are the heroes and "they" are the villains. 

But wait. Is it really that easy? Is identifying evil simply a matter of identifying groups of people as "in" or "out", "us" or "them"? Saint Paul, who struggled with evil in this world, and evil in himself, and who wrote about a third of the New Testament, doesn't seem to think it is this easy to spot evil. In fact, he tells us:

"Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the forces of evil in the spiritual realms."

Did you hear that? Evil is not flesh and blood. Evil is not found in a group of people we can easily identify as "them" instead of "us". In fact, since all people are made in God's image and all people are children of God, there is ultimately no "us" and "them". There is only us, all of us, who are loved by God. God wants to heal us all and liberate us all from evil.

So evil is not a line that separates us versus them. It is a line that runs right through all of us. The line between good and evil goes right through the middle of our own soul, and our struggle against evil is mainly a struggle within ourselves. It is a struggle between the temptation to become our worst selves, and the call of God to become our best selves.

But if evil is not an easily identifiable villain or group of people, what is evil? How do we spot evil? Well, listen again at what Saint Paul writes. He says "Our struggle is… against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the forces of evil in the spiritual realms."

Evil is first of all, a "ruler": Something that rules us. That attempts to take control of our heart and mind. Something that enslaves us to selfishness and self-destruction. Evil is also an "authority". An authority is something that gives us permission to do things. Evil gives us permission to harm others, to use them, to mistreat them. Evil says "it's OK, you are justified because you are better than them!"

So evil rules us with selfishness and gives us the authority to mistreat others. But Paul goes on to say that evil is found in the "powers" of this dark world and the "forces" in the spiritual realm. Evil is not just an individual temptation, but also a dark power or force or energy at work in the systems of society. Anytime we find social systems that dehumanize and destroy God's children, there we find the work of evil.

But you might ask: Aren't you talking about Satan and demons? Do you really expect us to believe there are devils prancing around in red spandex with pitchforks, tempting people to do awful things? No. Because that would make evil too easy to identify. It would make evil something that is not inside us, but outside us, making us do bad things. Then we don't have to take responsibility for doing evil. We can simply say "The devil made me do it!"

But evil isn't that easy. I'm not sure exactly what demons are. Perhaps they are spiritual beings inhabiting a dark world and haunting us from beyond. Perhaps they are personifications of the self-centered and self-destructive desires in our own hearts. Perhaps they are ideas and forms of cultural logic that deceive and enslave entire societies. Perhaps they are a bit of all of these. 

I may not be able to define exactly what demons ARE, but I can tell you exactly what the demonic DOES. The demonic is found ANY TIME we demonize people. That's what the demonic does: It demonizes people. It takes the beloved children of God and makes them into sub-humans, inhumans, who are not worthy of the same love and respect as we are.

We can tell the demonic is at work anytime we find people demonizing each other. Whenever we find gossip and trash talk that demeans and dehumanizes others, there we find the demonic. 

Whenever we see people scapegoated and treated as disposable, there we find the demonic. Whenever we find the "isms" that are used to despise and exclude people— sexism, racism, ageism, ableism, classism— there we find the demonic.

Because the demonic is precisely the opposite of God's desire for us. Above all, God is Love, and God desires that we Love God, love our neighbors, and love ourselves. The demonic is evil, and evil is the opposite of Love. 

Evil wants to destroy our relationship with God, with others, and with ourselves. Evil tempts us to ignore God, despise others, and eventually hate ourselves. Because it is impossible to disconnect from God’s Love and despise God's children, without eventually demonizing ourselves too.

So, if evil is found in demonization, and if evil is a constant temptation that resides within us, how can we be protected from evil? How can we ever be victorious over evil? The short answer is that only goodness can defeat evil. Only love can cast out hate. Only virtue can overcome selfishness. And to form virtue within us and defeat evil, it takes practice! 

We must practice the EPISCOPAL virtues we talk about every day at ESD. We must work hard to form virtue in ourselves, just as we work hard in the classroom, or in the gym, or on the stage. Because working with God to form virtue within is ultimately what overcomes evil.

In Ephesians, Saint Paul gives us a picture of how virtue protects us and gives us victory. In it he details seven kinds of virtue and spiritual practice which overcome the evil within us. He tells us "Put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand."

He then says to have "the belt of truth buckled around your waist": Let a commitment to being truthful in your words and deeds protect your most vulnerable areas. Never make excuses for lies and deception, but be honest with yourselves and others.

Next, put on "the breastplate of justice": This protects our hearts, by focusing our desires on what is just and fair and right. In every situation, desire what is good and just for everyone.

After this, put "the good news of peace upon our feet": Always be prepared to be a peacemaker, and always seek for what makes for peace and wholeness for yourselves and others.

Then, take up "the shield of faith” which can “extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one". Have faith in God's Love, knowing that God's Love is more powerful than any temptation flung at you from the evil one. Have faith that even if you give in to temptation, God still loves you, and God will forgive you.

Next, put on "the helmet of salvation": This protects our minds, by saving us from negative thought patterns and selfish habits, so that we may think in a way that draws us to virtue, and fills us with Love.

Then learn to use "the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God". Learn the words of God by meditating on Scripture. Let the promises and principles of God dwell in you. Think about them. Memorize them. And these will give you strength to resist evil. 

Finally, Paul tells us to "pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests". Try to be in constant communication with God, who is the Source of Love, who will give you the strength to love others and love yourself, even when times are tough.

So, this Halloween, as we put on our costumes, may this remind us that every day we can put on God’s Armor of Virtue to stand against evil. Every day we can put on the virtues of Truth and Justice and Faith and Peace and constant Prayer, so we may become the best version of ourselves. Every day, we can clothe ourselves in the costume of God's Love, so we may love each other as God loves us. Amen.