Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. (John 13:1-4)            

The intense light of these verses reveals a foundational reality; we live temporarily in a world inhabited by the devil. This reality produces wisdom who teaches us that our hour of departure will also come. While we remain in this world there is both – a devil trying to plant lies in our hearts and an opportunity for us to expose and overcome them. One surprising place God attempts to do this, I believe, is at funerals.

Funerals remind us of our transience. These solemn assemblies are often the times of quiet we have failed to take, providing long overdue reflection. For an hour, deep calls unto deep, eternity tampers with the temporal, pressing upon us things we somehow know are vital. As the pastor asks, “Oh death, where is thy sting” many can find it in their own hearts as they mourn for others and themselves. Our hearts may be at their very best in these moments.

The grieving are then dismissed. We step outside, back onto the treadmill of this world, which is busy dying and trying hard not to think about it. I’m sure the devil meets us at the door and skillfully escorts us back into our denial. Many of Satan’s most potent lies are designed to mask our transcience. When we agree with them, we become friends of this world instead of remaining as the aliens and strangers, we actually are. So, what are we to do, embedded in a world that is asleep at the wheel? We can follow Jesus example …

If I then, the Lord and The Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. (john 13:14)

I know people who engage in spiritual warfare at high levels. They are conscious of the battles, like the one where Daniel’s prayers hung-up for 21 days. I am grateful for their faith and their prayers. Even though they have a heavenly orientation, they recognize the battle has two fronts. They know, perhaps better than most, this same battle is being waged on earth where mankind is stumbling badly, trying to make sense of his brief appearance.

Where our feet come into contact with our wounded planet – defiled and defiant, we are not without exposure. As agents of free will, we can succumb to the gravity of sin; we can be pulled into denial and the indulgences it facilitates. So, in order to equip the ground forces, the Lord said,

For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him.  If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. (John 13:15-17)

The funeral home experience gave us a brief glimpse of the pain and loss that surrounds us. If our eyes could only remain open just a bit longer, after the last respects have been paid, we would discover that we are surrounded by lonely, hurting and confused people, most of whom are pursuing the American dream as their shot at happiness. Where this is the case, the enemy is winning – denial is serving its master. Jesus calls this flock, “confused and aimless, sheep with no shepherd.”  And He would add, “What a huge harvest!” (from Matt 9:36)

While the American dream has been lauded as the hope of mankind, it is at best, a temporary arrangement. One of the problems is that it was born in rebellion and still breeds, an independence that is incompatible with the kingdom of God. Capitalism and democracy have teamed up to generate more material blessing than any previous team but, surely we see that it has not insured peace and happiness. If its a good dream, why does it spawn so many nightmares?

Sadly, the wealth created in our pursuit of happiness, often creates space between us and our neighbors, both physical and relational. This is a problem since it is these neighbors Jesus told us to love as ourselves. How can we be isolated from others and serve them as the Lord instructed us to? The religious right will try me on counts of treason here but I believe there are fatal lies embedded in an uncensored American dream. If these so called fatal lies exist, what are they and, in what ways have we been duped?

So far in human history (other than outright plundering), free market capitalism has proven to be the most efficient way to create material abundance. Yet without self-denial it becomes a cancer of the soul. A dream that claims its independence from God and each other will soon see its own funeral. If the U.S. does not confirm its national soul in self-control it will fail to reconcile liberty and law. It will forfeit the true freedoms God intended for her. Here is a worthy plea by Katherine. L. Bates who wrote the lyrics to “America the Beautiful.”

America! America! / God mend thine ev’ry flaw, / confirm thy soul in self-control, / thy liberty in law.

It would do us well if we could transfer our grieving from our neighbor’s death to our nation’s dying. Can America be saved, or will the dream of it be encased in a coffin similar to Europe’s post-Christian model? Who will save us? If we think it will be the federal government, we are deluded. At the same time, we are equally deceived if we think, a new regime of politicians, who we may endorse, will save us. The problem is much deeper than political discourse has uncovered, so far.

As Arthur Brooks has proposed in his book, “The Conservative Heart”, our problems are not complicated matters that can be solved by public policy – this would be the pinnacle of arrogance. Our problems are complex and systemic, meaning, we are going to be living with them, and working through them, together, for a long while.  Jesus said, “The poor, you shall always have with you.” Brooks touts a kind of hope for America (especially the poor) that is birthed in an others-oriented kind of independence. He envisions men becoming social entrepreneurs – innovators in serving others. He sees the ground troops creating abundance without being attached to it. Without going christian-ese on his readership (he is a devout Catholic), he has found an overlap between the American dream and the kingdom of God. Isn’t there a movie – “Mr. Brooks Goes To Washington?” There is hope folks! He is already there. He is the President of the American Enterprise Institute.

Even without Mr. Brooks there is hope. The New Testament is crammed with instruction as to how we are to live together. This very moment you and I are connected to a variety of networks in our work, in leisure, and in family. Someone, right next to us, is needing us. God’s Kingdom will one day displace Satan’s temporal kingdom of lies. One day, by God’s grace, we will overcome the unhealthy type of independence which breeds isolation.

By God’s grace, our networks may one day connect. Kingdom communities can be birthed. Kingdom growth can be fostered as we identify Satan’s lies and renounce them. Momentum could build as we repent of our association with darkness. Our minds could become renewed and we could demonstrate the will of God – that which is good acceptable and perfect.

So, let’s find the soiled feet nearest us. Let’s gird ourselves with towels, and begin to cleanse what we may, here on earth in the lowest places, knowing we are fighting the good fight at a very high and strategic level. Remember Jesus promised …

 If we know these things, we are blessed if we do them.

Father, please awaken us from our slumber. Expose the enemy’s stratagems. Overcome them with Truth you have planted in our hearts . May it grow and produce an unimaginably large harvest. May the Word of God soon cover this earth as an ocean, displacing every lie that has held humanity in bondage since the Garden. Beginning with us, connect the army You have strategically located for the great and final crisis. Teach us to number our days that we may present to you hearts of wisdom.  Help us to resist the devil that he might flee from us in terror. Amen.

 

 

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