Rev. Dr. Joel D. Biermann
I Peter 5:6-11
The Seventh Sunday of Easter May 28, 2017
It came to a final and absolute end just last Sunday. After 146 years as a part of the American culture, the circus ended on May 21, 2017. Oh, I know, there are still other circuses out there, but the great American circus and the circus in my life, has to be Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the “Greatest Show on Earth.” But the greatest show is over forever. Times change, interests change, standards change. The circus is gone; and with it go the circus acts: the zany clowns, the prancing ponies, the parading pachyderms, the whining motorcycles in a globe, the flying trapeze, and the lion-tamers. It’s been twenty-seven years since I went to the circus. I suppose I’m part of the reason that the circus has gone away forever; you can’t have a circus if no one comes to see the show. But twenty-seven years ago, when my wife and I had two daughters and no son, the greatest show on earth came to Breslin Arena in East Lansing and we went to see it. It was the last season, the farewell tour, for the famous animal trainer, Gunther Gebel Williams, a bona fide lion-tamer. I wish I could tell you about his amazing prowess and skill; but honestly, beyond the wonder and delight of my daughters, I don’t remember much about the performances that afternoon. Now, I’ll never be able to revive the memories or create new ones. The circus is gone. The lion-tamers are no more—a lost breed. I’ll never get to see another one in action, and neither will you.
Actually, though, lion-tamers have been a dwindling breed for quite some time. Men and women brave and daring enough to enter into a cage with massive big cats are a rare and disappearing group, no doubt; but the demise of metaphorical lion-tamers is just as real…and a much greater concern. The lion-tamer metaphor has found its way into our everyday lexicon of words and ideas. Someone brave enough to take on threatening or difficult situations or people is likened to a lion-tamer, whether the arena is politics, business, litigation, or sports. Those people with the mettle to rise to hard intimidating challenges are not common, so the metaphor works. The world certainly needs men and women courageous enough to take on the lions that threaten, and when those lion-tamers are in short supply, the world is diminished. But, what if the lion isn’t a just a metaphor? What if the lion that threatens is an altogether actual predator with real teeth and claws and an appetite? What if the lion that roams can literally take your life and destroy those you love? What if the lion that hunts for prey is in reality more dangerous, more terrifying, more powerful, and more real than any lion lurking in a circus cage or stalking in an African game preserve? What if the king of the beasts is only a dim shadow of the real and horrible lion that actually does roam about in the world? Who’s going to stand up to that lion? Who’s going to tame the prince of this world? Who’s going to fight back against Satan?
This is Peter’s point. He wants his readers, that includes you and me, to recognize the threat, and to stand strong against that fearsome beast. Satan, the prince and the beast of this world is the ultimate lion—the lion that plots and stalks and pounces and terrifies and tears and kills and swallows. Satan is the lion. He wants to kill you. He wants to swallow you whole; he wants to gulp you down. Peter chooses his words carefully. They are strong and graphic and bone-chilling. The apostle does not exaggerate. The danger is very real and the damage is utterly devastating. Satan, Peter declares, is quite real. He’s got an insatiable appetite for people. He eats them whole, body and soul. And, he’s out there, on the loose. Who’s going to face that lion? Lion-tamers ready to take on that lion are desperately needed, but in short supply.
Of course, the lion-tamer needs to be you. That’s what Peter is getting at: you are the one who is expected to do the job. You are the one who is supposed to take on the lion. In truth, you don’t really have a choice. It’s not as if you have an option whether or not to engage the lion in combat. He engages you. He hunts and stalks and attacks regardless what you might think or want. It doesn’t even matter if you’re not quite sure what you believe about the whole idea of Satan and the presence of such horrible and deadly evil at work in the world. Admittedly, there are plenty of people who don’t believe that Satan is real. There are even Christians who are reluctant to admit the existence of Satan at work in the world. It’s a bit unsettling, and certainly a lot out-of-step with how the rest of the world operates. Believing in demons and Satan is unscientific and a little too medieval for many sophisticated people, today. Which, of course, is exactly the way that Satan likes it. Scripture is clear. The witness of the church is unequivocal. Jesus’ own teaching and example is unquestionable. Satan does exist. He is not just a faceless force or a negative energy. He’s not just a label or a name for the bad things that happen by luck or fate. Satan is real—a powerful, evil, rebellious, personal creature that is opposed to God and all that God loves. Satan is determined to destroy whatever God deems precious. You are precious to God. Satan’s mission is to destroy you. You must come to terms with the reality.
Recognizing the reality of Satan is where it begins. That’s what Peter calls being sober-minded. It means you know the score. You know what you’re up against. You see the spiritual reality at work. Recognizing that, the smart thing to do, of course, is to be watchful and ready with all the keen awareness of a lion-tamer in the center ring surrounded by big cats. In dangerous situations, one does not let down his guard. And yet, this proves problem far too often, doesn’t it? You don’t hear any roaring, you don’t even hear a low rumbling growl coming from the tall grass. It’s quiet. You don’t see any evidence of Satan lurking in the shadows, and you can’t catch in the wind, a whiff of his stench, so you conclude that everything is safe and fine and your relax. And, then, seemingly out of nowhere, he’s there, and the lion has you by the throat. That’s the way that lion’s hunt in the savannas of Africa. Stealth and deception and patience, and then, only at the last moment, the brazen attack in full power. By then, it’s too late.
Satan is at work in the world, today---even in the unbelieving West, and especially in God’s church. Where better to lie in wait for the chance to attack, destroy, and gulp down another meal? Satan feeds on people. He wants you. He wants your family. He wants your church. The best way to beat the lion is to recognize his approach before he springs with power. Keep your eyes on the weeds. Pay attention to the shadows. Sense the telltale signs in the breeze. He’s around. Don’t get caught off guard. But, this is where American Christians seem to stumble. Lion-tamers have left with the circus, and lion-tamers, it seems, have also left the church. There is, in the West, an abundance of dull, disinterested, distracted church-goers who seem oblivious to the threats around them. God sets his standard for moral behavior—it’s clear-cut without question, but it’s also out of style: “You know, people today just live together before marriage, it’s what they do. Divorce happens, it’s part of life, you move on. And, after all, it’s not my business to tell people who they can or can’t love.” In the face of such blatant moral decay, there seem to be too few lion-tamers who hear the growl in the grass. Christian parents pray for their children and bring them to church when the schedule allows; and then send them off into the world to sit at the feet of teachers and heroes who are equipped with great influence, firm conviction, and persuasive power, and those Christian children hear there about a world that is guided by impersonal forces, a world without a God who speaks his truth and answers the big questions, a world that means only what we decide it means. And then those Christian parents wonder why those once-Christian children aren’t so sure exactly what they believe anymore, but do know that they don’t much believe in going to church or following God’s ways. No one seems to be able to smell the lion’s stench blowing downwind. The marriage once strong and committed to honoring God, grows stale and cold and empty, but husband and wife simply adapt and move along, and don’t notice the rustling in the weeds. Where are the lion-tamers who are alert and on the look-out? Where are the Christians who take the threats seriously and watch for the approach of the horrible lion? Where are the Christians who are determined not to become lion-food?
Satan sneaks and stalks and suddenly attacks. And when he does, you need to fight back. That’s Peter’s next admonition. When Satan pounces you don’t play dead. You resist. And you offer the only resistance that ever works against the great lion. You resist him by digging deep into the reality of your faith. You resist him by relying on God to intervene for you. You resist Satan by invoking the name of Jesus Christ. The fact is that you can’t do it: you can’t stand up to the lion. You can’t outwit him or outlast him, and you certainly can’t overpower him. No, your one and only defense, and your only weapon, is to cling to Christ in faith, and let him take on the lion. Don’t misunderstand. Clinging to Christ in faith is not at all a passive, quiet, quiescent thing. Living in faith means that you actively pursue God’s truth about everything. You are alert to whatever erodes or attacks or diminishes that truth. Living in faith means you cultivate your relationship with God by hearing his word, studying his truth, being with his people, and praying to him about everything. Living in faith means you see the reality of what is going on all around you and then cling to God’s promises and do what God tells you to do no matter what anyone else thinks or says or does. Living in faith means you learn to deny yourself and your needs and give yourself for the sake of those around you meeting their needs and so honoring God. Nothing drives away the lion like a Christian who actually takes God at his word and builds his life fully on that reality. That’s what it means to live in faith. That’s the way that you beat the lion. You don’t do it. Jesus does.
The truth is that you don’t have to be a lion-tamer. You don’t have to have the iron will, steel nerves, and cool daring of a lion-tamer. You don’t have to live in perpetual vigilance, obsessed over what might be sneaking up in the tall grass. You don’t need to be able to fend off an attack when it comes. You only need Jesus. He’s the lion-tamer. He’s the last lion-tamer. He’s the only lion-tamer. What you can’t do, he does. When you grow weary of watching the weeds, he stands guard. When you are helpless against the ferocious attack, he steps in and fights off the lion. When you are on the verge of being Satan’s next meal, he intervenes and saves you. But, you must be in him. You must remain in him. You must abide in him—and you do that by being where he is, and by doing what he says. Jesus is your lion-tamer. He’s the last lion-tamer. And he’s actually not a very good lion-tamer. You see, he doesn’t tame the lion. He just kills him. That’s what happened on the cross and at the tomb. The lion was dealt a deadly blow. He has a mortal wound now. On the Last Day, he’ll be finished off. The lion’s days are numbered. Satan’s done. He can’t touch you, not when you’re in Jesus. Stay there, my friend; stay in Jesus. Amen.